Hiking the Ouzoud Canyon

After swimming in the pool and jumping off the rock we headed down the canyon to explore.  The river continued to cascade down the valley.  The banks were foliated with bamboo and oleanders.  The hills were forested with scrub oak and juniper.  Occasionally we would encounter clusters of a cactus that I had not seem before.

Along the river there were signs of rock wall terraced crops, mostly abandon, built possibly centuries ago.  There were some crops on the hillside, tended by families living along the river without power or running water in the makeshift homes they lived in.  The fields, five foot strips of land, were irrigated from the mesa above via little trenches barely a shovel blade deep and wide.  I recognized, tomatoes, peppers, squash and corn.  Justin and I followed one irrigation ditch over and around the hills till it headed up towards the rim in a side canyon.  People along the way invited us in to tea, Moroccan hospitality.  We came across a well built stone house and very nice grounds.  The proprietor had sodas cooling in a basket under a small water fall for sale.  We said we would stop for one on the way back.  

The river emptied into a bigger canyon through a turbulent chute.  There are caves at the confluence with signs of Berber sheperds having lived there in the past. There were natives fishing and swimming in the river.  We asaw turtles and frogs but no fish.  The water was mostly muddy like the Colorado.  

This stretch of canyon and river so reminded me of the desert SW in the US that I am so fond of, it made me homesick.  The Todra Gorge canyon was nice but not like Canyonlands.  The only thing this area is lacking is the petroglyphs, pictographs and cliff dwellings and I could be in hiking heaven.

 See the guy contemplating jumping into the river?  He did not jump.

Me on the far bank after a dip in the river.

The walk back up the river was awesome and I recommend this trip to everyone who likes canyons and waterfalls.  Back at the Rasta camp for the night the crew cooked us Tajine, started a bonfire and played Reggae on the drums and guitar.  One of the proprietors had a Jamaican mother and Moroccan father.  Seems like everywhere you go in the world a Rasta establishment pops up.  

 Get a tan old man.

Well back to Midelt to plan my next trip and work with my coops.  I really do work hard.  I just do not like that as much as adventuring.  Guess I should let you know what I am working on.  That is for another blog.

Ouzoud Water Fall

During Ramadan I took a side trip on the weekend and visited Cascades d'Ouzoud which is North of Marrakesh in the desert mountains.  The topography was much like the Southern US, Utah, Arizona, Colorado.  I felt at home hiking the canyon next to the river.  The waterfall is a series of drops about 330 feet. 

There is a town at the top of the waterfall that is set up for thousands of tourists.  As we were there during Ramadan there was almost no one there.  There were dozens of shops, restaurants, hotels, cabs, ice cream stands, camping areas, parking lots, just sitting vacant with owners pleading for you to stop in and look at something.  Michelle had been here a few months earlier and it was packed with people coming in cars and masses of buses.  The walkway down to the bottom of the falls is about 500 steps with a handicap ramp built along side.  All the way down are shops selling everything and places to lay down and relax.
  We stopped and had a tajine at one restaurant.  The place was almost deserted.  The few foreigners were the only ones eating or drinking.  There were a few Moroccan families but they were relaxing, not eating or drinking.

 Everything is hand carried down or brought by Donkey.  You pass lots of donkeys on the trail.

 This is a Berber Omelet.
At the bottom of the falls there are pontoon boats that people can ride to where the falls drop into the water, or you can swim over there.  The pool of water is cool and deep enough to be very refreshing.  Several young people were swimming in the pool.  I have found that most Moroccans do not know how to swim.  Olive trees abound at the bottom of the falls and provide shade from the hot sun.  Campsites proliferate the bottom of the falls.  You can find a spot under tarps with a kitchen to cook your meals, a cushion to sleep on and latrines.

We continued walking down the canyon and left the tourist area behind.  The further we hiked the more sparse the camping sites became.  The river dropped from pool to pool as we continued down the canyon.  You could swim in any of the pools and jump from one pool to the next.  Partway down the canyon we came across a Rastafarian camp with Jamaican colors, Bob Marley pictures and dreadlocked rastas.  We decided to spend the night at this quaint retreat.  The only other guests were a family of French people there for 10 days.  The pool by the site had a 20-30 foot rock to jump off of.  The sound of the waterfall would comfort us in out sleep and food and water/soda was available.

What a relaxing, lovely place.  We slept in the hut on the top of the hill.

Ramadan in August

Ramadan is a 4 week Islamic event where people abstain or fast from all eating, drinking of any beverage, smoking, sex to cleanse the body and honor god from sunup to sundown.  In Wikipedia is notes this is to "teach patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God".  I have been told numerous things by people as to why they practice fasting.  One was to experience what it is like to be hungry, poor.  I thought this was noble.  Read more on the Internet to understand the event.  I am just going to express my experience here. 
Seems to me most Moroccans I have met do fast, some for their parents, some for themselves and some for religious observance.  Everything is very quiet in the mornings now.  Most people sleep late and do not work until the afternoon.  Some construction work can be heard throughout the city but seems to be limited as you cannot drink in the hot sun and would get dehydrated, which is not good for your health.  All the cafes where men usually drink coffee all day are closed till the afternoon.  The cafes start opening up around 3:00 in the afternoon but people just come and sit, they do not buy anything as everyone is fasting till about 7:30 when the sun goes down and you hear the call to prayer to end fast.  Then everyone goes home to eat and returns to the cafe after "Break Fast".
I have read that each of the 30 days of Ramadan followers read 1/30 of the Koran so that at the end of the period the entire Koran has been recited.  At the mosque next door I hear followers chanting or reciting for long periods of time.  Many more people are attending service than normal.
People get hungry, thirsty and the smokers especially get irritable.  This would be a good time to quit smoking.  The alcohol store is closed before Ramadan and during the 30 days of Ramadan.  Not sure when it opens back up.  In the large shopping stores, Mar Jane, they take all the booze, box it up and remove it from the floor, or cage that section off.
Breaking fast at sunset is a big event and people invite others over to join them.  I have been invited to about 10 Break Fasts (Iftar).  It is always buffet style with lots of food.  Typical food at most Iftars has been schbeqia (a honey and cookie like pastry), zemeta (a granular nut and sugary type powder), dates, juice, milkshake, Harira (Moroccan soup), hard boiled eggs, flat bread and bread.  You are suppose to start eating with three dates.

Of course coffee and tea are a part of every meal.
Giving alms or helping the poor is part of Ramadan and there are more beggars evident on the street than normal.  People may come up to your door and knock, asking for food.  You make them a plate and give it to them to eat. 
Many people do not travel during Ramadan and some of the buses are not on regular schedules.
I found it easy to not eat food during the day but did drink water.  Maybe next year I will try to observe it better, or maybe I will travel.  lol.  Inshallah.