Hassi Labied to Tinerhir
This morning we woke to the news that despite the rain that fell during the night it was possible to get out using a grand taxi to the edge of the flood waters, then change transport to cross the flood waters and once on the other side get in another grand taxi to take us through Efroud then on to our destination. The only catch was the road between Efroud and Tinerhir was flooded and still not possible to pass even in a four wheel drive. It was still possible to get to Tinerhir but we would have to take the longer way around and backtrack through Er Rachidia.
Esther and Lilian came back in from their camel trek and after some consultation we all decided to hire a Grand Taxi between us to get us to Tinerhir since we were all going that way and it would certainly break down the cost for us all.
The Kasbar Mohajut arranged and paid for the Grand Taxi to the edge of the flood waters which we all thought was a nice touch. They also called ahead and arranged the Grand Taxi to be on the other side and negotiated the price for us. So to all the guys at the Kasbah big thumbs up and thank you!
We said goodbye to Dena and Joani earlier in the dining room over breakfast and after the girls had a chance to shower and change we all bundled into the Grand Taxi that was waiting for us. When we reach the edge of the flood waters it was an amazing sight. There we were on the edge of the desert with water stretching out in all directions. There were massive trailers hooked up to tractors and our Taxi driver herded us to one of the trailers and we climbed up. He explained to us he’d already been paid and he would go with us to the other side and show us to the taxi waiting for us. There was a long line of cars waiting at the edge with tow trucks waiting to get them across and we had a small bus hitched to the back of the trailer to pull it across. It was filled with travellers who were busy snapping photos of us all perched up on top on the trailer. I’m thinking the farmers who owned the trailers and tractors were having a great time though they were charging a fair price for the crossing.
Once across we were shown to our taxi and we were off towards Tinerhir. We had a few stops on the way to take photos and then a stop in Er Rachidia to get some lunch. Ended up getting a sandwich cooked at a little stall at the markets. It was quite funny since Louise decided to be good and got some bananas and a bread roll. I stopped in front of this little stall and watched the man cook up a storm making sandwiches filled with mince or chicken and salad and chips all for about 10 dirham. That was me settled, it looked good to me so that is what I ordered. Lou’s mouth started watering so she promptly decided the bread and banana could wait and she ordered one as well.
It was like a dam had burst and suddenly all these other travelers were converging on the little stall and ordering some food. The poor man and to get help in! Lilian and Esther made it back from their expedition to the ATM and ordered one as well. Let me tell you it was as good as it smelt! Not that you can smell it you’ll just have to trust me on that one!
We ate on the run and got into Tinerhir late afternoon. We found a room without really looking all that much and we discovered that it was a little chilly! We were told the gorges were flooded so after some discussion decided to head to Ouarzazarte tomorrow and possibly double back after that depending on if there was more rain or not. We were a little disappointed not to get to see the gorges but it is not like we can control the weather.
Dinner that night was interesting. It looked and sounded like we were the only guests in the hotel and we were up in the lounge having a drink. The waiter came out and asked if we wanted dinner because the cook would be going home at 2100 hours and since there was no food in the kitchen if we told him what we would like they would go and buy the ingredients for it! Talk about fresh food. it was great!
