From green to brown in 80 miles!

 

It was an early start today, not just because we were heading off but because there had been a cacophony of wildlife sounds since five-thirty. An assortment of dogs were trying to out do each other in the barking stakes; a donkey in the next field was braying itself into a sore throat; the ducks on the stream, flowing through the site, quacked away, oblivious of the time; parenting storks were beak bashing to wake up their babies, although it sounded more like a maniac playing the xylophone and to cap the lot, the dawn chorus chimed in with their rendition of " Wake up little Susie, wake up!!" So she did and off we went to Midelt.

Green and plenty of mountain water

Sometimes the roads are a bit dodgy

Berbers tending their sheep and goats not far from their homestead

From green to brown, the vegetation changed dramatically, over such a short distance, from Azrou to Midelt. It  really was quite remarkable.
We left behind cedars, pines and holm-oaks to be replaced by the arid scenery of sparse shrubs, short grasses, and moisture- retaining cacti. Tomorrow could be an eye opener when we are confronted by our first oasis!
The landscapes have been both dramatic and varied. Yellow limestone  ridges, wind eroded plateaux,


Rose pink earth

Wind eroded plateau

The High Atlas Mountains

 dried up waddies and evidence of lava flows, but best of all, we got our first glimpse of the snow covered peaks of the High Atlas mountains. Awesome! That's two of my four targets met because a major city was the first and we saw Fes. Just the Sahara and the wild, west coast to go. You will have to look carefully through the heat haze to see the snow capped peaks of the Atlas Range.

 We also drove past a shallow pond that was so full of frogs that we could hear them croaking above the noise of our diesel engine.
There is a warmth and friendliness in the Moroccan people that we have met, best illustrated today by a young man driving a cement truck. We had overtaken each other several times along a very straight stretch of road, when again he was ahead of us. He flagged me to pull along side. As Delfin drew level, he hung out of the cab window and handed me a bunch of roses, complete with vase and water, well it was a drinking glass actually, to keep them alive, and off he drove. Well we roared with
laughter and as I sit here writing, with them on the table beside me, their fragrance is being wafted on the breeze.
When it cools down this evening ,we will walk into town, past the huge military barracks built by the French Legionnaires in 1918., but there'll be no "Oohlala, hello soldier". Far too hot!