Tafraout

We had a spectacular drive west through the Anti Atlas mountains to Tafraout, a town popular with tourists, known for its unusual rock formations that resembled huge round pebbles piled on top of each other.  All the camp sites in the area were full but we had hooked up with friends, Caro and Charles who had found an unofficial space on a barren piece of land the size of five football pitches with sandy earth underfoot and dotted with scrubby trees and rocks.  There were at least 100 vans randomly parked there.  Although there were no services (ie no electric hookup, waste disposal, or running water), there were rubbish bins and we were well served by sellers of essentials such as bread, water and eggs – and always, always children asking for fruit and sweets.   A parking attendant came round in the evening and charged each vehicle £1.20.  The scenery was harsh but very beautiful.  Caro cooked supper for the four of us, a little wine was consumed and all was well with the world . . .

We left Tafraout and travelled south towards Icht.  Our route took us through gorges with dry river beds where bulldozers were clearing away debris caused by torrents of water coming off the mountains.  Trees, roads and bridges had been washed away – not a good place to be if heavy rain was forecast!