The Tizi n’Tickha Pass rose 2,000 metres above sea level and was the main link between Ouarzazate and Marrakesh. For hundreds of years traders would transport gold, salt, textiles and slaves across the High Atlas Mountain, a difficult route for travellers on foot, mule or camel. The French military built the first engineered road in the 1920s. Today it was an hour’s drive with stunning scenery of towering cliffs, deep valleys and snow capped peaks.
We had one not-so-nice encounter when we arrived at a municipal camp site – where the people in charge were employees rather than the owners of the site. We had to wait for a few minutes before someone came to open the gate and then we drove slowly past Reception and went to find a parking space. The gatekeeper came running after us and demanded that we drive back to Reception so that he could photograph our vehicle licence plate. We refused as we were manoeuvring the truck into a parking bay.
When we were settled Tony took our passports to Reception. There were three employees assembled in the office who reprimanded Tony for not obeying. Tony lost his rag and had a good rant about them sitting around in the office and not making any effort to welcome visitors. Tony ended up saying if they didn’t like his behaviour he would leave immediately. Suddenly the three of them backed down, profuse apologies followed with lots of hand-shaking. It wasn’t our finest hour but we were weary and we had become accustomed to our hosts doing everything to help and make us feel welcome. We left the next day.
