A DETOUR WORTH TAKING

Hey Team,

Wow, I'm really typing a lot of updates for this trip! I guess it's because after dinner there is NOTHING else to do. Sure, I write my journal, or read, or have more than once had solo dance parties in my room. But other than sitting in cafe's drinking mint tea or coffee, nothing goes on. And that doesn't even go on very late. (Though now that I'm FINALLY feeling much more comfortable because I'm outside of the big cities, I think I'm going to join them some night to watch a football game (the cafe is packed right now)).

So Azrou...stands for "Awesome".

Not really, but it is. I got here last night and bumped into Youness and Rachid. Two guides who offered the hiking proposal (I think I mentioned in the last email). I thought about it and figured, "why am I in a hurry?", so I said "let's do it". And on top of that, I met a cool New Yorker named Mike, and he joined me.




So today we four went by grand taxi, and then small car to this mountain town of Zouiara Idris (?) in the Middle Atlas, and had a wonderful day. It's a tiny Berber town, with a charming home we could have stayed at. And above and behind the town was a volcanic rock face overgrown with green and sporting 6 waterfalls falling down it's multi-hundred foot face.

Awesome.

Youness and Rachid were great guides. (I'm so glad I met some in Morocco. They are legit. They knew there stuff. Were fun to talk with and very enthusiastic. And not pushy at all. They let us go at the pace we wanted. They rock... if you are coming to the middle Atlas of Morocco, let me know and I'll give you there emails. ).

We hiked, took pictures, explored small caves, drank super fresh spring water pouring out of the mountains, took to darn many photos of the mountains and animals and falls. Enjoyed a snack with our feet dangling over the edge of a cliff as the Mosque's prayers echoed over the valley.

A darn good day. Great conversation.

When we got back to the Berber village, we had an AMAZING Tagine (traditional Moroccan dish) of chicken and vegatables and honey and man it ruled. SOOOOO Good.

Being out in nature, fresh air, lots of friendly people around.

I'm so glad I ended up here, and it was just by chance. And sticking around an extra day wasn't part of the original plan (which was to leave today and head to the desert, which I will do tomorrow). But I trusted my instincts and finally am starting to feel more comfortable here. Which is good. Learning some Arabic from Rachid and Youness. Getting to hear about cool other countries Mike's traveled too. (he's been to 48, and most different from my 30 which is cool.). I even talked to the hotel desk guy for 30 minutes last night.

I tought Rachid "Awesome".

I'm just rambling.
Things are good.
Tomorrow it's off to the desert and camel's and camping in the dunes, so it will likely be a few days until the next update.
After all, I must find the Fremen and the Spice and avoid the Sandworms.

CraigO