A Peace Corps Day Off

Feeling the need to get out of town for at least a few hours, Mal and I planned a trip further into the Atlas foothills accompanied by our friend and tutor, Sukaina.  We met up mid-morning and caught a transit bus that we thought would take us to our final destination.  However, the driver stopped at the "dinosaur tracks" area just beyond the stone archway at Imi-n-Ifri, assuming that all non-Moroccan passengers must be on board for one of these two particular tourist attractions.  

Imi-n-Ifri

Dinosaur Tracks

Well, we'd already seen Imi-n-Ifri and the dinosaur tracks, so we began walking further up the road hoping that another transit bus would come our way.  Instead, a big rig driver stopped and offered us a ride, and we spent the next hour-and-a-half crawling along at about 15 mph, holding our breath at each hairpin turn.  We eventually reached a countryside very much resembling a region of China that a good photographer friend of mine photographed extensively.  Clouds hung from the steep cliff-faces, and terraced farmland that could easily have been rice paddies rose high on the hills.

There was actually a cute little hotel at our final destination of Tizi-n-Oubadou, and the proprietor served us Moroccan mint tea, omelets and hubz (bread).  The hotel rates are about $10 per night, so Mal and I definitely see ourselves returning when temperatures again soar into the 100's and remain there for the entire months of July and August.

Typical, fabulous Moroccan tilework

We're home now, relaxing and searching Netflix for a movie to watch before our workweek begins again tomorrow.