Everyone was sad to leave our wonderful hotel in Ouarzazate after just one night; as major consolation, I was looking forward to Ait Ben-Haddou. This was another location that I had visited in 2010, and it was gorgeous. We made some photo stops on our drive, and one stop featured an elderly gentleman with an colorful lizard.
Ait Ben-Haddou is frequently used in fashion and film shoots, including (as noted previously in my 2010 blog) Gladiator. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is distinctive because its kasbahs are built so closely next to one another that it appears to be a single edifice. As we walked towards it, I could remember how it looked in 2010 -- the most obvious difference was the amount of water and concomitant greenery that was here this time.
After we hiked to the top, everyone paused for breath and commented on how nice the breeze was. There was no breeze at all in August when I last made the hike, so I totally agreed!
There were a lot more merchants this time, again because I assume there are more tourists in April than August. The colors of their wares added a photogenic contrast to the earthy browns and greens of the natural surroundings.
Mohamed found the cutest little boy outfit, and we snapped it right up. I think we're going to have to wait for his first birthday, though, before it'll fit.
We headed to lunch at a restaurant, where we were directed to a dramatically tented area on the veranda. It was the perfect spot -- bright yet breezy -- for a lunch after a hot dusty hike.
We then headed through winding High Atlas mountain roads towards Marrakech. We stopped for pictures at several points, including Tizi N'Tichka -- the highest major mountain pass of North Africa. Yep, it was windy.
I couldn't wait to arrive at Marrakech, not only because my tailbone was sore but also because I just loved it in 2010 when I visited. Our last stop before Marrakech was a women's co-op that sold Argan oil products. I mentioned that Mohamed loves tagines, and he also loves Argan oil. This uniquely Moroccan oil has a darkly nutty flavor, and is great on any food the way that you'd use any oil -- on salads, with bread (especially when mixed with fragrant almond butter), and drizzled on a tagine. He's been buying Argan oil online for years, and he was very pleased to taste the discernible difference between that and the very fresh oil in front of us now.
With Argan honey, Argan oil, Argan almond butter and Argan beauty products in tow, we headed to Marrakech. Our hotel for the next three nights would be the Sofitel, and it was fabulous. I particularly liked the dessert (of course) at dinner: it had a delicate macaroon on top of coconut flan, with a thin layer of bright passion fruit coulis at the bottom. Yum! As we walked to our room, I thought that the side lobby, with its upside-down umbrellas, were an unexpectedly modern accent.
