Quick note on comments. Totally spaced on Em's comment from two posts ago, yeah Turia and Tarie are terrifyingly similar I deffinatly thought my world had all come together at once when my Morrocan name sounded like my Elvish name and leant almost the same thing as my brother's name... do doo do doo imagine, if you will...
I've read a great many adventure books in my time and you know what? Towels are useless to take everywhere with you b/c they're bulky and ppl stare. But pocket hankerchiefs set you up on a higher branch of the evolutionary scale. They travel well, are reusable, and can do everything a towel can do but dry faster. Tolkien is smarter than Adams, sorry to break the hearts of the masses but it must be done for the good of all.
We have a free weekend this week, that means that from sat afternoon until sundown today (sun) I can leave Azrou and go anywhere within the province of Ouarzazate. For my map friends, you going to need a really detailed map to find me. Quick note about Morocco, sorry non-map-reader friedns, there is real Morocco and then there is the Western Sahara, this is the skinnier, southern part of the map. You will only hear about the adventures of Turia in real Morocco b/c Western Sahara is a disputed area (like Kashmere) and it isn't safe for westernes. I like my pretty littlke head attached to my pretty little body (I know it's a weird quirck) so I'm staying north of the quasi border. That said, Ouarzazate is in the south eastern part of real Morocco, in the Mid Atlas region (those are the mountains). OK, so n your map find the big city of Ouarazate, go north east a bit. I don't know how far but it's a two hour drive to El Klaa M'Gouda (where I come for internet etc) then follow the road north a jump, if my bitty duoar (village) is on the map you'll be looking for Tabernashte, Azrou, or Tazrout. These are neighboring duoars and they're each made up of about thirty houses. Don' be distracted by the larger Azrou that's on most maps and is closer to the sea. That's a big city and it isn't me.
Back to talking about me and adventures, yay, me!So I decided to go on a mini vacation to a duoar I'de heard about that's north of Azrou called Boutaghrar ( pronounced boo tak errar)and I thought it would be fun to walk there. So I set out after class yesterday and start walking, it's so beautiful here. The almond trees and the roses are both in bloom right now and as I was walking along I could smell honysuckel somewhere in the fields. My life is just so hard. Well that was lovley and when I got into the next village over (Tabernasht) everyone was super friendly and greeted me; people get super excited here when foreigners speak the native language in stead of French or Arabic. Btw, I can' remember if I've told you guys; I'm learning Tamazirt, it's one of the local dialects spoken by the mountain berbers. Yup, I'm cool. Also, greeting ppl doesn't just mean sharing hellos here. It means stopping to say hi, ask how they are, and what they're doing. Even though we don't know each other, and you will be invited in for tea at least half the time. It's just they way of things, I hope you guys are ready for tea and cookies when I come home, it's going to be the way of things.:) Anyway, as I greated on person in particular he asked where I was going and I said Boutaghrar, he said really? So I askzd how far it was and he said twenty five kilometers, at this point I've walked one. Hmm I think to myself, maybe I'll grab the next transit (taxi) that comes by. So I start walking again and it's still just lovely. After another kilo or so I laeve the river vally and the road starts winding through the desert. Side note before anyone worries uneccassarily, I live. Sorry to spoil the ending :) Really though, I knew I had a treck ahead of me so I bought two liters of water before leaving Azrou and I had my pocket pink pocket hanky. The only reason I wanted to mention the desert treck is to tell you about how beautiful it is. The Atlas Mountains were made the same way the Rockies were and the are I'm in has a lot of sandstone, it's looks so much like the Colorado Utah border it was amazing. Ofcourse the random piles fo camel droppings would remind me of where I was but it was cool anyway.
My feet had just started to hurt and I had just stopped having fun, after about three kilometers when the transit showed up, yay! So I went the rest of the way in style, ant the whole ride cost about a buck and a half. When I got into Boutaghrar I was the only person there so the hotel owner made me tea and we sat and had tea together; I tried to talk to him but I was tired and my tam skills run and hide when I get tired so I excused myself for a nap. After my nap the Bulotel (hotel owner) took me to tea at his friends house (don't fret, this is very normal) and we sat and I asked about the few things I could think of, one of which was if they have a sbitar (health clinic. They said yes and asked why I asked and I told them when I was done with my trainig I was going to work for the minister of health in a sbitar. After tea I went back to the hotel and had a lovely evening with the bulotels whole family; they insisted I join them b:c I was the only hotel guest and they didn't want me to be lonley. This morning I caught a trznsit here to Klaa, it was pretty uneventful comparitivly. Well, that's life here, I'm off to the market for a coffee and some fruit. All my love!
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Ok so now I'm worried!!! First you tell me there are Frenchmen now you tell me they call taxies (transits)!?! Now that’s just too weird! you get your fuzzy butt home young lady! :)
ReplyDeleteHahahahahaha-no really that was scary. not cause you went gallivanting but because it sounded (er looked like) you did it alone. Sis I love you soooo much and I want you to relax and have a blast but please please please don’t do it alone. Two hankies are always better than one (think of the absorbing ability!!) I won’t harp, you’re a big girl but marines and firefighters never do ANYTHING alone (mostly so they can witness the other guy do something REALLY stupid then go back and tell the rest of the guys so everyone can laugh) but it’s still a good idea! :) I love you and I'm praying for you, keep your head down out there and don’t take unnece-scary risk.
Remember 2 liters (I dont have the foggiest idea how much that is:) of water wont save you from the FRENCHMEN!! Gasp :)
au revoir et salut
Wow that sounds like a most excellent adventure! I think I have to agree with you on the pocket handkerchief (yay Tolkien). I think the ultimate accessory must be one of those nifty little camp towels because it combines the convenient size of a hanky with the absorbency of a towel.
ReplyDeleteThe pics are way cool! And I look forward to tea becoming a routine thing, I've developed quite a fondness for it over the last few months.
I heart reading about your adventures and can't wait to hear more :)