Up at around 7:30am, breakfast at 8am.
It’s only day 3 but feels like a pattern we’ve been in for awhile.

Breakfast again was Moroccan pancake and bread with sweet things (honey, jam, butter). Many ordered eggs this time which come fried in olive oil and flat (sort of mixed and then fried both sides). Not quite “scrambled” and not quite “fried” but all good.
Today there was a large bowl of what looked to be scrambled eggs on the table, but Teresa soon learned this was butter (much to the amusement of the group).

I’m sure the staff was confused why one of the dang tourists took so much butter on their plate and didn’t eat it. I was thankful Teresa took the heat for this one, because if not her it would have been me for sure. I was ready for some scrambled eggs.

Mimi and Erica continue to feel below the weather, congested and even struggling just to eat at breakfast – but they power on.

We were back on the bus at 9am.
Seating was shuffled today as people seek out something new on travel day three.

The first stop is a town dedicated to film production.
There is a studio with a soundstage and we are doing a tour for 40dh ($4).
Atlas Studios Corporation was the stop and it was excellent. I was kind of expecting this to be a couple of broken pieces of plaster from the set of something, and a ton of pictures showing how cool it once looked – but instead it was a filled out Desert Backlot and you could walk right through.

“Jewel of the Nile” built some large sets in the 80s and it has grown since with sets and shots from Prince of Persia, Cleopatra, Game of Thrones, The Mummy and many more.
They are recognizable and the sets are quite large.
With the amazingly clear blue skies you can imagine how they key out the blue and add in so much more. It’s warm and in the middle of nowhere, but it’s quiet and focused. Nice for a location.
In one day we were in Tibet, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, and LA. Oh…. and Morocco.

The entry and hotel area could be any shabby-chic, trendy spot in LA with a pool and rooms surrounding it like on the Warner lot or perhaps in Melrose Place.

The number system is starting to work faster.
#5 is frequently delayed, but we get there. 🙂
“BRUCE!”

We stopped in Quartzate twice.
Once at a pharmacy for Mimi and Erica and then once for a coffee and tea overlooking the Casbah.

Many took the opportunity (Coco and Moira) to get some valuable shopping done. A few more people bought head scarves for our upcoming desert moment.
Everyone is getting better at negotiating price.

By noon we were headed out of town for 1.5 hours.

It was discovered midway through this drive that the seats on the van actually do recline.
Heather has known for days because she was sitting in the very back seat. Everyone went bonkers and she promised not to hold out on such valuable information again in the future.
Everyone reclined their seats.

Every time we pass goats the Van erupts in “Awwww! Goats” at the cuteness followed by a random comment. “Yum, dinner.”

The trucks on these roads carry everything. The idea of hazardous cargo being treated differently then other cargo is seaming non-existent. We were sharing the road with trucks hauling everything from cushions to propane tanks. Climbing through the next range we got stuck behind a military group carrying bulldozers for about 15 mins. They eventually pulled over to let us (and many others behind them) pass. The slow going was really annoying a few of the people (who were awake) on the bus so it was nice to be free of them.
Shortly after (around 1:25pm) we pulled over for a photo op.

I used the chance to catch up on the above section of writing (the curves making it hard to write) but when I stepped out  I noticed the military convoy coming back down toward us.
“Looks like the trucks are coming again.”
Teresa looked up and immediately responded. “Oh no! Let’s go!” and started back to the van. Hamid and Kahlid chuckled but looked up not concerned and thought she was joking.
Suddenly the rest of the group (not wanting to go 5mph for the next who-knows-how-long) walked quickly to the van calling out the numbers.
One, two, three, four……..five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, Thirrrrteeeeeenn!
We were back in our seats and on the road before the convoy made it to our bend.
A quick (5min) stretch of the legs.

It was just a 15min jaunt to where we stopped for lunch at the bottom of the hill.

A pretty cool place with high hedges and lots of space around.
We got up to the dining room and watched the convoy pass, but this time we didn’t mind. We were relaxed in the open lounge with couches which were VERY firm but nice to lounge on.
It was warm, but with the windows open there was a nice breeze rolling through.

The seerver handed out menus with about 20-25 items to choose from, but as we reviewed it the server proceeded to explain (through Kahlid) that there were only 3 things available (Ground beef/onion/tomato/egg ; Egg/tomato/onion or some other thing I can’t remember but with the same ingredients already mentioned).
Soooo…. why the menues?
There was some confusion as a few tried to request a meal that was not one of the three choices to which the server said “yes” to, but apparently we did not receive and managed with what appeared.

The reason for the limited menu is because people here do not pre-make full menus or pre-purchase ingredients if they are not expecting traffic or travelers. We are getting out of the normal tourist zone, so if you don’t let people know in advance you are arriving than you are limited to what is on hand.
The more we head towards the Sahara the towns get smaller and this is more the norm.
That said, it was still a really good lunch, but people with dietary restrictions were struggling a bit.

As added entertainment – connected to restaurant was a stable with a camel.
Walking over to say “hi” to the camel the group was hit with the power of direct mid-day desert sunlight.
Where it was warm with a nice breeze eating upstairs in the shade – the direct sunlight was brutal.
Searing heat, but the draw of the camel was too great – the group made the trek.
This camel is clearly known to tour groups.
Kahlid had a bottle of water and the camel knew how to drink from the bottle and toss it back to him for more.

Our first camel interaction with more promised on the way.
Back into the van, numbers and we were off around 3:20pm.

Every town we pass has a soccer field. Regulation size (or so it seems) the only difference is there is no grass. It is a “large rock free zone”.
In some cases (like through the Atlas Mountains) being level is not as important as being flat. So many of them leaned towards the river.

On these long rides the van is very quiet.
Other then me typing away at these notes (or David snapping photos) people are generally sleeping, reading or lost in thoughts. Perhaps we are all fighting off the cold, or our bodies are conserving energy and battling on the inside. Or perhaps we are all just tired from our normal life that having several hours free from tech and interwebs etc, with nothing to do let’s us close our eyes and relax.
It’s day three and all is quiet on the van.

The scenery changed again and now we are driving along a palm tree lined riverbed. Super lush and full of greenery with the stark contract of the dry mountains above and the sharp blue sky. Green, Brown, Blue.

The next stop was at 4:35pm in one of these palm groves on the outskirts of Zagora close to where we are staying tonight. A huge overlook of Palm trees.
Impressive valley full of life.

On the way to the hotel we finally got stopped at one of the town entry police checks.
At the entry to every larger town there are police randomly checking vehicles entering the town. I just assumed as a tour group they were always letting us go.
But today they stopped and asked Hamid what nationalities we had on board. Then they let us move on.
Kahlid explained that they do this to keep track in case someone gets lost. The hotel also sends our passport info to the local police station for our protection. 🙂
I feel safer now?

We arrived at the hotel and moved through the ritual of assembling in a seating area, drinking tea, and crushing the WiFi network as the staff checks us in and delivers our bags to the room. This is already one of my favorite hotels. It’s a lush refuge.

This place was really stunningly amazing! Great grounds, comfy pool area, good rooms.
They had a bar so some jumped on the beer train. The server was particular that glass not be near the pool so he would not make the walk to the side of the building to serve us. However, if we bought the beer and brought it around ourselves…. no one cared.
These were colored glass bottles so if anything broke it could still be found in the pool.
Maati made an announcement that he was going to disappear for awhile returning at 8:30pm and will be going to town to eat. Turns out he found an ATV to rent and disappeared for 2 hours.

The rest decided to stay close and keep it simple eating together as a group at the hotel at 7:30pm. Maati returned with adventurous tales of flipping the ATV and a beautiful sunset and bonding with a teacher. He ended up joining us for dinner.

Kahid informed us how to prepare for the following days journey which is to include sand, camels, 4x4s and camping so we all need to downsize to a backpack with essentials only.

Some stayed up and shared another bottle of wine.
Some crashed out early by 10pm including the few battling a cold.

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Today we traveled 195km.