Day 6 Todra Gorge

The hotel we stayed in last night was in the village next to the Todra Gorge. The Gorge is a limestone canyon on the edge of the High Atlas mountains. We enjoyed a beautiful early morning walk to the Gorge, followed by one or two stray dogs.

The date palms were in full fruit.

The walk brought us up to the road going through the canyon. The cliffs towered above the road.

The cliffs attracted rock climbers of both human and animal varieties.

The stall holders were out selling their wares.

Youseff then took us to see a cave dwelling family he had befriended a few years ago.

 He took a large box of groceries which he distributed amongst us to give to the family. Apparently many families used to live in the caves here but the majority have moved into local towns. The father wasn't there as he was out looking after his goats. 

 

The mother made us all some tea and was very happy to sit with us and answer questions. 

The children, 13 and 8 both went to school in the nearest town. Youseff had bought them a bike to make the journey easier for them.The children brought their school.books to show him and spoke a little to.us in French as they are learning that at school.

It was a fascinating insight into a completely unknown way of life. The mother was the same age as my daughter and the children the same ages as my grandchildren. Needless to say that's where the comparisons ended. Not sure how they manage living out here in the winter.

 

We left the family to return to the Gorge which was now filling with tourists. Our minibus was waiting to take us to our next stop which was a dog rescue centre run by an ex guide. During Covid he had converted a small piece of land into a beautiful garden with a guest house. 

The profit from the house and providing meals for passing tourist groups goes towards caring for the stray dogs.

 

After lunch we visited the large shed behind the guest house where they looked after stray and sick puppies. 

 

A couple of local.vets provide vaccinations and health care at a reduced cost. The dogs looked well cared for and healthy. Dogs can be purchased and transported abroad. Some of the puppies had that adorable pleading look but I did resist.

Our hotel for the night was near Ait Ben Hedden. This area has been used for numerous films. Hence the giant mural on the wall from the film Gladiator. We passed a couple of mobile film.units. Gladiators, some biblical films and more I had not heard of ( but everyone else had) were made here. Another hotel with a pool which we didn't use. I had bought a bottle of Moroccan red wine earlier in the day and we settled down by the pool enjoying a drink and chat. Many hotels do not sell alcohol but it is acceptable to bring your own and drink it openly in the public areas in the hotels.

After a large meal at lunchtime we were not that hungry but we did pop.out later in the evening for a slice of pizza.