Todra Gorge

April 16, 2024

Lots of driving, short uphill ride in the heat

I had a not bad night’s sleep in the tent. I was happy to have put a blanket next to my bed, because it cooled off. It was dark and quiet when I woke up, with our light not working. Then I noticed the wifi was out too. It turned out that all the power was out.

We watched sunrise over the Sahara. And the power was back on by breakfast.

It was a nice breakfast spread. We ate very good oranges, requested from the collection offered after dinner last night. And more Laughing Cow cheese - it’s everywhere. Definitely not something I'd buy at home.

We had a long drive to the Todra Valley on the plain between the High Atlas and Anti Atlas It was pitched as three hours or so, but took over four, with stops. Visiting the desert required a long detour, which I definitely think was worth it.

Doing the math on the posted fuel rates, diesel costs about the same as at home. Hicham told us about wages here, and they’re a lot lower. A teacher might make $400 USD a month. Doctors max out at $1000 USD per month. They often leave the country after doing their five years of mandatory service.

We stopped to see a khettara - a type of water distribution system used for many centuries. It consists of mounds visible in the surface, dug maintenance wells and tunnels. It required lots of maintenance. Traditionally, one person from each family was donated to the project.

We enjoyed a nice coffee and ice cream stop. We didn’t start riding in the town of Tinghir until the heat of the day at 12:30 - it was over 30 C by then.

It was a very short ride through the Todra/Todgra/Toudgra/Toudra (I saw multiple spellings) Gorge, starting with a 2 km uphill. The views were great, but the road was busy with cars and buses in this tourist area.

We biked to the gorge exit where Chinese tourists were thrilled to take photos with Wendy and Aussie Anne, the elders of our group.

That’s it for spare parts once all the bikes are unloaded.

The whole group the start of our ride in Tinghir.

We rode only 15 km today, but it involved climbing this hill in the heat.

There is a nice green valley below. No wonder people chose to live here.

Wendy showing off her Collingwood Cycling Club jersey.

Riding into the gorge. This area wasn’t affected by the 2023 earthquake. And I really wouldn’t want to be here if the rocks were tumbling.

Then we turned around and rode back downhill to our fabulous lunch spot in a private home, sitting on cushions at a low table. The husband served us. Kids were seen too - the older ones helped with dishes. The hidden wife must have been doing the cooking. Lunch was excellent - the courses included delicious naan-like bread cooked over wood; many veg and fruit all on the same plate with rice; chicken and lamb skewers; rfissa, which is chicken and lentil dish; fruits - melon, watermelon, oranges with cinnamon, and pears; cookies; nuts; and finally peanut-butter chocolate bits. To end the meal, our host poured mint tea two cups at a time from a great height - from one pot in each hand.

After peeling our overstuffed selves off the floor, we walked from lunch to our hotel via the shaded valley, seeing small farming plots and trees: almond, pomegranate, and fig. Three of our group chose to go hiking with a local guide after lunch, but I thought it was way too hot.

We got to our hotel in late afternoon and got our nightly laundry done. It is an odd place with a zillion steps up to our rooms and one floor that looks like a construction zone. There was no wifi in the rooms. Well, it seemed there was wifi, but first we couldn’t get the password, then it just didn’t work. Wendy and I had lukewarm shower water, but others had hot water. Funny that the showers and wifi were both way better in the desert last night than here in the tourist zone. We had ten electrical outlets in our room though, so could charge up a storm. The toilet and shower in were separate small rooms with doors lockable from outside and in. And the mattress was as firm as a board, which I prefer over too soft.

Since it was late in the day, we’d missed the direct sun, but still enjoyed a dip in the pool and a cold beer, which was expensive at 50 dh (about $5 USD) each. Our multi course lunch had only cost 100 dh. There were another couple of groups staying in the hotel, including a Canadian couple from Belleville. They expressed surprise that we were the cycling group; they expected younger and fitter-looking people. Haha.

The three hikers from our group texted after 6 pm that they’d been abandoned by their guide on the way up and had made their way back to the valley on their own. The guide had wanted them to go with him to his friend’s house and pay 15 dh for some tea. They declined, so he went to see his friends anyway and left them to their own devices. Not cool.

It was quite a busy hotel. There was one other Intrepid group plus more tours, including some touring motor-bikers from Poland who we’d seen earlier in the day.

Rfissa is a special-occasion dish with chicken, lentils, and a thin bread, flavoured with fenugreek.

Robyn in a sitting room in the home where we ate lunch. Rugs everywhere.

We saw a woman washing clothes in the creek. Life is not easy for lots of people in this area.

The view from our hotel parking lot was like something out of a movie set, with the dry mountains contrasting with the lush valley.

Once again, the Canadians and Irish thought it was a fine day for a swim, and the Aussies declined because they thought the water was too cold.

Who needs light fixtures? This did the job. I tried not to think too much about building codes and safety.

After our huge lunch, I wasn't hungry so just had a Moroccan salad for dinner - chopped tomato and onion with some cumin, plus olives on the side. Both our meals today had little plates of harissa on the table next to the olives. Hicham reports that this area of Morocco is known for liking spicy food. The olives here already had a nice zing. Our server was the same guy whose house we ate at this afternoon.

Like yesterday, our hand washed laundry dried in a flash. The room is a great temp, and I think I’ll be fine on the board-like mattress.

Wendy must be getting the cold. Too bad. She wasn’t feeling well and skipped dinner.

Just for fun, here’s another camel pic from yesterday, showing how tall they are. It’s a long way down. Good thing they can kneel.

Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 270 km (168 miles)

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