The Final Day

Up early in time to watch the sunrise the next morning.  I walked some distance out of the camp.

Sands in the early morning light

Sunlight rising

Mornings are incredibly quiet here.  Sitting, taking it all in, experiencing the peace, for a moment I felt deep in my heart I could be happy and content living in a Bedouin tent.  Like this small one I saw outside our camp.

Bedouin tent with only the basics

The feeling slowly passed, and I realized I could be happy and content if power and WiFi were included.  Of course, that would distract from the peace.

For fun, I took a pic of my footsteps in the sand.  No telling who last walked there or who will walk next.  Or how long before the wind fills them in.

After a breakfast of omelet and fruit, we packed up and were back on the road.

At lunchtime, we stopped in N'aat Ben Haddou.

Aït Benhaddou is a Berber Kasbah or castle along the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.  No longer occupied, it is still impressive.

Kasbah from a distance showing the lookout post

A closer look

I was disappointed we didn't walk through and up to the lookout point.  It was midday and the Brit ladies thought it would be too hot to walk.  I did find a link to a video that helped give an idea of what it looks like inside.  I would say it's more like a pueblo in the American Southwest than what we think of as a building tiled and decorated with elaborate mosaics.  

We had lunch on a restaurant terrace with a view of the kasbah.

I chose kefta--almost as delicious as Joe made for my birthday.

Then the drive back to Marrakech, a stay in the hotel and the trip to Rabat.  For no apparent reason, the train was delayed leaving Marrakech and very slow for most of the way back.  Joe and I decided the reason was a state secret 'cause we'll never know why.

Back in Rabat, things are back to normal.  Zorro is checking out one of the resident tortoises (at the far left of the picture), trying to be brave.

An awesome trip I won't forget!!!