Aug 24 - Les Cascades d'Ouzoudes

The plan today was to take a second chance at exploring the scenery of Morocco. Some hours drive away from Marrakesh, there were supposed to be a corridor of beauty and greenery, but lacking our own vehicle, getting to many of these locations would be rather difficult. Reading the descriptions in LP and weighing the option of chartering a grand taxi for the day, we decided that we might take a chance on a recommended travel company to take day trips out to les Cascades d’Ouzoudes – waterfalls.

We had already reserved 3 spots the night before at a hefty 200Dh each, so we woke up early to catch the ride out of there. Getting out of the hotel that early was a bit of a hassle, because as I’d mentioned before, the hotel employees double as security by sleeping at rooms by the door. They also lock the main doors from the inside, such that we cannot get out without waking them up. So here we were, trying to wake them up, while not waking up the rest of the hotel (the hotel was built Moroccan building style, with a courtyard in the center surrounded by the different rooms on the perimeter – no glass in windows just bars – you could hear everything). I’m not sure whether they were being deliberately annoying, or whether they were really that fast asleep (which calls into question their security effectiveness), but it took us a good five minutes before they finally responded to a flashlight being shone into their faces. I actually heard another group go through this ordeal from my bed a morning earlier, but in my groggy state, I thought they were people that had gotten locked out. Not true – they were locked in.

We got to the tour agency, got into some vans, and went on our merry way. It was pretty quiet on the trip there and out – ppl were pretty much catching up on sleep. If I remember correctly, the place was about an hour to 2 hours drive out. Strangely, we stopped at a gas station about 15 minutes before our final destination, not to get gas, but to do who knows what. This is not the country of efficiency.

The whole tour thing proved to be sketchy in the utmost as they dropped us off in a parking lot and told us they’d be back at 4pm to pick us up. Excuse me??? We just paid a total of 600Dh for merely a van ride??? Some of the tourists followed the ‘tour guide’ but they later said that he took them down paths that required them to slide down on their butts and that he clearly had no clue where he was going. LP is usually reliable, but in this case, no so much.

That detail aside, it was a beautiful day and an impressive tiered waterfall. The basin, brown as it looked, was filled with swimmers and other merrymakers, despite the “Natation Interdit” signs posted around. The path down to the basin was lined with shops and restaurants (no you can’t escape them) where we stopped for a lengthy lunch. Vegetarian tajines in view of the waterfall and a pomegranate tree (!!).

I was trying not to drink too much, because I didn’t really want to use the mountain ‘restrooms’. At some point, I screwed up the courage to try to find the “WCs” and followed the sign pointing up the mountain. The path ended at what appeared to be a mud hut on one side and a stick structure on the other. Neither looked at all appealing. Some very male horking sounds came from the stick structure, and at that point, I decided that I really didn’t want to find out which was what and fled back down the path to the great amusement of K, who was waiting for my assessment at the bottom. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to ignore the great body of rushing water while holding it in.

Interesting encounter with a beggar when we climbed back up to the top. In the cities, we had not been giving any money over, because if you do, you are sure to be mobbed by the remainder. In this rather rural locale, A thought that it would be less risky, and gave some coins to one man we encountered. K warned her that she was now fair game and that the man had probably hobbled down the mountain to tell the rest of the populace of the Asian girl with money. Funnily enough, the very next beggar we encountered asked A for coins.

We sat and waited for the bus for a while (which was late). Waiting with us were two women from Toronto of all things. A located an ice cream seller and bought a cone. An extremely sketchy guy (who had earlier offered his services as a guide) came by and berated us in general for littering, making a big show of throwing away a wrapper on the ground. This turns out not to be A’s wrapper, as she still has it in hand, and she makes a somewhat smaller show of throwing that away.

The bus finally arrives, and we return to Marrakesh to say goodbye to the great square on our last night. For dinner, we decide to try one of the restaurants bordering the great square that is supposed to have live entertainment. You can see us here with the singing and drumming troupe that night. Not quite bellydancing, but impressive enough.

Next - Aug 25 - To Casablanca