Morocco then Menton, France 2018| Touradannt

We spent the last two nights in this out-of-the-way town not far from Agadir. So we are way south, though not the 'deep' south. The trip here was a bit of a drive but we did stop at a genuine kasbah, Ait Benhaddou where Fattah and a local musician entertained us with traditional Berber music. I have totally forgotten what to call this instrument but we see it often. We are all enjoying these impromptu concerts. Remind me to always travel with a musician!

 I love this beautiful rebab

Fattah and the old man sing and play together at Ait Benhaddou

Another spontaneous musical moment on the way up Ait Benhaddou

Artists working along the walk up

Our hotel, the Dar Tourkia, is owned by a French Jewish ex-pat, and many of the guests are French. We have a lovely pool outside our garden doors--our own little lanai of sorts--the food is fabulous, and the beds comfy. It has been a real treat, with not a lot on the agenda.

Some of us took the van and headed toward a small collection of villages to catch a bit of living culture. As we headed out of town we caught this shot of our dinner on its way to the market. Just kidding, but we suspect it was someone's dinner! What did we have have for dinner?

Once in Tioute, a local guide led us down narrow pathways through the oasis, a forest, I suppose, though nothing like a forest as we know it.  This one is actually referred to as a palmerie, because it has lots of palm trees.

Children's art decorates the walls around the school

There were, of course, date palms, and alfalfa, corn, and other crops growing, as well as nut and fruit trees. It looked so disorganized, but Fattah pointed out that each crop and each tree belongs to someone. No picking dates along the way! But we did try the jujube, a popular berry in this area. That's  joo--joo-bee, not like those gummy things we eat at all! It's very tart and crunchy, as I recall,  not at all like a date, even though they are from the same family.

Cactus pears everywhere!

Jujubes

This wall is part of the irrigation system in the oasis

We saw a few of these along the way

Finally we arrived at a fashionably decorated gate that led to a sheltered spacious cafe. This is a mom-and-pop type place, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, but obviously not. We sat on cushions on rugs, traditional style, at low wooden tables. We sat in the shade sipping mint tea while the aroma of tagine, slow cooking on a brazier, wafted about us. It was 98 degrees (what is that, 40?) so we were grateful to be out of the sun. Lunch was platters of vegetables (Moroccan salad) and tender tasty goat tagine. Absolutely delicious. We all agreed it was one of our best meals of the trip.

Traditional tagines on coal-fired braziers

After a wander through the village, I slept all the way back to Touradannt. We swam in the luxurious pool, rested, had a light dinner and were in bed by 9 pm.

In the village

The pattern on this wrap identifies this woman's tribe.

We are off to Agadir this morning, for lunch and a walk on the beach, then to our riad in Essaouira for two nights. I will get photos up and more details later. Time to go!