Archive for October, 2008

Merzouga to Marrakech

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

SaharaHike
At 5am, we woke up to hike the mammoth sand dune nearby. It was purported to have an elevation of 900 meters, but it turns out it’s only 600 meters above sea level. (more…)

Todra Gorge to Merzouga

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Auberge Le Festival Crag

Finally, I wake up feeling human. I’m still fatigued and suffering hot/cold chills, but I’m good enough to climb a couple pitches. Barry offers to give me a belay at the crag behind the hotel, so I shimmy my way up the red limestone. The texture is awesome, it’s sharp and scraggly. It reminded me of the rock up at Mt. Charleston, NV.

Clare Enjoying the Limestone of Todra Gorge
I climbed a 5.6 extremely runout pitch to warm up, it only had 4 bolts for the whole pitch. But, the climbing was so easy, I was not worried.

Clare Climbing at Auberge Le Festival Crag
The second climb was a 5.7, and I think there were only 3 bolts on it.

Clare Stemming Dihedral in Todra Gorge
The third one was a dihedral, probably 5.8, and it was my favorite. After doing the third climb, I was starting to feel sick again, so we headed over to the cafe for some juice and a light snack. (more…)

Todra Gorge – Sick Days

Monday, October 6th, 2008

Another look out my window in Todra Gorge The View Westward from my Room at Auberge Le Festival

On Monday & Tuesday, I was extremely ill with a severe case of traveler’s stomach. Jon & Barry managed to climb on Monday, but by Monday night they too were ill. (more…)

Marrakech to Todra Gorge

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Ibrahim (left) Walks us to the Forerunner Street in the Medina of Marrakech

At 8am, Ibrahim came to pick us up. We walked to the taxi station and got into his Toyota Forerunner. Immediately, he started to point out things along the way, and he’d offer to pull the truck over, if we wanted to take a picture.

Atlas Mountains in Morocco Atlas Foothills
Barry, Jon, Clare Enjoying the Mountain Vista Jon Near Tizi N Tichka Pass (2,260m)

As we approached the mountains, the road became narrower and windy. We passed a lot of rock & gem stalls which the area is famous for.

It took a couple hours to make it over the Tizi N Tichka pass. I could see why this road is so dangerous. In areas, it is in a state of disrepair, and there are a million blind corners. There were many vehicles that had no business travelling, and were either way to loaded down or just about to fall apart. (more…)

Casablanca to Marrakech

Friday, October 3rd, 2008

We woke up early in order to catch the 9:30am train to Marrakech. Our European hotel provided a nice petit de journer, in the form of a buffet.

Breakfast in Casablanca Jon's First Breakfast in Morocco

Clare & Jon Descending the Stairs

We took some pictures from the roof of our hotel, and then headed off for the train. We just barely made it, and the train was so packed. For about an hour, we sat in the hallway of the train waiting for a seat to become available. Finally, Jon & Barry located an empty 1st class cabin. BTW, when traveling the Marrakech Express, just purchase a 2nd class ticket and sit in the 1st class cabin. Nobody really cares, or bothers to check. (more…)