We traveled back through Erfoud and a restroom break at the Palm Hotel, where we had stayed only a few nights before! Past numerous fossil shops and a Jewish cemetery, we observed our fellow travelers. The roads had two-wheeled carts pulled by a donkey or a motor scooter. We stopped at a Berber tent to observe their water system, numerous wells with wooden frames around and over them.
We drove through a fascinating area. On the hills were abandoned kasbahs, crumbling and brown. At times, we were on high ridges, with lush green date palms far below. Many small towns had second homes for vacationers. We drove through Tinejdad and stopped to take pictures in Tinerhir, where women wear lace overdresses. We were going deeper and deeper into the Todra Gorge, one of the most dramatic places we encountered. The

 high walls began to surround us, with a narrow crack of sky at the top. At the end of the gorge was our lunch destination, the Hotel Yasmina. A trickle of water required a tiny footbridge to enter the hotel grounds. Meli’s request for “meatballs” was fulfilled—after our tomato-onion salad, we had meat patties, rice, carrots and potatoes. Grapes and oranges appeared for dessert.

The gorge’s walls were 300 meters tall! Abdul drove Meli, Hadj, and me back as the others strolled along the road snapping pictures. With those great cliffs above us, we all felt very tiny! We stopped outside El-Kelaa M’Gouna, the rost festival city, for more shopping. By 5 o’clock we were pulling in at the Hotel Kenzi Azghor in Ouarzazate. Its dining room overlooked the city spread below. We enjoyed a nice buffet, and fell asleep.