Hanging out in Todra Gorge

Today was a free day in Todra Gorge; Vicki and Pam and two other girls from our group went for a four hour hike and they visited a nomad family. I wanted to do the hike, but Yassine, our tour guide, said I needed shoes with traction. Unfortunately, my Chuck Taylor/Converse shoes don't have any traction and my runners are having their own adventure with my big backpack somewhere. Instead I went with the rest of the group on a two hour walk from our hotel to the Gorge.

Our local guide showed us fig trees, fava bean plants, date trees and almond trees. We even tried some almonds, which tasted the same as back home minus the salt. Our local guide showed us the locals plots of land and how they irrigate their lands. He took us to his family's kasbah and how they make sure to have people living in them to maintain the roof and structure so they will not deteriorate.

Lastly, he took us to the Gorge and it's very impressive. It was so nice to feel the sun on us and to be able to walk around and breathe fresh air. It was a relaxing way to spend the morning.

We went for lunch at a another kasbah restaurant and had soup, a dish with rice, beans, lentils, tomatoes, beets. And hard-boiled egg, and this was followed by a pizza similar to a calzone. The food here is good and is sweet and savory at the same time.

After lunch we went to another room for tea and we're shown carpet made by local women. It's a co-operative where women come during the week to learn how to clean the wool and make rugs. I bought a small one for my bedroom and it has purple, orange, turquoise and a bunch of other colours that I can't recall. It's very soft as it was made out of lambs wool. I can't wait to see how it looks in my bedroom.

Now I'm relaxing in my room and I'm soon to go on a search for some tea.