Then followed the long drive to Tarpudant. First we had to complete crossing this part of the desert where we came across several herds of camels. Some on their own, others with a herder.
Gradually more rock formations started appearing.
We stopped at the river bed where there are thousands of fossils from when this part of the desert was under the sea. Fossils were very easy to spot.
Nussnuss (coffee) stop in the first town after the desert where we said goodbye to the 4WDs and rejoined Said and the minivan.
Next stop was at the saffron producing area where we drank saffron tea. Saffron is from the stamen of blue crocus plants and must be harvested before sunrise during October. 5 grams will set you back $30, this jar is worth a lot more.
Further west we passed through the Argon forest. Here goats climb the trees to eat the leaves and nuts that Argon oil is produced from. The nut is inside the hard shell and, luckily, the goats only eat the hard shell. So it's a win-win, goats get what they want, farmers get what they want. The goats were also very cute.
We pressed on further west to the outskirts of Taroudant where our hotel is a Riad, former palace. It was originally built by the head guy in this area in the late1800s and when he died a Danish Royal purchased it. With no direct heirs he bequeathed the palace to his Moroccon driver who still owns it today and runs it as a guest house. We felt very special and clean after long hot showers to wash away the desert sands.
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