Our next fabulous drive was up the desert highway to Zagora. We left very early so as to escape the heat. We can normally only do about three hours of driving anyway, so figured we'd be in Zagora by lunchtime. We're pretty sensible as we get older.
ON this drive I had a bit of a '70's soundtrack in my head. Sometimes Moroccan roads feel like going back in time with old cars and highways. The song that I woke up with was Dire Straits 'Once Upon a Time in the West' so that's what we started with.
I ended up listening to the whole of that album. Communique was released in 1979 and I had forgotten what a really good album it is. It's more '70's in sound than their later albums and I guess for quite a few years I thought it was dated. It's only with the benefit of the years that I realise it's a gorgeous album and very well produced.
This drive turned out to be way better than expected. Eventually we'd hit these crazy lumpen dunes and a gorgeous valley oasis where bedouin tents nestled amongst palms.
The oasis vibe for me suited 'Water of Love' - the first track on Communique. 'Water of love, deep in the ground, but there aint no water here to be found'. Bore holes are dug for a long time to bring up water of life. I'll talk more about this when I get to my post about the Draa Valley.
Eventually it got even more desert like, with previous storms blowing sand over the road which the old Peugot in front of us nearly got stuck in. There's a lot of cool old cars in Morocco. Somehow they keep going. We are not out of place, really, though newer cars and expedition vehicles start to pass us now because we're closer to the town a lot of expedition vehicles move from and to on their way in and out of the desert.
We stop for a coffee and a juice at a cafe not far from Zagora. There is a whole heap of French people with 2CV which Jamie absolutely loves. They don't talk to us - the French keep to their own and it's rare one will speak to us. Sorry, French people. You can be grumpy, you know!
We start seeing more agriculture closer to Zagora, particularly wheat being harvested.
To my delight, we also see camels - or rather, dromedarys. Did you know a lot of these were taken to Australia back in the 19th century from North Africa and around? They're in plague proportions now and an issue for farmers. We don't see them down south so much. Aren't they just beautiful?
Eventually, we arrive in Zagora. But that's a story for tomorrow.
With Love,
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