Dades
Kasbah Amridil where I slept in the entrance way.
Pictures Wim took inside.
Ait
Benhaddou.
Again, pictures that Wim took for me.
Thursday
September 21st.
I
woke up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach and diarrhea
and later I vomited as well. I didn't get much sleep and felt
dreadful.
In
the morning I packed up and took my stuff down to the lobby but I
skipped breakfast. I still felt bad and had no appetite. Wim's bag
got put in the wrong van as there were two Intrepid groups staying
here, which had left and we had to arrange with that driver to stop
and pick it up. We boarded the van and headed off. We stopped at
another great panoramic view of the valley but it was all I could do
to stand there. I was exhausted and weak.
The
rest of the day was a blur. We stopped at the Kasbah Amridil which is
one of the best kasbahs in the country and has been used in a number
of movies. I felt so bad that I didn't take the tour. The man at the
door saw that I wasn't well and told me to lay down on a couch in the
corner of the lobby. I gave my camera to Wim and asked him to take
some photos for me. I slept until they came back.
Then
we stopped at an Intrepid sponsored agency that provides prosthetics
for handicapped people. I stayed in the van and tried to sleep while
Samir drove off with me to get gas.
We
stopped for lunch in Ouarzazate where productions such as Lawrence of
Arabia, The Sheltering Sky and Black Hawk Down were filmed. The is
the the 'Hollywood' area of Morocco and the site of the Atlas Movie
Studios.
I
sat at a table away from the group and tried to sleep. The smells of
the food were making me nauseous.
At
4:00 we finally arrived at our guesthouse in Ait Benhaddou for the
night. Centuries ago, this was an important stop for caravans
carrying salt across the Sahara. Today its grand kasbah, a fine
example of clay architecture, has been listed as a World Heritage
site. The owner wanted to assemble for a welcoming tea, but I asked
Rachid to get me a room, which he did. I immediately went to bed. I
knew they were going for a walk to a beautiful old village built on a
hill, but I knew I couldn't do it, so I asked Wim to take my camera
again. I slept through that trip and dinner and didn't wake up until
1:30, was awake for an hour and then slept until 7:00. Not the best
day I have had.
Morocco...beautiful and difficult, unforgiving...
ReplyDeleteit wouldn't be a proper trip to Morocco without getting the shits!
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