Into the High Atlas Mountains!

Google Maps routing said that it was going to take us two and a half hours to do the 110 km (68 mile) route from Ouzoud Falls to Zaouiat Ahansal. And knowing that Max typically goes slower than the average car, we planned on three hours.

Why does it take so long to go 110 kms (68 miles)?

Because it's a narrow twisty, curvy mountain road almost the whole way!

Max, in his spot at Zebra Camping, Ouzoud Falls.

We tried to leave Ouzoud Falls at 9:00am, but it was about quarter after by the time we got going.

Looking back at our road up.

It didn't take long to get some beautiful views!

Yes, we are headed up into that snow you see in the distance.

The road ahead.

Yes, this is marked as a secondary highway!

Part of our route.

We're getting close to the snow now.

I actually didn't realize that this route would have us going right into the higher part of the mountains. Good thing the weather was clear and sunny. We got up to about 2,400 meters (8,000') at one point. Temperature up there was 11C (52F).

Into the snow now.

Looking back at the road we came up on.

And the road ahead.

We descended into a bit of a valley and there was a small community.

But then headed up again. 

You can see the road across.

The road was actually in overall good condition. 

And wide enough (most of the time!) that vehicles could pass each other if one pulled over to the side.

Wow. Fantastic scenery.

We are headed down there!

Arrived at the Dar Ahansal guest house at 12:15pm... exactly three hours drive.

It's a beautiful place that gets really high reviews. It's a little more expensive than what we would normally pay, but still reasonable. The room price includes breakfast and dinner for Lindsey and the kids, so while we are here we will eat dinner in the dining room at an extra cost of 100 dirham ($13.35 CAD, $9.65 USD) per person for Ruth and I.

But talk about in the middle of nowhere. Apparently the town and surrounding area have a population of about 10,000 people, but it's pretty isolated. And although the guest house has WiFi, it's slower than molasses and the cell data signal isn't much better. Amazing that I could get this blog post up for you!

Sadie and Cameron in their room.

Common area.

You can't see him, but Max is parked behind the tree on the right.

Ruth, heading in for dinner.

Yep, this was worth the extra 100 dirham!

We had bread and soup as well for starters.

Dessert!

After dinner we went for a walk. Of course we got sidetracked and ended up on a hike up a small canyon. It was getting dark though, so we turned around and we'll continue that hike this afternoon.

Out for an evening hike.

Cameron was all proud of himself because he found a sheep or goat skull.

It started getting dark quickly.

Out for some exploring today... with more blue sky and sunshine. Getting warm though. Forecast high of 27C (81F).

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