There were rest stops every two hours, and typically, the  stops featured food and souvenir shops. At one such stop in a town called Ifrane, Nick and I shared a chocolate croissant that was as good as the best we have ever tasted in France. The temperature dropped as we went higher into the mountains, but  we had no problems because Hassan had advised us to dress comfortably in layers.

Our bus stopped when we approached a group of a  rare species of monkeys called  Barbary Macaques. The monkeys were very much accustomed to tourists, and were happy to take peanuts from our hands. Later we stopped at a tent inhabited by a semi-nomadic family, who welcomed us. They could pack up their tent and move whenever they chose.  Outdoors, they had a flock of black faced sheep, and indoors, they had electricity powering many devices.

At our lunch stop, as always, there were  options for each course. Nick and I enjoyed barley soup, trout, and apple pie. They were all tasty. Where do you get fish on your way to a desert? The town in which we were eating, Midelt, had been converted into a fish farm, and  its main feature was trout.

After lunch, we drove through the High Atlas Mountains. We would be spending the night at Kasbah Cherqui, which was so beautiful and so comfortable that we wished we could spend more time there. At our dinner buffet, we chose from many kinds of chicken, vegetables such as green beans and broccoli, fruit such as watermelon, and cakes for dessert. Before going to bed, I made notes about our day’s activities as I do each night during our travels.

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