This morning we are up with the sun, but we slept better as we did not hear the dogs (some people did, but we seemed to sleep through it). After a quick breakfast and breaking camp, we head off to our next destination, leaving at 8:45 AM. We first stop off in Ouarzazate at 12:00 noon to do some shopping for our next few meals.
While there, however, things got a bit tense. After parking the truck and getting out, about ten minutes later, a demonstration comes by. We have gone off down a side street to explore, and walk back to the truck just as they are going by. The are apparently demonstrating for Palestine and were calling for President Clinton to resign. When they were around the truck, one of the kids (which is what they really were) got the idea of throwing rocks at the truck, after which many more were thrown. They were chased away when the Surete National showed up in force and chased them away, but there was not much else they could do. The front windshield was cracked and a few dents put in the side of the truck.
We were able to make it through the crowds back to the truck and a few of the others were cornered for a while, but everyone made it back OK. Some were protected by the shop keepers, who chased away the demonstrators. While we had not finished the shopping, we decided to head out of town. We stopped about 30 minutes out of town and had our lunch there.
At 1:20 PM, we arrive at our destination for the day - Ait Ben Haddou, town of the many casbahs. This is where many films have been partly filmed, including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and, most recently, Gladiator. We park behind an hotel, and head out to explore the town. It is an interesting place as it is a combination of old ruins, occupied housing and movie set. Many of the buildings have been restored, or are custom built, for the various movies filmed here. So it is a bit Disney combined with old Morocco. The town is situated on a small hill, and we climb up through the town, to get to the top for a panoramic view of the area. We head back to the camp site after an hour or so.
After taking it easy for a while, we decide to walk back up to see the sunset from the top of the town. It is well worth the effort, and we are rewarded with a wonderful sunset, with the outline of the Atlas mountains in the distant and rose colored clouds in the sky. The desert behind is turned a rich, but soft, red, brown color with all the textures showing in the shadows. We stay as long as we can after the sun has set, as the colors continue to change. But we head down before it gets too dark to walk down the rocky path.
After dinner, we sleep tonight in the hotel's outdoor restaurant.