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Dear Alex and Sammy: I am sorry for the delay between letters, but as you know I got hit with a big tummy bug when we left Fez. Sadly I have not seen any of Marrakech (Daddy has though but I think he has forgotten to take many pictures), because I have been holed up in our dar (similar to a riad) recuperating. I know one of the reasons I got so sick was all of the traveling we did in extreme heat in the South, but I cannot say that I regret it. I think you will understand when you see the pictures!
First we drove through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas mountain range. The picture above is of an 800 year old cedar tree. Although this tree was nowhere near as wide as the rubber tree I wrote about from Tangiers, it was certainly…
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,%20because%20I%20have%20been%20holed%20up%20in%20our%20dar%20(similar%20to%20a%20riad)%20recuperating.%20I%20know%20one%20of%20the%20reasons%20I%20got%20so%20sick%20was%20all%20of%20the%20traveling%20we%20did%20in%20extreme%20heat%20in%20the%20South,%20but%20I%20cannot%20say%20that%20I%20regret%20it.%20I%20think%20you%20will%20understand%20when%20you%20see%20the%20pictures!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EFirst%20we%20drove%20through%20the%20cedar%20forests%20of%20the%20Middle%20Atlas%20mountain%20range.%20The%20picture%20above%20is%20of%20an%20800%20year%20old%20cedar%20tree.%20Although%20this%20tree%20was%20nowhere%20near%20as%20wide%20as%20the%20rubber%20tree%20I%20wrote%20about%20from%20Tangiers,%20it%20was%20certainly%20tall%20and%20rather%20impressive%20in%20its%20stark%20dead%20state.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20picture%20is%20one%20I%20could%20not%20resist%20taking%E2%80%93we%20stopped%20at%20a%20lake%20on%20the%20way%20to%20the%20cedar%20forests,%20and%20while%20the%20lake%20was%20pretty%20this%20donkey%20was%20far%20cuter.%20He%20is%203%20weeks%20old%20in%20this%20picture%20and%20kept%20trying%20to%20nurse%20the%20whole%20time%20we%20were%20there.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EWhere%20we%20stopped%20to%20see%20the%20cedar%20tree,%20in%20the%20forests,%20is%20the%20only%20place%20in%20the%20world%20Barbary%20apes%20live.%20To%20my%20surprise%20(but%20not%20Daddy%E2%80%99s%20as%20he%20experienced%20similar%20stuff%20in%20South%20Africa),%20the%20apes%20just%20hang%20out%20where%20the%20tourists%E2%80%93foreigners%20and%20Moroccan%20children%20campers%20alike%E2%80%93stop%20to%20see%20them.%20Some%20people%20threw%20them%20food,%20which%20I%20don%E2%80%99t%20approve%20of%20as%20these%20are%20wild%20animals%20and%20should%20probably%20not%20be%20encouraged%20to%20get%20that%20close%20to%20people.%20Having%20said%20that,%20it%20was%20fun%20to%20see%20them%20so%20up%20close%20in%20the%20wild.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ENext%20up%20was%20the%20desert,%20which%20took%20a%20looooooong%20(and%20unpleasant,%20given%20how%20sick%20I%20was)%20drive.%20We%20drove%20to%20Merzouga,%20a%20town%20about%2040%20km%20from%20Algeria%20(a%20different%20country%20to%20the%20east),%20and%20from%20there%20found%20what%20I%20think%20maybe%20was%20a%20kasbah%20out%20at%20the%20edge%20of%20the%20Erg%20Chebbi%20Dunes.%20When%20we%20got%20there,%20they%20gave%20us%20the%20option%20of%20sleeping%20at%20the%20kasbah%20or%20riding%20out%20into%20the%20dunes%20in%20the%20Sahara%20to%20stay%20at%20a%20Berber%20tent.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EOf%20course%20we%20chose%20the%20tent.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20the%20Berber%20camp%20where%20we%20stayed.%20This%20camp%20is%20completely%20typical%20(except%20the%20toilets%20I%20am%20guessing!)%20and%20there%20are%20still%20many%20nomadic%20Berbers%20living%20in%20the%20Saraha%20today.%20This%20is%20also%20exactly%20where%20we%20slept%E2%80%93any%20time%20but%20summer%20it%20can%20get%20quite%20cold%20in%20the%20desert,%20but%20the%20trade-off%20of%20the%20122%20F%20(50%20C)%20daytimeheat%20(VERY%20HOT)%20is%20that%20it%20was%20warm%20enough%20to%20sleep%20outside,%20under%20the%20stars.%20And%20because%20the%20wind%20basically%20never%20stops%20blowing%20there,%20it%20was%20actually%20pretty%20comfortable.%20In%20the%20dark%20anyway!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20what%20it%20looked%20like%20in%20all%20directions.%20Alex,%20is%20this%20what%20you%20envisioned%20in%20your%20Magic%20Treehouse%20books%20when%20Jack%20and%20Annie%20got%20stuck%20in%20a%20sandstorm?%20And%20boy%20was%20it%20dry%E2%80%93like%20being%20stuck%20in%20Mommy%E2%80%99s%20dryer%20or%20Pappy%E2%80%99s%20fireplace!%20It%20was%20so%20dry%20there%20Mommy%20had%20to%20use%20eye%20drops%20and%20keep%20chap%20sticking%20my%20lips.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20next%20morning%20we%20got%20back%20on%20our%20dromedaries%20(Moroccans%20do%20not%20consider%20these%20camels,%20to%20them%20camels%20have%202%20humps%20and%20dromedaries%20have%201),%20before%20the%20sun%20was%20up,%20to%20go%20and%20watch%20the%20sun%20rise%E2%80%A6%20Sammy,%20would%20you%20ride%20a%20dromedary%20like%20one%20of%20these?%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETake%20note,%20children.%20I%20doubt%20you%E2%80%99ll%20ever%20see%20Mommy%20take%20a%20picture%20of%20the%20sun%20rising%20again!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThen%20we%20got%20back%20on%20our%20dromedaries%20and%20rode%20back%20to%20the%20kasbah.%20I%E2%80%99ll%20tell%20you%20later%20what%20we%20saw%20that%20day!%20Love,%20Mommy%20and%20Daddy%3C/p%3E){kind=link}