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The way to Alnif (Jan 15th-18th)
Since my field partner Maia was stationed in Oxford, I journeyed there via
British Airways and met up with her at the airport. The flight over was quite
comfortable and the food was decent. It was the 16th by the time I got to
the airport so we rested and then I got a tour of Oxford. I was quite impressed
by their architecture, natural history museum, and their shrunken heads
collection. Here's some buildings from Oxford:
I think that's their international library or something, something akin to
Firestone.
There's Andy in front of another building, note the architecture, you can see
what McCosh is based on.
I think that's Queen's College behind the walls.
That statue of a guy standing above it all is of Rhodes.
There's Maia's dorm, also happened to be Bill Clinton's when he was a Rhodes
scholar here.
Don't step on the lawns, don't ever step on the lawns...
Onwards:
The next day, the 17th, Maia and I left London Heathrow for Marrakech. There was
a short stopover at Casablanca before we arrived in Marrakech after dark. Got
suckered into a bad deal for a car, and got into the hotel Ibis in the late
evening.
After miraculously picking up the skill of driving stickshift (and after 20 some
stalls) while trying to drive out of central Marrakech, we made our way around
the city until we got on the road to Ouarzazate. Here's a nice picture of the
forelands of the Atlas Mountains.
More foreland pictures. By the way, watch out for touts who step into the middle
of the road to sell rocks, they're grown.
More forelands.
Ah, here we are halfway through the Atlas mountains.
This is Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate, we stopped briefly while trying to find our
hotel. Many films, such as Alexander, Return of the Mummy, and a whole bunch of
Cleopatra and Saharan films were shot here. You can still see some of the sets
from Alexander and the Mummy in the background.
Here we are at the Hotel Riad Salam, a very good hotel if you can get accurate
directions. The gardens are absolutely beautiful.
As is the pool and poolside bar.
And the courtyards.
And did I mention our room was a turret? Complete with anti-scorpion guards.
The next day, the 18th, we traveled south across the Anti-Atlas to get to Alnif.
Here's some of the early Anti-Atlas.
A cliff, looked kinda precambrian, maybe a boutinniere.
There's Maia, notice the systematic bedding.
Great stuff.
There's the contact between the Cambrian and the basement... I think.
There's another canyon in the Anti-Atlas with the Atlas mountains in the
distance.
A view to the East.
Atlas Mountains.
Closeup.
Town of Tazzarine.
A look towards the south from west of Alnif.
Sunset in the desert.
Initially we were at the Hotel Meteorite but we quickly transferred to the Hotel
Bougafer; its the same owner but its actually in town instead of being 18 km
west of Alnif. So here we are in Alnif just before dark.
End of Part I.
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