Day 4 -Zagora to Tata across the edge of the Sahara desert

We set off early again today to drive across the wilderness to Tata. It was a very strange and interestings experience being such a small part of a very large landscape.

This day really showed off the enormous skill of our 3 drivers. There is no road as such - only a selection of wheel tracks where other vehicles have gone before. Knowing which one has the firmest surface, and knowing what to do if the vehicle hits a patch of very loose sand, is an area where it helps to have a lot of experience!

We were surprised by how many different kinds of desert there were, some with lots of losse stones and very little vegetation, other parts with fewer stones and some tussocks of vegetation, and sometimes full-blown sand dunes. It became easier to see how the edge of the desert is not a fixed line, but a gradual change, which can change according to the recent past climatic history. At the time we did our trip, many parts of Morocco had not had any significant rain for 3 years!

You can imagine what a relief it was to get back on to a tarmac road in the afternoon, and the enormous surprise to discover a waterfall soon afterwards. This was quite a long day, and we were very glad to find a comfortable hotel with a very substantial evening meal at the end of it .

Loading up at Zagora 7.30 am	We only went to buy postcards
. …and we ended up with Berber scarves	Starting off across the desert road
	Distant Berbers
Thorn bush - life is tough in the desert	We had a 20- had minute walk
to get a better appreciation of the desert
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