A short distance from Ifrane was a few remaining cedar wood forests with Barbary apes just sitting along the road. Another break and off the bus to see and photograph this troop who usually loiter around this particular area because the tourists and local Moroccans feed them. Not only do they feed them but Ali was having a gay old time teasing them. Hasn’t he ever taken a really good look at those incisors? I rapidly moved away whenever one of the apes casually walked through the groups of tourists standing around. They were in trees, on the road and had no fear of people..View image. Despite being called “apes,” the Barbary apes are really monkeys found only in Middle Atlas of Morocco, Northern Algeria and Gibraltar.

A population of around 100 Barbary apes currently live on Gibraltar. These monkeys once inhabited Europe but are now replenished by the British with monkeys from Africa. The belief is… that as long as the “apes” live on Gibraltar, Gibraltar shall be British… Deforestation and dying off of oak and cedar is a big problem in the Middle Atlas. One side of the argument blames the Barbary ape for stripping bark from cedar trees while the other side faults the area’s Berber shepherds and their families. These people herd their own goats and sheep, both notoriously hard on vegetation.

A stop for the picnic lunch in a windy and desolate area before continuing on the road. This very long day wouldn’t end until at least 6:30 p.m. in Efroud. Continuing into Berber sheep-raising country we headed to Timadite and over the Col du Zad, before crossing the Tizi N’Tairhemt ‘Camel Pass’ and continuing via the Gorge du Ziz to Er Rachidia.

A stop at the Col du Zad, 2178 meters/7,145′ where women patiently sat on the rocks surrounded by still melting snow…View image…until a bus with tourists came along. When one did, they’d quickly run down with their children and horses to pose for money. A toilet stop in a beautiful hotel somewhere along the way followed by another stop for a 15-minute walk along the highway just to gratefully stretch our legs…View image

Once over the high pass, the scenery drastically changed. Northern Morocco is green and fertile. This side of the mountains is dry and barren unless a river runs though it. Brilliant views of the snowcapped Atlas Mountains followed us all the way to Erfoud. The stark and beautiful vistas brought back vivid and happy memories of the Tibetan plateau.

Discount Flights – Find Discounted Airline Flights at CheapOair. Save Big on All Airlines.

Get the digital chapters you want, ditch the ones you don’t! Only $4.95 per chapter!