"These
small villages on the way to Sijilmassa are inhabited by Arabs
who live in constant misery and distress. They can grow no
grains or cereals, and only have a few palm trees" (Leo,434)
We
took the first bus out of Figuig-a brutal 5 a.m. wake up
call left us standing at the hotel gate, waiting for the
bus to pick us up on its way to the main station. A bus
that also acts as its own taxi...That's the way things work
in Figuig! This early departure was to get us into Bouarfa,
in time to catch the 9 a.m. departure for Er Rachidia (our
gateway into the Ziz Valley). Little did we know that this
was an 'old schedule' (how old, we were never told). A few
long waiting periods, hectic grand taxi rides and police
controls later, we arrived at our final destination.
