Oua-ild Oua-est - Ouarzazate Province, Morocco, Mar. 21, 2010

Travel log:
At every turn Morocco has been another color, another flavor and another sound.
Any average wanderer may be halted by quaint cafes or broad shouldered kasbahs on the lush green coast, but press on through the mountain passes, the treacherous mountain roads... if you have the stomach.
Back in the western interior, in the valley between the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains, sits Ouarzazate (say: War-za-Zot). The small polished city is complete with a thatched-roof market, cafes and mountain views; but it is also the seat of Ouarzazate Provence.
Twenty kilometers (12 miles) from the city is the sleepy hamlet of Tazentoute... Little Mountain in the Berber dialect called Tashalheit, which is spoken there along with Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and some French.
The town of about 1,300 (where the author has resided for the passed two weeks) has mountain views to attract wealthy Europeans to build rarely used holiday homes alongside the cement and mud brick structures.
Many in the town find work or school in the surrounding province, but return to Tazantoute in the evenings or weekends to live the quiet life among friends and very often relatives.
Daily life in the town is full of work, but centers around eating. Modest incomes still put three meals and three snacks with sweet mint tea on the tables. Most families eat in the traditional style, from the same dish. Frequently couscous or rice is topped with vegetables, saffron and features a portion of chicken, mutton or beef sectioned off by the head of the household for each person. A strong tradition of hospitality will likely leave a guest in the range of well-fed to over-fed.
Three hanuts or shops provide basic needs for the town, including milk, eggs and the occasional roll of papier hygenique (toilet paper) for those still attached to Western ways. Do be careful not to put the PH in the easily clogged squat toilets. Some travellers have taken to packing it out in a plastic bag or even burning it on the spot with a cigarette lighter.
Just down the road seven kilometers, there is a government run sbitar or health clinic in order to treat routine illnesses and administer subsidized vaccinations. The facility is understaffed with one doctor and two nurses, but the three do their best to visit towns and schools in their region to educate and examine the population.
Emergency cases are referred to Ouarzazate hospitals, but the lack of an ambulance or serviceable replacement is "a big problem," said an official familiar with the situation.
The stretch between buzzing Ouarzazate and quiet Tazantoute can feel isolated and insulated, but the cozy spot is perfect for a foreigner to immerse himself in the culture and language of the Moroccan wild west.