Like an Arizona Iced Tea

The mines of Midelt were worked intermittently by various European powers over the last several decades but have now been left for hardy individuals like these who try to eek out a living selling the precious stones. Their rock shops and the surrounding area reminded me a lot of southern Utah.





Ahmed, the fully-clothed man, is quite the entrepreneur as he spent a month in Mexico last year selling his 1 ton of rocks at an expo. He wanted me to take a copy of his passport to Tucson, Arizona to try to reserve him a spot at the annual December rock exposition. Perhaps the most thrilling part of the day and definitely most liberating was stripping to my skivvies, running through the water and screaming like a wild man with Omar. I felt in touch with my inner five year old, frolicking in the water, catching toads, turtles and fresh-water crabs.


One of the spectacular views of the drive, overlooking some nomadic caves.





"Helping" some local kids gather water from the well. It turned into more of a water fight than anything else.