Even if there had been no waterfall, it would have been worth going on the trip just for the drive. Both the Middle and High Atlas mountains are deep red rock with rich, lush valley floors where people grow corn, alfalfa, and fruit trees. As altitude increases, the fields and orchards give way to small herds of goats and sheep grazing in fields. It's lovely.
Unfortunately, though, our introduction to the waterfall wasn't so lovely. When we arrived after 3 hours in the car, our guide to the site tried to cheat us, claiming that we hadn't paid for his services but rather just for the ride, and we would have to pay his fees additionally. Which was a load of crap. The description of the excursion was clear on the point; plus, the city bus that runs to the waterfall costs 17 dirhams (under $3) and we paid 300 dirhams (about $40). 300 dh is a small fortune in Morocco, but I was willing to pay for someone else to deal with the logistics, transport me in a safer vehicle, give me an informed tour, and eliminate the hassle for me.
We called him on it and he refused to back down and basically said, "If you won't pay me extra, fine, show yourselves around" and pretended to walk off. Samir, the bus driver, wouldn't intervene effectively for us in part due to a language barrier, but I was able to ask him in Arabic to call the office, he did, and when I spoke to the office, they backed us up right away. The tour guide eventually agreed to take us on the tour without extra fees, but it really soured the experience.
Stuff like this happens here, and sometimes it's worth fighting and sometimes it's not. Some people disagree with this philosophy for perfectly valid reasons, but as a visitor, I genuinely don't mind paying a reasonable "tourist tax," a higher price than locals pay for things like a cab ride, a bottle of soda, or a museum ticket. I try to be as sensitive as I can to my privilege here, and in my mind it's perfectly fair to expect me to contribute a little extra to a museum's revenues or to pay something a little more resembling what I'm used to paying for things like a coke or a cab ride. For example, some museums charge one rate for foreign tourists and another for locals. Totally appropriate in my mind, otherwise locals would never have the opportunity to see the museum or the revenue from admission prices wouldn't support the facility properly. And cabs here only cost a pittance to start with. With a meter, you can drive from one end of Marrakesh to the other probably for under $3. I have absolutely no idea how the drivers survive on those fares, especially now that there are so few tourists. If we negotiate a fare in advance that's a little inflated because I'm from another country, that's fine with me. I figure I cost them extra trouble because of the language barrier and I've usually have more questions and baggage to deal with than a local. No problem.
But I do expect the tourist tax to be transparent and reasonable. If you tell me up front what it'll cost, even if it's higher than it would be for a local, I can either agree to it, negotiate it down, or walk away. But trying to extort more money out of me after I've already paid a steep tourist tax for the service and spent three hours in a bus to reach the site is way over the line, and I wouldn't let it go. No matter what the location and the money/power variables are, that kind of behavior shouldn't be rewarded. So I dug in my heels, contacted the office, and insisted that he honor the agreement. The sad part is that I probably would have tipped him as much as he would have dared to ask for as an additional fee. As it was, he didn't receive tips from anybody. I don't mind contributing something fair, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with people maliciously declaring open season on my wallet.
Anyway, the waterfalls themselves were spectacular, and the walk around them was so peaceful and therapeutic after the chaos of Marrakesh. Unfortunately, I can't post pictures until I can download photos from my SLR camera--I hadn't had the opportunity to charge my cellphone the previous night (six people in the room, one electrical outlet--which is not unusual). We hiked from the top to the bottom by way of a Berber village. The only sounds were our own footsteps, the waterfall, a donkey pulling a creaky cart in the distance, and the wind rushing through the tree leaves. Awesome. Despite all the trouble with the guide, I really did love my visit.
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I'm curious: what do others feel about paying tourist taxes in less developed countries? I've heard some people say that they disturb the local economy and that they make it harder for local people to get the services they need at affordable prices. That makes sense to me too, so I'm a bit torn on the subject. Any thoughts?
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