One of the products of the Souss Valley is Argan oil. The Argan tree Argania spinosa is an ancient species that resembles the olive tree. This tree has a very interesting story. The southwest of Morocco is the only place in the world that it grows and it is an integral part of the daily lives of the rural population here. The fruit contains a nut which produces a highly nutritious and valuable oil. Argan oil is reputed to be a wonder oil in the cosmetic industry and it is used also in cooking. It provides an important income for women who, through a co-operative, control production of the oil. The fruits are harvested in spring and to produce one litre of oil takes 30kg of nuts and 15 hours of manual labour - solely done by women. The tree lives for up to 200 to 250 years old and is a distinctive feature of many of the places that we visit.

But this is a digression! We are now heading east - to the head of the Souss Valley in the direction of Taliouine, the home town of saffron. We stop nearby Constanti's 'abocador' site and we find caterpillars - six of them! Maybe our luck has turned. One of our tasks while we are here is to collect caterpillars and rear them while we are travelling. This will give us information on parasitism of the Painted Lady butterfly in Morocco. Parasitism may be an important mortality factor for this butterfly and it has been suggested that the long distance migration has evolved partly to escape the parasites. This theory developed on the observation that there is considerable seasonal variation in the parasitism. When the butterflies arrive in a new area parasitism is always low. This contrasts with the situation some months later when, at the same location, parasitism is very high - about 80% of caterpillars are killed by parasitoid wasps which develop inside the caterpillars, so the butterflies leave to escape the parasitoids as well as to find better conditions. However, little evidence has been gathered for this theory and so we are hoping to add further information. So we collect any caterpillars we find and have a collection of pet caterpillars travelling with us!

When we arrive in Taliouine our breath is taken away. It is a lovely little town nestled in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. It is greener, cleaner, and calmer than Taroudant. We like it straight away. We drive around the town and walk through some of the irrigated fields. Two Painted Lady butterflies fly by. Yes! We are delighted. Interestingly, they are flying determinedly northwards. Hmm... where are they off to? Is this part of their migration? Always questions and so few answers! These are the first adults we have come across in Morocco and it makes our day. After more searching around the town we find many thistles with empty larval nests. The Painted Lady butterflies have been here. Taliouine is a hotspot. But where are they now?

We travel into the mountains surrounding the town and once out of the valley it is a barren landscape. We wonder how anything or anybody would survive in this landscape. The road brings us down into another valley scattered with tiny villages. There are some tents in a dusty, rocky field surrounded by beehives. They are bee-keepers! In our search for butterflies, we have noticed many, many honey bees feeding at the flowers where we had hoped to encounter butterflies. It is obviously an important industry here alongside the Argan oil and, in this particular area, saffron.

Taliouine is the centre for saffron, the most expensive spice in the world (interestingly, argan oil is the most expensive oil in the world). The crocus (Crocus sativus) comes into flower between late October and November. The stamens of this flower are what we call saffron and they are harvested by hand. It is sold by the gram - but we have to have some! So buy some for friends and family. Supposedly, the saffron from this region is some of the best in the world. But the Moroccans are the best sales people in the world! To round off our day we have dinner at Hotel Saffron and eat a delicious meal of vegetable tagine and chicken flavoured with local saffron. Gorgeous. After such a lovely day, the insane road back to Taroudant seems to have improved. Or perhaps our driving has become more Moroccan?!