2011/7 Marrakesh & Atlantic Coast

Well Marrakesh was an active two days. Managed to find another of these parking spots where camper vans can stay overnight, behind the Koutoubia Mosque, only 5 minutes from the main square (where everything happens) and a very quiet spot, watched over by three storks nests.                      The main square Djema el Fna was all action  especially as the first night was a Friday (always crowded with locals just strolling) but also because of THE big football match on Saturday night against the neighbours Algeria. In addition to the square filled with stalls selling ‘stuff’, there are snake charmers, cages of chameleon, ‘henna’ tattooists, monkeys, fortune tellers, fruit stalls and evening eateries, there were the young making football whoopee with flags, hooters, horns.  On Saturday they drove around the streets sitting on top of cars, piled into vans, standing on mopeds all with a maximum of noise, but good for the local religion – no alcohol, (David bought a T shirt and Maroc won 4-0). The bombed out restaurant still, ‘as is’ in the square, but all very pleasant if you like crowds – and we do.   We ate out at the stalls both nights but didn't quite get round to the sheep’s heads (half a head only 4 euro) or the brains, but a tasty meat stew.

The ‘souks’ were a bit of a disappointment after Fes etc as they were more bazaars for the multitude of tourists, although we did get talked into a ‘kilim’ to be sent home.  All these tourists are something new, often dressed to  reveal what we have come to see as ‘shocking’ – shoulders and knees! I guess that you can now fly Europe to Marrakesh on cheap flights (60 pounds return!) has a lot to do with it, especially at weekends.

We did visit the museum,Ben Youssef Medersa  and the Bahia Palace, all with some   fine mosaic, plasterwork and wooden ceilings etc but with first Grenada and Seville and now Morocco we are becoming somewhat hardened to such beautiful and detailed craftsmanship - shame. The courtyards are also so wonderfully tranquil spaces. The surprise and something different was the Majorelle gardens, a lovely architect designed garden of bamboo, trees, cacti, pools etc owned and maintained by Yves Saint Laurent.Very relaxing.

Moving on, we headed west for the Atlantic coast to a remote place called Sidi Kaouki. This little place off the beaten track is a haven for kite-boarders and of course plenty of wind. Lots of beach, a camp site where bread is delivered on a donkey at 9am, other sellers call with fish and cakes etc. Anyway our first swim in the Atlantic and experience of big beaches, horse and camel rides an option (no too old). Surprisingly the weather still relatively cool, (only 25 degrees!) and the water freezing.

Next up the coast Essaouira,  a fishing town where we parked overnight next to the very fishy port and line of fish restaurant stalls – plenty of aromatic ambiance. Very active port and we ate out at the stalls after intensive bargaining with with price and the number and quality of the fish - a moving target before your very eyes.

  North  again to Oualidia (David’s pick of the coast). Parked next to the beach, a lagoon or a surf beach to swim in, a beach kept immaculate by a team of cleaners etc (the King has an interest in reconditioning a palace of his grandfather here and needs to keep locals happy). A small beach based fishing fleet, lots of fish hawkers with fish in boxes behind their moped, fresh lobster grilled on charcoal behind the van for us, sole and sardines etc on the beach (all this takes a lot of bargaining) – but very tasty whatever the price paid (did we or did we not get a bargain?). Sundown drinks with a Moroccan who we met because he wore a NZ rugby hat – only a vague idea where NZ was, we often have to admit to being Australian because it just too hard to describe where little old Aotearoa is.

This West coast is a much more sophisticated domain than the interior even though we avoided the main modern towns of Casablanca and Rabat on our drive north.  We only motorwayed our way, passing lots of intensive agriculture but also some shanty town developments – not pretty. Lots of new coastal developments, most only half finished, golf courses etc.

  Two days at Moulay Bousselham, a very interesting place with a little fishing harbour,an ocean beach and a large lagoon famous for it’s bird life. A boat trip with local expert saw pink flamingos (great sight as they fly past in formation and land) as well as many other birds. A camp site park right on the waters edge and a good place to swim. Again as it was a Sunday lots of local colour, stalls, music, etc etc.

Last Moroccan night parked next to the Portuguese city walls, beside the fish market at the pleasant, relaxed and clean town of Asilah. A beach for a last swim, a meal out, and a promenade round with all the locals past stalls selling all sorts of treats, and a lively fish market still going at past 10pm.  We are going to miss this evening action.

 

Very few camper vans at this time of year. most come mainly from France ( a few from the UK) in the winter to park beside the sea farther south.

Our month in Morroco has been very enjoyable and relaxed except for the haggling  that has to accompany every purchase,but you get used to it. Almost everybody speaks good French (as well as Arabic & Berber) with many adding also English and some areas also  Spanish – they are talented linguists. Security is no concern, less so than in Spain, with guardians for almost every parking spot in town who guide you in and out for a half or one euro (so much better than a dumb parking meter). David’s daily bread is available always as a round flat loaf, sometimes a baguette at a cost of about 30 cents NZ. Alcohol is a strange subject, available at supermarkets and some liquor shops but most people are reluctant to be seen buying (it is always packaged in black opaque bags) and in all the places we visited we have only once had a glass of wine, it is not seen at cafes or restaurants. We have bought Moroccan beer (David’s lunch) and enjoyed their wine(our evening meal).

 

In all Morroco seems well set on a steady development. The communications network is impressive, electricity and water distribution are widespread. The king Mohammed VI passed a law in 2004 giving many rights to women and this July there will be a referendum on a new constitution with a more democratic sharing of power by the King. We of course have only seen the tourist spots, avoiding the big and more modern towns, plus the deep southern Western Sahara (advised not to visit by NZ Foreign Affairs) and anyway an area with few inhabitants and lots of desert.  Morocco is an incredible mix of the old and new. Our first 3 weeks travelling in the inland mountains and desert showed us much of the old. We had no idea of the amount of development and European influence as we moved up the coast towards Tanger, itself a modern bustling city. We are a bit reluctant to leave Morocco. It has been an easy, interesting and relaxing month of travel, but we are looking forward to exploring Portugal.

 

2011/6 The Road to Marrakesh

After 2 nights in our little oasis at Meski we left in a state of exhaustion. The  campground had several souvenir shops and we spent a lot of time drinking tea and haggling over things we didn’t really want, plus Moroccan visitors to the Springs at the weekend . Actually it wasn’t that bad – we met Moroccans, French long-term tourists and a French expat couple running a restaurant isolated in the little village – strange choice. All very interesting. Also got a close-up look at a village and a tour of the local kasr (Old fortified village).

Moving into serious desert stuff now as we move south, rocky barren hills interspersed with densely populated and lush oases. The odd sand dune appearing, dust clouds and sand creeping across the road. The women becoming more and more shrouded, making us conscious of any bare skin showing. Joanna has tried to be sensitive to the local conventions, wearing long and loose clothing, especially in the small out of the way villages. Felt quite righteous until standing in front of a shop window realised that the skirt is quite see-through in the light and the local men have been getting an eyeful for days. David is in long trousers  - no shorts to be seen here except on the occasional tourist.

Made our way across the desert to Merzouga and the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. Set up camp right on the edge of the dunes. Had been debating whether to do the ubiquitous camel ride across the dunes and night in a tent – Joanna not keen to sleep in the tent with scratchy blankets etc, David keen but a bit doubtful about hours on a camel with his dodgy hip/knee. Had it taken out of our hands when we were told we were too old for the camel trip - David devastated – here we were in the region where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed in 1964 – he had visions of fighting battles in the dunes (his father served in Palestine 1917) – and now all thwarted – too old. We were told we would be much better off with a 4WD. And so we were, had a great tour, traditional meal back at the camp and our own bed. Perfect. Woke up at dawn, poked our heads out the window to watch the sun come up on the dunes and straight back to sleep for a couple of hours. What’s more we even had a ride on a camel and got the photo!

Headed back to the Atlas mountains, resisting the fossil shops that line the road. Morocco is a great place for fossils but we are not much into them, but some people must be to keep all those shops in business. Marvelled at all the camels grazing in the  desert. What do they eat? What are they used for since the Algerian border was closed to cross Sahara traffic in 1994.  One of our great frustrations is stopping for a picnic. You think you are in the middle of nowhere but within a few minutes there are children or someone selling something you definitely don’t want, but you can’t convince them of that.

Lots of mud dwellings, we have seen them all, some grand as Kasbah’s (fortified mansion) some very basic, some new, some old and in ruins, and the mix often side by side.It does not take long for a non-maintained mud dwelling, whether a fortress or a hut, to fall to bits.  Past a few Berber tents with the women drawing water from the wells with very basic rope and winch. From a rocky plateau with nothing much to the horizon the road descents into a valley green as green with palms and little cultivated plots.

 

 

We drove up a couple of impressive rock gorges, first the Todra Gorge with towering rock faces enclosing a narrow road and stream. We were there on a Sunday when the place was alive with Moroccan tourists, families, school parties but a majority were the modern youth out to impress the opposite sex – a sign of the changing times in the country. The second the Dades Gorges – not so dramatic but a panorama of different rock formations and colours.

The weather has been somewhat of a surprise, much more cloud and some rain, even some dramatic thunder storms – all this not the norm for this time of the year. However the good news is that consequently it has not been so hot (just as well since Stan does not have aircon). Gets up to 35 during the day, but cooler nights making sleep easy.

On south with a night in a desert campsite at Skoura. Somewhat surreal with date palms, desert and snow-capped peaks in the background. Arrived at the crossroad of Ouazazate – decision whether to head east to the desert again at Zagora or west to Marrakech and the sea. Decided we had had enough of the desert and headed west. 

Met some English people in the campsite under the great kasbah of Ait Benhaddou. (Only the 2nd lot of Brits we have met in Morocco). Enjoyed a Pimms together  – they ignored the alcohol import restrictions – and compared notes. They assured us we could go on the road from Ait to Telouet, in the guide books as a 4 wheel drive track only, but anyway Stan made it no problem and it was fantastic. The scenery out of this world with a ribbon of green date palms and patchwork wheat fields, winding its way through parched, mountainous landscape and crumbling kasbahs. Round every corner was another photo. There are always people - even in the most remote spots, there is someone tending goats or a small wheat patch. Joanna can’t help feeling sorry for the wife with a load of hay on her back. Stopped at a village shop and bravely bought some chicken. It was cool and looked fresh. ( Had it last night and was delicious). 

The few rooms to survive  in the Telouet kasbah were fantastic but all deteriorating fast. The road was tortuous and combining that with the precipitous Tizi N’tichka pass, we were exhausted by the time we reached the outskirts of Marrakech.

Collapsed into a luxurious campsite and haven’t moved. Time for a break, with green grass, roses, olive and apricot trees and fresh baguettes and croissants delivered to the door in the morning. Unfortunately the 40 metre swimming pool is closed for repairs. Will face the big city tomorrow, over and out.