North towards Casablanca

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Clunegapyears

25/11/24 – El Jadida

Salt pans and lots of agriculture as we left Oualidia. Incredibly lush. We didn’t see the oyster beds though; we’d have had to do a little boat trip.

Spontaneous stop in the centre of El Jadida. Built by the Portuguese who destroyed it as they left. Lovely walls we could walk atop. Sadly the underground cistern has been closed a while. I think part of the roof fell in. And I suspect will be closed a good while longer. They were only discovered in 1916 when a shop keeper broke through a wall.

The town had a nice feel.

*One of the entrance gates and the side of the cistern*

*Spot the palm tree that isn’t a palm tree! So much for making it blend in!*

Once on the motorway, doing 70 mph, with a full load, our mpg averaged 62! More than twice what Jez would have been!!

I’d read about a campsite just S of Casablanca in Dar Bouazza. It’s basically a market garden with a small camping area. Yoga lessons 3 x a week too. I thought the ground would be too hard, but we were directed to a corner. A bit wedged inbetween existing campers, one of whom didn’t look too thrilled. But the pegs went in easily and we’ve our own private garden off to the side. Facilites are basic, but at least it’s an European loo!

Essouria and Oualidia

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Clunegapyears

19/11/24 – Hear Here

Result. James can hear. Well mostly. We’ve gone from the repeat 3 times every time to one repeat every 3 times! On the dot of 9.00 we telephoned and got an appointment with an audiologist for 11.00. We had tried 2 drs previously so knew we needed a specialist. Unfortunately, he didn’t syringe ears – a mix up of my French and the receptionist’s English. But sent us over the road to an ENT consultant. Different syringing system here. Suction then tweezers followed by a camera to check his ear drums with the pic on a big screen. I got to watch. A bit gross but fascinating.

On to Sidi Kaouki. Recommend Camping le Soleil by a few folk. The owner seemed surprised we had a tent, which we managed to erect largely between showers. And the pegs went in due to the day’s rain. Walk on the beach and gin o’clock.

*Nice individual pitches with a little privacy*

20/11/24 – Sidi Kaouki

A no drive day. Rare. Lazy morning. Walked the beach into town and beyond. Salad lunch. Admin afternoon and back into town for a mixed grilled fish platter. Different vibe in the evening – the centre was full of surf bodies returning hire boards and crap music blaring. Not our scene. OK, so a little jealous of the taut surf bodies!

*Camels, horses and quad bikes tearing up the beach. But it’s big enough for all*

21/11/24 – Eassouria

Like like like. Hadn’t really expected to as we’ve not fallen in love with this Atlantic coast. Guess we’re spoilt with the fabulous Cretan beaches and coves. But Essouria is not just about waves and surfing.

It has history. It was created in the C7 BC by the Phoenicians. A manufacturing centre for purple dye in C1. C15 saw the Portuguese established a trading and military bridgehead. The walled town was built in 1760 by Mohammed III, so Moroccan. Sitting adjacent to the European designed port and fortifications.

*Fabulous fish market. Some stalls cooking sardines and prepping local oysters*

We wandered, bought gifts. Had an ice cream. Balked at totally inflated restaurant prices and then found an inexpensive gem. Liked so much we will stay another night in Sidi Kaouki and drive the 25 mins back in tomorrow.

*The rocks and islands distinguish Essaouria from other Atlantic coast places we’ve seen.*

*We often have the debate* *about whether we prefer a sea or mountain view*. *My conclusion, if I can’t have both is, sea view, but it’s got to have islands, rocks and sea traffic. Luckily we’ve both in Crete.*

22/11/24 – Essaouria Take 2

Who said “let them eat cake?” Dickens or Mr Kipling? We had copious cake for brekkie because K had watched “the British bake-off” the night before – the power of tv! Yummy start to the day

*5 a day??? No, that’s supposed to be veggies!*

Sadly breakfast had been too filling so we didn’t return to the taverna of yesterday. Stop off at Carrefour. K found the pork counter so supper was chicken & lardons salad. First pork since the UK.

23/11/24 – Oualidia

Tent down and on the road in good time – after a few hours we arrived at a very smart apartment in Oualidia. A good walk to the nearby lagoon – a very green area in spite of the water shortage. Stopped for a drink at the local taverna but they didn’t really understand us so we walked on – gin o’clock at the apartment.

*A real sense of tranquility and freshness*

*I guess there is more money using fishing boats to take tourists along the lagoon to the oyster beds, which Oualidia is known for*

24/11/24 – In search of a fish lunch

Up at the crack of dawn – well, 8:30 our dawn… Breakfast and we set off to the lagoon again all along the shore until we came to water – needed to go uphill past a heavily guarded estate – a soldier said it was a royal palace – google said it has been dilapidated for 50 years! One of the palaces that costs $1m per day to keep going?

*The royal palace – such a fabulous location. Such a shame it’s unused and falling into disrepair*

*Part of the 5* hotel here €600 pn – closest we got was to walk across its beach*.

Lunch at restaurant with lots of local people – always a good recommendation. K had the best fish so far in Morocco – I had excellent pizza – starters – fish salad for K and mine was cheese with tomato and pesto sauce. We rolled uphill to our residence – soporiffically…

Casablanca area tomorrow – but avoiding Rick’s Bar – hugely expensive anecdotally – “Play it again Sam…”

Tafrout to Sidi Ifni

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Clunegapyears

14/11/24 – K and Car Maintenance

I have been dyeing K’s hair for about 100 years – slight exaggeration…. But in many countries – now for Morroccodye ! With the Lions Head looking down. After but not because of – I developed Sahara dust cough which leads to some lack of energy.

We drove into town and parked for a car wash – €5. Does K need 2 more pairs of shoes? Yes!

Dinner was in a small restaurant attended by 6 cats! Good food and early bed…

*All stalls have the chaps hand making leather shoes. I couldn’t resist.*

*Decorating my 4th pair of Moroccan shoes*

*Salad, soft drinks and 2x chicken, pea and potato stew €8.50! Joined by 6 cats. Corrie just coped.*

15/11/24 – Surf’s Up

Tent dismantled and on the road to Sidi Infi – surf town – campsite ok – ground hard as the rock of Cashel… local boulders replaced pegs. Lovely sunset…

*Stones in the ground were bending the tent pegs, so we used rocks for the guy ropes*

*Fabulous light quality to the amazing sunset glow*

16/11/24 – Camel Souk

A camel market? Do we need one? Not even a dromedary one hump (Brian) – more food sheep goats markets than camels – Corrie bemused but calm.

*No auctioneer, individual negotiations*

*Cafes around the outside with men squatting drinking tea. Fabulous fresh produce, but so much of it; can’t believe it will all be sold*

A beach walk and wander of Sidi Ifni revealed we had exhausted the local delights. According to our surfer neighbours, surfs not good for a couple of days, so we won’t bother learning! We will move on tomorrow.

17/11/24 – Arch and Agadir

The arch at Sidi Ifni is the most photographed here. We failed to find it. But I think I walked across the top. J declined as sheer drops either side.

A stop at Agadir to buy yet another Decathlon air bed. That’s 2 Vango airbeds we’ve got through. Rubbish. I’ve still got airbeds that we used as children, but in Crete. Also managed to spend €85 on 5 bottles of wine, 6 lager and 1 gin. The gin was the cheapest on offer at €25 / ltr and made in Casablanca. Fortunately Schweppes tonic is available.

Overnight in a lovely apt. Laundry all done. J is completely deaf at the moment. Doctors don’t syringe ears, so we’ve identified a few to call. We have booked the apt for a further night, but our charming host told me it’s a national holiday. Nothing will be open. Independence Day. Parades, I asked? Only in Rabat and then on TV. The audiologist will have to wait a day.

18/11/24 – Cable Car & Beach Resort Tourism

A cable car journey – again! To the Kasbah – Corrie wasn’t sure about the wobbly movement… I tried not to think of Richard Burton fighting on top of a cable car in “Where Eagles Dare” – in snow!

We flew over Dania’s Waterpark – partly under construction – money from? Well, it’s a very touristy city.

*Even camel rides at the restored Kasbah. After €12 pp for the cable car, and having been in plenty of Kasbah, we didn’t pay the extra to go in*

We avoided a beach resort with too much flesh on show – a surprise for Morocco…

Late lunch/early dinner further north – K and fish and I had sort of burgers with fries.

Taroudant to Tafrout

Posted on November 13, 2024 by Clunegapyears

10/11/24 – Breaking a long journey

Ourazazat town is better pronounced as “Owzazat” as in 2 outs in cricket! Or “Owsyerat”. The local Carrefour provided welcome dog food – and unusually – beer!

Leaving “Howsyermate” the clever satnav took us on a major tour of a new road area ready for hundreds of new houses – added a half hour to our journey – “owzourdickysatnav” then?

*Acres of housing development land. Electrics and roads in. But not Barratts mass building. Just the odd 5 storey block randomly here and there. Presumably private purchasers.*

*USA gas station film set along the road*

Saffron area at Taliouine – a stop and purchase. A marquee up for the end of the saffron festival. Didn’t get to go in as outzazate for lunch.

*Taliouine* *had a huge market, bustling*

*Some lovely girls directed us to the ice cream seller in the fun fair*

*Our nights stop was an Airbnb of poor quality – the wc had to be ridden sidesaddle – Thomas Crapper would have been amused!*

*And no day complete without a scenery shot. Lots of long flat dessert today*

11/11/24 – Another Driving Day

Taroudant breakfast in a side street – yoghurt and cake in a quirky small cafe….lots of markets and too crowded.

*The Souks have speciality sections, Brian dubbed this chippie street*

*My twin tub in Jez’s garage is 9 years old, missing a lid and didn’t come with sparkly knobs. Time for an upgrade?*

*Taroudant has the best preserved medina walls in Morocco. You could walk round all 7k; we didn’t!*

*Scenery definitely upping a gear as we approach the Ante Atlas*

Drive to Taftout. Tent up in record time – it gets quicker – we viewed 2 campsites and settled on “le tete de lion” – the Lion’s Head – an indistinct shape in nearby rock. German noisy shenanigans at 2:00 am – K spoke to them at the time. K: I was impressed that I remembered a) to be polite and b) the word for quiet in German.

*The only good thing about the rubbish apartment of last night was the washing machine. Tent up and washing out. Nice pitch with own shady patio*

*The granite glows pink in the evening and you may just make out the lion’s head*

12/12/24 – Rocks and an Oasis

“Chapeau Napoleon” – a massive rock formation that looks like nobody’s hat – and the man never got to Morocco!

However, a drive to “Blue Rocks” was much more impressive – a Belgian artist, Jean Vermame, wanted a worthy memorial to his late wife – in 1984 he painted a vast area of large rocks – blue , pink and a little yellow – bizarre but striking.

*He had help from the local fire brigade to apply* *the 18 tons of paint. Some has been repainted since*

Drive to an oasis via some narrow mountain roads with steep drops and some subsidence – stop for soft drinks and return on the same tracks.

*A harsh barren mountain landscape. No vegetation nor livestock, but the odd hamlet*

13/11/24 – Museums and Motor Repair

We drove a short way out of town to a Berber house museum. This was most informative – the guide had lived there as a child. Three families still live there in the summer but mostly live away to earn a living – due to climate change almost nothing grows in a previously rich land – massive water shortage. In September there was heavy flooding in many areas. Here they had just 10 mins of rain. The first rain this year! Water is piped down from the mountains / oasis we saw yesterday. As a lad, our host explained that water was plentiful for daily washing, crop irrigation etc. A government minister wanted to make the area into a joint protectorate but some of the families fought and the project died. No funding available.

The next museum was the Memorial to the Resistance- 104 exist in Morocco – we visited one – very knowledgeable guide – independence from France happened in 1956 but squabbles continued with Spain. The world’s largest peace march happened in 1975 to free Western Sahara – sponsored by King Hassan II – partly successful but followed by guerilla fighting.

*Dull displays but guide good*. *Shame not more visual for the school trips*

Lunch in Restaurant Nadia nearby was excellent.

I check our not so ancient Mercedes vital signs weekly and the engine oil level needed to be topped up. K met a chap who came to the campsite looking for business – a car and motorhome mechanic. We followed him to his patch – he topped up the oil and sorted our slightly loose foot parking brake – €30 – a good result at the end of an excellent day!

*A bit more dessert off roading to get to the garage. Lots of vehicles being worked on: a motorhome having a full re-spray for €1500*

*Took Corrie a while to clock the visitor*

*Seen lots of these Barbary squirrels scurrying across the mountain and dessert roads*

Scenery, Sandals and Salt

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Clunegapyears

08/10/24: Sandals and Doctor

Stunning drive. Pix no way do it justice. Rather than do the same route back north, we added 2.5 hrs to the trip to visit. Knob, oops N’kob.

*Dust to dust. So many Kasbahs, unless supported by UNESCO, will not be around for future tourists.*

*We had checked the route with our host in Zagora. He’d said check locally in N’kob, where a chap keen to practice his English told us it was fine*

N’kob felt like a rural hill town. I spotted the shoe shop I’d read about in a guide book. Leather and rope with tyre soles. €32 for 2 pairs. Justified as my waking sandals have broken.

Also popped into see the doctor. Thought I’d sinusitis post a cold. No, an allergic reaction to dust causing inflammation of chest, throat and sinuses. J and I had both had this mildly at home in Crete when the Sahara dust blows over. 3 lots of meds and dr – €29. In

Back tonight up at UNESCO Ait Haddou for 2 nights. Wanted to see it without all the Marrakesh day trippers. Lovely hotel … towels were swans on the bed! Dinner ordered and it was good.

09/10/24: More Scenery and Salt

*We didn’t beat the hoards of tourists by walking through the palm oasis to the UNESCO town from our hotel. So we admired from afar with a coffee*

We seem to be doing a lot of drives to see scenery. I know walking in it would be much better. But there are great distances. Lack of paths. It’s hot. We’re lazy and I’m milking the poorly bit.

Another ruined kasbah, Tamdoukte. Also owned by an elite family who chose to side with the French. Oops, come independence, a picture was circulated of him grovelling to the reinstated king. When Glouini died, all his massive wealth was seized by the State.

*Sadly, the only inhabitants were 8 pups and their mother. Sorry Corrie, but your dwindling food stocks were needed elsewhere.*

*If trucks can do this pass, we certainly can in a car!*

*New electricity poles all the way up the valley*

*Mud houses top and bottom. Troglodyte, unused, houses in the middle. A chap on a motorbike passed us just before we got to this bend in the road. Panorama, he had shouted. For sure*

The Mathias Salt mines made the day. A cave where salt is still mined. €2 pp visit. Thank goodness for my French. Lakes which are drained. Salt stalactites. Blasting a couple of times a month. 3 grades of salt. Rock salt in orange sacks goes to snow areas, including Canada. Rock is broken up to release salt for industry. And the lumps are culinary quality. I came away with a large bag for €2.
Hardly mentioned in guide books and only a tiny road sign.