Taroudant by horse and carriage

Hello folks, don't think that we have met, but I too live in this tin box on wheels and keep an eye on what these senior citizens  are doing on their foreign jaunts. Every time they change their motorhome, I get a new jumper and a new name. I am Smiler.

 Ok , that's the introductions over with. So what have we been doing so far today?Well, we drove the grand distance of 21kms from our beautiful farm site to park up by the city walls at Taroudant. No camping tonight but an elderly" Guardian" will watch over us for the princely sum of £2. No electric hook up but power from the solar panel for lights and water pump and we always have gas available for cooking. By the way, last night's tagine meal was tender and tasty.

The girls negotiated a good price for a horse and carriage and set off to explore the town and see places that they would have missed on foot, as they were so far away. This evening, when it's cooler,they can walk back to the souks, having some knowledge of what to expect.

This huge square with the beautiful fountains, was once a wild garden area, used by the townsfolk in the cool of the evenings, but now the heat even scorches the stones!!. There are 7 kilometres of city walls, both old and new.

Once again we were intrigued by the beauty of the carvings and colours in the doors.

At last, the arrival of the horse and carriage and away we go. Not a bit like Red Rum!!

There are 11 gates in the city walls, all wide enough for traffic to come and go, but the narrow lanes of the souks were barely wide enough for handcarts.

The old walls, which date back to the 17th century, are in need of restoration in many places

This is the Mercedes taxi repair square. No matter what the age of the car, spare parts can be found or made. This avocado green is the colour for Taroudant's antiquated taxi fleet.

The children leave  school at midday and return again in the evening and the King is so keen on education, that any child who has to travel from an area away from the bus route, is given a bicycle.

 Busy streets

 Fresh fruit and vegetables around every corner ,along clothes and spices. Red paprika, yellow turmeric and white ginger. Also dates, figs and apricots.

 

In the middle of an impoverished housing area, we saw this huge mountain of firewood. Despite daytime temperatures of 36*C it can be quite chilly in an evening. Daphne thought these were antiques but our  guide said, trying hard not to laugh, that they were just dusty!!  This is a skilled silversmith and he is making a pendant out of cedar, ebony and silver which will hang on a thin, leather neck band.

And here is the finished article, with the craftsman or artisan logo on the reverse.Better make myself scarce now and return to  my perch. I just wanted  you to know that there is quite an Intrepid Duck on this trip too!

Out in the fields

In the cool of the morning ,we decided to explore some of the cultivated landscape. There were countless rows of trees laden with oranges as far as the eye could see.

The next generation are being carefully tended. It takes almost ten years for an orange tree to become viable we were told.

Sue would like to assure you that she only collected the windfalls. Our marmalade is running out so perhaps she has plans!!

Not the most modern of farming equipment but with a large, seasonal workforce, the harvest is collected.

Despite winter rain, a great deal of irrigation is required and this is one of two reservoirs on the plantation.

Everywhere there are pumps and lengths of piping.

An old plough abandoned where it was last used and straight rows of trees for ease of harvesting

The ladder wasn't long enough to reach the really juicy ones at the top.

 

Finally, not yet boxed, but heading to a supermarket near you for Christmas!

A day on the farm 2

 

Picking up from yesterday. there are a few more views that we would like you to see, such as the  Berber  tent for entertaining, smoking dope and drinking tea. Our pet dog, Kiki stood by the pool and one of the many illuminated pathways. Also some intricate woodwork that we found on an abandoned piece of furniture and an arty shot of Sue's through the palms in the garden.

 

A day on the farm 1

We ended yesterday with "Toot please".
Today we want to share our rustic experience with you.
A tall, smiling young man opened the gates, with a cheery "Welcome" and instantly we were captivated by our surroundings.
Koudya Gardens is an 80 hectare working farm, growing oranges, tangerines and sweet corn for export to Britain and Denmark. The owner is a French man, who decided to turn one small corner of his land into a campsite for motorhomes  and installed all the facilities. So today's pictures are our day on the farm.

Oops, sorry about this, a woman in pantaloons, taking her washing down to the river, walked into my post.We  were directed to reception. Having done the paper work, which is rather like completing an immigration form every time you stop over, we went and chose our spot. So much space for each unit. We could spread out, use carpet, tables and all our chairs, plus shade trees which double up as washing line supports.

  Time to have a nose around this rustic pied d' terre. There are clean loos and showers and a flight of steps from which to view the farm.

Here are some of the acres of tangerine trees and the distant hills, are where the 80 hectares ends.There are gravel pathways that meander through the gardens and tantalising views through stone archways into secret gardens.

A shaded courtyard, where I'm sitting now, is good for the wifi reception. To our delight, we were even allowed to use the family pool. One of us has done total immersion but the other Intrepid has not. Send a stamped and addressed envelope for the answer. At this point, it appears to be wine o' clock so we'll get back to you shortly.

A Grand Day Out In The Mountains

 

Just look at this for a spectacular view through the early morning mist and yes, that's where we are going today.

Leaving Tafraout, we headed into the mountains via the Amelen Valley, in order to spend a little time familiarising ourselves with driving on single track roads. If your experience has been rural Wales or Scotland, then in Morocco it's very different. For a start , the mind set of the on-coming driver is not always courteous and one has to virtually come to a halt in the middle of the road and then gradually let one wheel slip off the tarmac, down a knife edged, vertical drop, onto the grit of the hard shoulder, for want of a better description. So it's a bit like a stand off, seeing who blinks first! No passing places.

In places, there are dotted lines down the middle of strips of tarmac that hug the contours of hills and  elsewhere,  there are hairpin bends that give you a white knuckle ride.
 Beautifully painted villages, cling to the valley sides.The shepherds herd their flocks of sheep and goats.

Tethered donkeys graze wherever they can find a few blades of coarse grass and camels just wander everywhere, ignoring road users, although the guy with this group was most apologetic

There were goats up argon trees .We cheated last year and took a photo from a postcard! Berber nomads were camped in the scrub land as we began our descent,   and hectares of cacti, grown for silk production, clothed the hillsides.



Back on the main road and this amazing piece of overtaking took place not far from our stop for the night.

The rest of our stay can be seen tomorrow as we toot and wait.