Back to say " Goodbye "

 

Our dear Dutch friends, with whom we travelled through Spain to Algeciras and then crossed together into Morocco, are leaving in the morning to head slowly back home to Harlem.
Although we have not spent the holiday together, we have met up on a couple of occasions. They sent an email to say that they were at Moulay Busselhem ,which is where our trip began at the end of April. We made a detour from our route so that we could meet up and say goodbye. Hello or goodbye always involves plenty of wine, when we are with Tom and Mariejan ,
Todays pics are of the journey from Ouezzane to the coast and our campsite by the lagoon.

How about this for a civilised start to the day? Sue has nipped off for the bread and left me in charge of the eggs.

Our site at Ouezzane was a motel, complete with swimming pool and flags to welcome us. Note, no Union Jack! We did let them know!!This is the main gateway in to the townThere have been very few places where road sweeping, done by men in uniform, have been visible this trip.We have however seen lots of thisand this, and every now and then, there are  huge craters where the burning of just about everything imaginable  takes  place.Moving swiftly on, there were much pleasanter and more interesting things to show you.

Chatting on a street corner, but the water melon is so heavy, one has to park it on the pavement. Can you see the kiosk decorated with flamingos and one of the millions of mopeds which have made city driving a nightmare.

These ladies are entering the weekly souk in search of fresh produce brought from the surrounding farms. A Moroccan version of our Farmers MarketsSunflowers and olives are the main crops of this region, and the oils are a major export.The mimosas are in full bloom, adding another shade of yellow to the fields and verges. .

Every now and then, we had to give way and ride the gravel on the hard shoulder.and sometimes, the donkeys gave way for us!!We passed hilltop cemeteries and the local substitute for a bus terminusHere, salt was being produced in shallow brine tanks and this chap decided that the only way to get his irrigation pipe home, was to drag it behind his car. Simple solutions. It's the Moroccan way.

Colours, Customs And Characters On The Road To Ouezzane

As we drove along today, we were discussing what we would remember most about Morocco and the same three words cropped up, colours in the landscape, customs which we have been privileged to see and all the smiling characters with their " Morocco welcomes you" greeting. So here is a photo album, taken from today's journey, to show you what we mean.
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Disneyland Camping

Out of choice, this would not be our type of campsite,

but we were so intrigued by the exterior, that we had a stopover. It is only a kilometre and a half down the road from our rustic cherry orchard.
Behind the gaudy exterior lies a beautiful parking location for camping-- cars. Despite being halfway up a hillside,
 wide terraces have been created and clean, modern facilities installed. Hot showers today!!
It is all the creation of an Emirates Sheik with a great deal of money to invest and who also thought that he could do some good here in Morocco. A bit of a philanthropist.
The Disneyland building with pointed roofs is a conference centre. and the crenelated area is a vast complex of rooms and dormitories used as a holiday retreat for Morocco's abandoned children.
At the moment it is being refurbished and a couple of the workmen let us wander through it all..
Back to the site. There are roses blooming in well watered flower beds and the air is full of their perfume. The manager has just delivered a loaf of bread to the door. Free. Good job one of us was up! We have three tame rabbits sat with us whilst we breakfast. This is the one from Alice in Wonderland. and the cacophony of noise from the braying of donkeys is deafening at times. They have a variety of tones  and capacities to hold a note. We wondered if it was donkey mating season. To make it worse, their racket  continues most of the night! So with them, the dogs, cockerels, beak bashing storks, a romantic peacock and the call to prayer, it's not so peaceful in these 'ere hills.
A final glimpse of this architectural blot on the landscape, lets you see the enormity of the project!!

We know what we like, sat here amongst, walnut, avocado  and cherry trees, with the spicy smell of tagines, from the restaurant, wafting to us on the breeze. Better get the wine chilled