The morning dawned with thick fog, which gave us a laugh before we got out of bed, because those Hippies next door were off to do some bird watching! However it wasn't long before the sun burned it all away, so they took to the water and we took to the motorway.
A short run along the coast has brought us to Assilah, a small resort town , which, over the centuries has been invaded by several Mediterranean nations, so its architecture reflects this. There are Portuguese influences as well as those from Andalucía.
There is a network of narrow streets, mostly residential, within high walls and ramparts, which hold back the powerful Atlantic breakers. The town has attracted artists who have left their colourful marks on many of the Medina walls. At the Relationship Tree you are encouraged to leave your mark so Sue is not doing graffiti.It is legal.
We met a group of friendly French youngsters who took a shine to us and Moroccans who called us "Gazelles". As senior citizens, we took that as a compliment!
There are a few tourist shops selling clothing, leather, carpets and jewellery but the sales pressure has been minimal compared with other towns we have visited.
In fact the most hassle that we have had today has been around the place where we are parked. There have been visits from coral sellers, raffia mat makers, fancy cake fellas and camel boys. The camels are parked about twenty five feet from the door and with the present wind direction, I shall be really pleased when they go home for the night.
So what's worth Googling? Well, we have watched a camel herder go to each camel, smack its rump, hold a plastic bottle to its rear end to collect the urine, which was then sold to a chap who arrived in a car!!
What was that all about?
The evening has been spent, once again wandering the souks and we have bought our own jellaba and kaftans, genuine coral necklaces ( which could even be genuine plastic) and basically been tourists rather than travellers for a couple of hours.
Tomorrow we head for the port and take an evening crossing to Algeciras. It hardly seems possible that a month in Morocco has disappeared so rapidly and we still have so much more to see.
Methinks a return visit will not be long in the doing.
There is a network of narrow streets, mostly residential, within high walls and ramparts, which hold back the powerful Atlantic breakers. The town has attracted artists who have left their colourful marks on many of the Medina walls. At the Relationship Tree you are encouraged to leave your mark so Sue is not doing graffiti.It is legal.
In fact the most hassle that we have had today has been around the place where we are parked. There have been visits from coral sellers, raffia mat makers, fancy cake fellas and camel boys. The camels are parked about twenty five feet from the door and with the present wind direction, I shall be really pleased when they go home for the night.So what's worth Googling? Well, we have watched a camel herder go to each camel, smack its rump, hold a plastic bottle to its rear end to collect the urine, which was then sold to a chap who arrived in a car!!
What was that all about?
The evening has been spent, once again wandering the souks and we have bought our own jellaba and kaftans, genuine coral necklaces ( which could even be genuine plastic) and basically been tourists rather than travellers for a couple of hours.
Just as this beautiful door was being photographed, a guy with a tray of fish hurried by, so we kept this one in to show you.
Methinks a return visit will not be long in the doing.
Maroc ... Al maghrib baladun jamee.
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