There's a parrot in that tree

Good morning Spain!
After a noisy night on Lidl car park ..... free camping car stop over for Moroccan travellers .... we were through the doors like a dose of salts when the shop opened at nine. So much needed to be restocked, not least,  alcohol and pork! We tried to please Allah!
Suitably replenished, but still unsure of our route, we set off along the A7.

 This road, which hugs the coast and sometimes appears to hang on to the cliff sides, has presented us with spectacular views of the azure sea and the snow capped Sierra Nevada mountains.
Of course,  being the Costa del Sol, there have also been huge swathes of urbanisation which sprawl and ooze along the coastal lowlands, filter into narrow valleys and crown hill tops. Not for us.
We had wondered about batting through to France but have decided to see how we get on, following our noses along the Mediterranean.We have stopped early this afternoon, a touch of the Moroccan blues, but we are at a delightful campsite, in a village with barely a hint of tourism to be seen, called Castillios de Banos.
As usual, we are as close to the edge of the water as possible, the table and chairs are out under the awning and beers have been supped. The general opinion is, that if we can find little places like this en route, then we are happy to get to know Spain a little better.
There are pelargoniums and geraniums, hibiscus and bougainville, palms, rubber plants and pines planted throughout the long, narrow site. Then to cap the day, a parrot with green feathers and a scarlet beak is chattering away in the branches of our tall shade tree!!
Life is good.

He has just flown off the highest branch that looks like a cockerel.... truly!

Helpers and Hinderers..... or....Our last day in Morocco

This could be our last regular blog because once we leave Tanger Med, the wonderful benefits of the Maroc Telecom 3G Sim Card will expire and Internet access in Spain and France is ridiculously expensive. We will use MacDonalds when we can so, don't give up on us just yet.
There was an amazing sunset at Assilah last night, that made you tingle with the grandeur of the spectacle.

Because of the position of the campsites, we have rarely been able to see the departing sun, as it often sank below the horizon whilst we were parked behind a promontory.
On the road today, being Sunday, there has been a very visible police presence. A grey uniform popped out from between a couple of oleander bushes, holding a speed camera, but we weren't going to be done twice! So no joy for him.
On the other hand, we were unsure of which road we should have been on for the port, so we stopped to ask a policeman, who ultimately flagged all the traffic to a halt at a busy roundabout, to enable us to reverse, then he pointed us in the right direction and  waved us on our way. The Moroccans have a very unconventional way of doing things!
Delfin had competition from a runaway cow on the motorway. It's owner was at least thirty metres behind, panting his way along the outside lane. We tried to head it off but a huge lorry came into view visible through the wing mirror, so not wishing to witness a corned beef massacre, we drove off.
 However we can report, that the lorry driver attempted successfully, the manoeuvre which we failed to accomplish. A happy farmer and a laughing cow. They sell that cheese everywhere over here.


Now at the port, but due to Moroccan bureaucracy, we have been turned away by the ticket office, sent packing by the customs and don't even want to be seen by the police ..... until three o'clock, when all the chasing about from booth to booth will begin all over again!!

Note the gritted " Got to go back again!"

One final unhelpful incident, as we were ordered to reverse ,yet again, involved a cleaning lady who parked her bucket of water in the middle of the our exit, whilst she nipped into a police booth to mop the floor.
We are truly sorry to be leaving Morocco and are delighted that we have been able to share our travels with you. One last view of an almost deserted beach and a big blue sky!!
The European mainland is clearly visible, but not beckoning, across the Gibralter Straits ,and what was a culture shock when we first came to Morocco will shortly be emphasised still further as we return to a western lifestyle.

 

 

Worth Googling or what ? !

 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.

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.

 

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.

 

Maroc ... Al maghrib baladun jamee.

Public Apology

It is with much bowing, scraping and tugging of forelocks, that we humbly apologise to Mr. and Mrs. Longmire for suggesting that they are "OLD".
Perhaps mature or young at heart or even retirees would have been more appropriate.
However, there was no intention to associate them with ancient relics, vintage cars or to suggest that they are decrepit in any way.They are just all - round good eggs!

Now a fossil .....that's old !

Nothing much to say.

The camera has only been out once today, so here are our offerings.

Across the lagoon, a ferry, which looks not unlike a small rowing boat, ploughs back and forth carrying the residents of a small village which lies the other side of the sand-dune. Each day we try to count how many can be transported at any given time. Well today we counted twenty one although this pic has a mere sixteen.. Health and safety issues would be a nightmare to resolve over here. Everywhere there have been sights to make your heart miss a beat. Whether it be cooking, building,  painting or driving, there seems  to be little thought for safety. To be fair, crash helmets are worn by those on scooters and seatbelt road signs are in evidence along the highways,  if putting it into practice does not necessarily occur.This rudimentary attempt at providing an  electricity supply is quite shocking. No pun intended. Now look at this chap dangling thirty feet in the air to paint the underside of a balcony without a safety harness, hard hat or a mate to catch him!

A quiet day on the shores of the lagoon.  The gentle breeze rustled the palm leaves and the loudest sound was the cat. Oh is she in trouble. We wandered off for a neighbourly natter and the cat version of a teenage pregnancy took her mate into the van!! After much shooing and arm waving, they were last seen scampering through the eucalyptus leaves with very satisfied smirks around their whiskers!!
This family work on the campsite. They clean the showers and loos, empty the litter baskets, scythe the grass and prune the trees and they live in an old canvas tent. But they always have a warm smile and "Bonjour" for us all. There should have been a horse attached to the cart but my poor photography chopped its head off .... shades of The Godfather!

A couple of Tarts on the their way back from a hot shower were asked if they brightened up the street corners of Stoke in their  garish attire - cheek! And here we have two old hippies, our "stalkers", Tom and Lynne, from Somerset. They built their own motorhome on a Mercedes chassis and are so impressed with Morocco that they might return for the winter.  So there you have today's somewhat limited news. Ma'a salama

We are being Moroccan !

" We are being Moroccan ", comes the cry, when we find ourselves walking in the middle of the road, causing traffic to slow down, swerve, hoot or for the drivers to be creative with their hand gestures.It seems to be occurring more frequently, the longer we absorb ourselves in this marvellous culture.
As arranged, Hassan arrived with his small boat, along with two Americans, two Swiss and double the price, but we did have double the time on the water!!

We chugged up and down the many channels and inlets; saw giant pink flamingoes, different varieties of terns and plovers, curlews, egrets, kestrels, slender billed gulls ( rare and ringed): there were men collecting clams to eat and lug worms for bait.: fish flew alongside the boat as crabs below the surface tried to nibble them.

We were taken right to the breach in the reef and faced the Atlantic breakers. The fishermen lost one of their own and two boats in a storm this past winter.

However there was considerable excitement, as several vessels raced each other through this gap to bring  their catch ashore.
It was off-loaded and gutted there on the beach as the local population and restaurant owners vied for the best price.
Later this afternoon after some time in the sun, unsurprisingly after our morning venture, we went in search of a fish dinner.

A rustic and very Moroccan restaurant was our choice and there we indulged ourselves on a loaf of flat bread, a plate of finely chopped salad, a plate of fries and four fish and that was a meal for one!! So glad we did the pensioner thing of having a meal between us.

BEFOREAFTER        Mmmmm!!

 Evening now, the sheep have visited, "Squeak Box", the pregnant cat, has dropped by for milk, the French are playing a noisy game of boules and Tom and Lynne, who have stalked us since Essaouira, have just arrived in Daffy, their yellow panel van conversion.
So it's goodnight from us and goodnight from them.

What's going on in Moulay Bousselham today?

 We climbed the" incline" as it is described in our campsite book. It was in fact several hundred concrete steps with a drop either side, which did nothing for my dislike of heights yet my pal, the mountain goat, positively pranced her way up. Wait for the next pic!

Not the smiling face of an athletic mountain goat......the girl is gasping !

I digress. We watched the boats returning from their night of crab and lobster fishing. They raced down the deep water channel to bring their nets ashore. They don't use pots. Then everyone assembles on the small beach at the port and a spontaneous fish auction begins.

This is a jolly French guy, who is parked not far from us and he had bought himself a crab for tea. It was a whopper!!

We continued our walk along the main street, past the shops and into the souk, which today was full of fruit, vegetables and second hand shoes.

 Then we went down to the beach ( more concrete" inclines"), where there was more fishing activity.
Apart from using a rod and line from the shore,

 men also go scuba diving, hunting for octopus, with spear guns.
At the end of the day, someone has to repair the nets which is where we met these young men.

Now to get off the beach and search for a café.

We kid you not!!

Somewhere far below you might be able to spot a row of motorhomes along the edge of the lagoon. Tomorrow we are off on a boat trip in search of birdlife. We negotiated a fair price with Hassan, for the trip and possibly a lobster lunch on our return at a small restaurant on the beach.  

There have been sellers of raspberries, sea urchins and squid at the front door this afternoon and French folk playing boules on the road behind Delfin.

We are the wrong side of the headland to see the sun setting over the sea but there is a hint of pink in the sky, as this evening brings to an end, another day of  our Moroccan adventure.

Tosbe ho 

Moulay Bousselham ... been looking forward to coming here.

Another easy drive on the A1 we thought, until we somehow ended up in the middle of Rabat. We are getting better at managing the manic drivers although this silly chap mounted the pavement to turn right ahead of me.

. Prior to that, a policeman allowed a man to do a U turn at a set of traffic lights on a  busy dual carriageway and a small van almost became the filling in a bus sandwich. Several times we almost lost a layer of paint, but we continue to survive these accidental excursions into cities.

Largest mosque we have seen

 The route today took us across an intensively farmed lowland. We saw sugar cane, bananas growing under plastic, sunflowers and eucalyptus being harvested for its oil. Sorry to sound like a retired Geography teacher but we are eager for you to feel a part of our journey, so we are your eyes.

Bananas growing and eucalyptus forests

Soon our destination for today came into view, Moulay Bousselham. It is a huge lagoon, which is part of the Merdja Zerga Nature Reserve where pink flamingos, herons and gannets over- winter.

The sand bar is highly dangerous, as the waves come crashing in over the reefs and onto the beach but it also creates calmer waters in the lagoon . Tomorrow we plan to go on a tourist boat trip from the small harbour and see the full extent of this delightful sanctuary. We are parked two metres from the water's edge and can hear the water lapping against the low, sea wall. It would appear that we have visitors of the mutton kind. This flock have wandered across the site from a rough pasture beneath the olive trees and seem to have taken a fancy to Sue's washing up bowl. Time for dinner and it's lamb! We didn't let on to the woollies that one of their brethren was in the oven!!