L’Ocean Bleu campsite in Mohammedia presented a nice opportunity for me to run along the beach and for us to take out items left in the van by previous owners and assess their worthiness. We pulled out the awning for the first time and it’s a pretty sweet little setup that quickly pops out and provides instant shade. Hannah, the daughter of the camp sight owners, was very sweet and helped us arrange a train and day trip to Casablanca. We would not venture off too much in the city as our main goal was visiting the Mosque for a tour. Unbeknownst to us, there are at present 5 mosques available to view as a non-Muslim in the world. The one we visited in Casablanca was quite impressive in it’s size and detail inside and out. After spending some days in Mohammedia, we would go inland again towards a big lake called Barrge Bin Alouidane, just northwest of the city Azilal. The lake like all of Morocco was much more dry than usual. This afforded us the ability to camp on an island for a few nights that is not normally navigable by car. We had sunshine and were greeted by a number of welcoming locals, encouraging us to stay and assuring us there was nothing to worry about while camping there. A man named Mohammed who spoke English well and who was on holiday visiting his mother, invited us to visit him in the city of Demnate, where we would be heading after his holiday visit near the lake. We were greeted by goats, sheep and their shepards every day as they made their rounds on the island looking for fresh foliage or garbage to grub on. Though the water was low, it was still seemingly clean enough to swim in, and I would indulge briefly one day after a run. I met a local teenager there who desired to study in the U.S. for college and we talked about some options as he let me borrow his fishing rod while we spoke. On the last morning out, we were greeted by two boys who spoke no English and were full of energy rattling off French, Berber and Arabic trying to communicate with us. They took a quick interest in Ratha and would request more photos just with her, wanting to exclude me from the picture. They chased us a half mile off the island before we hit the main road, large foldable armchairs we had given to them in hand.
Mohammed had told us there was a climbing spot a few hours south of where we were called Cathedrale and we would decide to head there for a few days. Our spot that evening was amazing. We were right on the river with a huge rock structure in the background all alone in the woods. A large fire was in store and there was plenty of dry wood to be found. The tomahawk saw its first action since it first fell from its holster and landed blade edge onto a rock on the ground a month earlier. We would find out the next day after asking in town and looping around the huge rock, that there was in fact no climbing routes nor climbing shop nearby. Must have been lost in translation as to what exactly climbing would entail when receiving instruction from Mohammed. We found some caves and had quite an awesome vantage point of the surrounding areas and distant mountains. We would sleep along side the road at the end of a ridge that lead to the rock. The next morning we were greeted by a little boy named Yassine who we spent a little time with, ate some Nutella, drew a picture and put a beanie on before we would walk on the top to survey the rock from the summit. We had decided to spend another night down by the river and split off from our German companions for a few days. We would meet again in Marrakech at a campsite. When atop the rock the second day we came across a large group of 20-somethings from Casablanca and Rabat that were on an 7 hour hike from the village below although they didn’t look like the sports or outdoor enthusiasts by their attire. We gave the friendly group whom were furthest behind a lift to the bottom when we descended in our van hours later. They all piled in, all very friendly and said we saved their lives.
We moved forward to seek out an area that held a famous waterfall in Ouzoud. Another recommendation from Mohammed and the hikers we gave a lift to the bottom of the mountain. We were in search of a Camp site with good ratings called Zebra Camping. The site was owned by a dutch couple who took their rare annual vacation to the coast for a week while things were calm. We planned to stay one night at the most, see the waterfall and head to Marrakech. This did not happen however as the place was very restful and the staff incredibly kind and warm. Our first day we were welcomed by the staff to eat lunch with them and didn’t have to pay the nearly $20 for that meal had we ordered it. Though we shared no common language (other than one English speaking Moroccan who didn’t spend much of his time playing translator), we shared our best meal we have had in Morocco thus far and many laughs. We would stay another day and a half longer than we planned, got to watch them prepare and cook some Moroccan food and nearly turned the car around 5 miles down the road to stay longer when heading out of town. Ratha nearly got choked up when the women whom we shared no common language kept encouraging us to stay longer and repeatedly hugging her. The waterfalls were beautiful and we made some guacamole to take for a snack after a quick dip in the chilly water. There was a souk that day in the small town, but our easygoing pace got us there just as things were closing up. We also met an interesting German guy who had lost motor function from his left collarbone down to his fingers on his left arm. He has since created a charity and works with handicapped individuals creating excursions in his handicapped accessible and drivable vehicles, as well as builds bicycles to bring over to Morocco to give children. If interested and can read German their website is sandblesch.com
The campsite outside of Marrakech would entail a bit of searching before we were able to find it. Outside the city there is a great deal of land that is undeveloped, covered in very rocky soil and road construction. Our campsite (Manzi La Tortue) was a companion piece to a nice hotel in this area. We were to meet Martin and Sven there and would discover there were many places like this scattered amongst the rough terrain on the outskirts of town. $9 for the night, a very friendly staff, nice facilities and a ridiculous pool that made us feel as if we were staying at the Taj Mahal. We took the local bus into town the next morning and got lost in the medina and the chaos of Marrakech. I tried a spleen sandwich which was pretty damn tasty and some interesting red tea in the evening with a nice and chatty ex Moroccan air force pilot. We grabbed some street food when it got dark and saw the night market come alive in Djeeema al Fna. We would separate again from the Germans the next day and we decided to move camping spots for the allure of a jacuzzi in operation. Big mistake as the people were a bit cold, as was the jacuzzi, and lacked the pool resembling the Taj. Good thing we made use of the mini chipping and putting green at The Turtle before we left. Strangely enough, as we finished checking in to our new spot, the woman who owns the Zebra camping site stepped up to the counter to check in. We had only seen her face in a picture album that spun the course of 10 years and their construction and improvement of their property. We had a nice chat and praised them for their staff and place.
We wanted to spend another day in Marrakech and so we drove into the city, parked our car and unmounted our bikes from Mac. A serious buildup of dust had accumulated since arriving in Morocco and though I gave them a good scrub down, we still ended up with earth on us. We had a little bit of a jaunt before we made it to the medina and once we arrived, we decided to give it a go on the bikes. Though not all the alleyways are as narrow as the ones in Fes, there are a good number of them in Marrakech and swaths of people roaming about. The flow of human traffic, donkeys, bicycles, motorcycles, carts and other items on wheels moving to and fro seemed to have a system. People can hear motorized transport and the calls from those weaving through the streets with wide loads, stepping to the side allowing them to pass. Bicycles have the right of way and when things come to a standstill, people are always polite and kindly offer someone the go ahead. Riding in the medina’s alleyways was not the original plan, but we indulged and it was exhilarating. It was challenging but we managed to keep up with the controlled chaos and move with the flow of it all with nearly no hiccups. I was impressed to find Ratha focused and determined while keeping a cool expression on her face while she tailed close behind me. It made the day a bit more exciting and saved us money from parking in the medina. Winning! Would have been a nice day to get some GoPro footage. When packing up the bikes we met an interesting character who approached us and called himself Mohammed Couscous. He has given us the contact information of his close friend in Ozazzate who may be giving us a tour of the desert for a smokin’ deal.
We headed towards the coast and pulled up short to a strange parking lot filled with gravel that appeared to be some type of park. We shared the parking lot with some local Moroccans who were chilling and bumping some Arabic/Berber music until 1am that Saturday night. We made it to Essouria the next day, bumped into a young couple we met briefly at the Zebra, and did some walking around. Essouria is known to be a big wind surfing/surfing town and it was quite popular among travelers we found. Mac kept us warm in a large parking lot for $3 that was filled with many other motorhomes. We were offered camel rides and ATV’s before we could even park. We passed on the offers and it was a bit strange seeing the camels strung along the beach waiting for a short ride and photo op for travelers. We didn’t celebrate the Hallmark day, but did have a $2.50 plate of calamari by the water, cracked open a bottle of Moroccan wine and appreciated the good people we have in our lives. We also stopped by one of the many argan farms along the road and splurged on some Amlou. The next morning would mark on the 2nd day of rain since being in Morocco during their rainy season. It has rained off and on most of the day and we found some solace in a tea shop and grabbed some snacks thereafter both under covered areas. We met a nice couple (Aussie man, Dutch woman) and their two children driving a modified VW LT 40 that was more a traditional camper/motorhome look and size. Their kids are 5 and 2 and are also going to be on the road for a year. I was happy to see that and they seemed to be getting along quite well. We are doing some more free camping and are headed south looking to visit Lynne, whom we met in Donna’s backyard in Utrecht at the beginning of our trip. She kindly offered us a place to stay in her apartment just south of Tagazout in Tamaraght.
Vantastic Voyage 