29 Sept – Meknes to Marrakesh (via Erfoud, Todra Gorge & Ouarzazate) 12,497 km at Marrakesh
When we left Meknes we called in at Marjane, the local big supermarket to stock up on supplies. We were amazed to find that we could buy any number of Algerian dates but not one Moroccan one! Much later we found out that all the dates you see in the markets are Moroccan but they don’t pre-package them so you can’t buy them in supermarkets. I would be very interested to know what you can buy in the UK supermarkets... if anyone would like to email me and tell me!
We drove through the Middle Atlas towards Erg Chebbi, the only real sand dune in Morocco. The definition of a ‘proper’ dune is one that moves or drifts apparently! We stopped over at Timney, just before Midelt, after 175 kms of good mountain roads with very little habitation or wildlife. We did see women carrying huge loads of what looked like weeds on their backs and men riding along on donkeys but not a lot else other than endless rocky planes and rock strata. That night we found a campsite where, initially, we were the only people. It poured with rain but eased off and we realised we had neighbours! Pam and Ken had driven down from the Pyrenees where they live and were touring Morocco for 6 weeks. They had their neighbour, Jacque, with them too! They were the first (but famously not the last) English we’d encountered in Morocco and were surprised by how few tourists there were. Pam lent me her camping book – which was in French – and I jotted down a few ideas for later on. In fact we found the same book later on and bought it. “Campings du Maroc et de Mauritanie” (Guide J. Gandini) is very good but you do need an English-French dictionary unless your French is good!! We were to meet up time and again with Pam and Ken along the road and it was always a joy to spend a while chatting with them in the evenings.
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Views on the road - clockwise from top left (click on each image to enlarge):Camels browsing, ghost-like women coming home from market, black Unimog must be hot in this weather!, how to move your sheep about quickly!, stunning palm groves in the High Atlas, crystal seller at a petrol station (Oz bought something from him and I taught him some English!). |
Moving south again we headed for Erg Chebbi but had no intention of going to see it! We decided that we would see so much sand later on that we didn’t need to worry about it here! We drove through the High Atlas Mountains towards the famous Legionnaires Tunnel and wondered if they had made it big enough for the Mog to squeeze under!! As it turned out, it was one of those conversations that went something like this:
K: “Hey, do you think that was the tunnel?”
O: “What that bit of rock that we went under a minute ago?”
K: “Yeah, that’s the one!”
O: “Hmm... could have been. Didn’t look big enough or anything special”
K: “No... there wasn't a sign or anything... well, we’ll see if there’s anything else up ahead!”
There wasn’t!! But the views from the road were stunning. We were driving along wondering where the gorge was on this long stretch of rocky desert when we rounded a bend and the Ziz Gorge opened up in front of the lorry providing us with a winding road, cliff lined on the right and dropping away on the left to a slash of green in the valley floor where the river provides life for palms and other vegetation. We drove round a large lake where they are building a golf course!! On through the sleepy town of Ar-Rachidia where we posted the first of our postcards in a box that looked suspiciously like it wasn’t a post-box at all! (we have since been told that the cards have arrived but did take over 2 weeks! We found the most wonderful campsite so far right in the middle of the gorge! We squeezed under their electricity cable over the gate and parked up. There was a right mixture of vehicles in the camp – an ordinary campervan, a tiny car with two people sleeping in the back and a landcruiser that had obviously seen a lot of recent action! We fitted right in!!
We drove on the next morning towards Erfoud and took the little yellow road on the map thinking that there wouldn’t be much traffic as it was a small road... it seems that it is the route! We saw our first camels along this route along with more and more rocky desert stretches with the occasional goats – what do they eat??!
Arriving in Tinerhir the nearest town to the Todra Gorge we realised that we hadn’t eaten all day so stopped at a restaurant at the outside of town. We were offered the special which turned out to be a four course marathon! Very pricy but really delicious and we chatted to the waiter for ages. I asked if there was someone he knew that Oz could go climbing with. He climbed into the Mog with us and went up to the gorge to introduce us to his friend! Oz decided to go off climbing there and then so I took the lorry back down to the Camping de Soleil and settled in, unfortunately our new found ‘friend’ came with me to “make sure I was ok” and then hung about for hours. I had to pretend that I was going for a shower to get rid of him in the end!! Oz had a good afternoon climbing and arranged to meet up with the guide the following morning but he never showed up!
Suddenly the campsite was invaded (and there really is no other way to describe it)! Four huge motor home coaches appeared along with a large campervan. They were filled with shouty English people all of whom seemed to be in the middle of an argument! I watched as they stomped about deciding where they were going to park these monstrosities and hoped it wouldn’t be too near the Mog. Finally they all parked and then took their rows out into the middle of the campsite instead! I was subjected to f’ing and blinding all over the place – what a happy holiday these people were having! It turns out they were being guided by a bloke in a Unimog! I wandered over to chat to him but he was too busy – we caught up with him at another campsite further along and he said he knew our Mog and remembered Ian who completed the conversion. He had been using the Mog for several years to guide people in Morocco and it was now for sale – if anyone is interested then please look at www.desertdetours.com I have no idea about price or anything so please contact him direct.
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We drove on and spent the night at Ouarzate (prounced War-za-zat) 187km on from Todra at a terrible campsite (and we think the only one in the town) called Camping Municipal de Ouarzazate (30,55,40N – 06,53,20W) meeting up with Ken and Pam again and also the English coaches and Unimog were there too. There is a lovely co-operative for local artisans and it was lovely to spend a few hours browsing the stalls. We bought a tiny carpet for outside the Mog and now look like proper Berbers who always have a rug at the entrance to their tents!!
It was time to head for Marrakech to meet up with Andy and his girlfriend Terri. It was a long day’s drive up over the High Atlas again covering the 239 kms to Marrakech but very scenic – although I got the short straw and drove the twisty bit while Oz put his feet up on the dashboard and looked out the window!! We did stop to buy some crystals by the side of the road and when I asked how much one was, the lad asked if I had any whiskey to trade instead!! Hmm... so much for being Muslim and not drinking alcohol! We only had a tiny bottle of vodka that we were willing to let him have and also a broken MP3 player which he seemed delighted with!! As Muslims are not allowed to drink or even buy alcohol I was able to do a great deal with him. I’m sure he got the MP3 player working within minutes (I did tell him it was broken) and spent an enjoyable evening listening to my music and drinking the vodka!
We arrived in Marrakech and only managed to find the campsite by following the GPS as it was so difficult to navigate round the city! Le Relais de Marrakech (31,42,24N – 07,59,68W) is lovely although it is quite a way outside the city. It is run by a French couple so the food is excellent and there is also a wonderful swimming pool. Andy and Terri arrived the next day and chilled out by the pool with us.
We moved on towards the coast – more soon.
Kate, Oz and the Mog