Moving out of Marrakesh

They opted to stay one more night in Marrakesh, to catch up on the internet, to get the cars in order and to plan further. The others wanted to get onto the hop-on hop-off bus but Coen did not feel keen on it. In the end they all did not go on the bus but stayed around the camp talking to people and sorting things out.

As usual, the wind lifted in the afternoon and that was not so nice. It has been happening for quite a few days since they left Fez.

Sorting out the payment for the camping, saying goodbyes to the fellow campers, and we were off on the road. Hans had decided to opt out of Agadir because of the holiday season and the overcrowded camping sites, so they all headed towards Taroudant. It was yet another valley with a river running through. This one had a dam on it too, hence a wide expanse of water. 

The scenery was very much the same as the other valleys, the road was more winding, less touristy and hence in a worse state than some country roads they had been through already. The building style was different to the Kasbah style of the desert. There was castle looking structures from place to place but  dwellings tended to be this flat roofed structure made of straw and mud.

However, one should admit that, apart from Casablanca and Fez where the city roads are not in a very good state, the roads they had travelled in Morocco, even the small country roads, are in a rather better state than those in South Africa.

Just outside Marrakesh they passed a small town with nice street lighting again. Marrakesh itself seems to have a better-run local government than many of the other cities here. The place is cleaner, better roads,  better road signs (though not so very clear) and nice town layout. There seems to be a general agreement about the colour of buildings here: beige variations into desert pink or earthy pink. It is very nice to look at and it blends into the environment quite nicely too.

When they stopped for elevenses, by the river, they saw a guy coming down with a loaded donkey. Hmmm, soon he stopped, not far from them and started unloading his sacks over the little wall – it was garbage. What’s new, in Brazzaville also, they claim that they pick up your garbage and dispose of it adequately but they only get to the next bridge and empty the whole lot into the river.

Climb and climb and climb, up to an altitude of 6980ft and then down again to Taroudant, where they were told there was a campsite. They spent some time in this town, looking for the famous campsite and finally concluded that it was just a plot of land next to the town courts. So, they set off to Agadir where they had coordinates for campsites.  The main road was good, small towns on the way and also quite well indicated.

On this road there were the visible signs of big farms, plantations and estates called ‘Domaine’ here. It looked mainly like citrus trees but also
banana plantations under cover. All the signs indicated that this is not a recent activity in the area but rather something that has been going on since quite a few years.

The approach into Agadir was a bit confusing but with the few road signs, common sense and a rather capricious GPS, they made it to the one camp site which is 11 km from the Metro (shop): Paradis Nomade. The place is certainly a finding in the middle of nowhere, on the ‘other’ side of Agadir. It is well kept and nicely laid out too. They seem to specialize in 4x4, motorcycle and quad outings. They have a nice swimming pool and restaurant area. The ablutions are adequate and they even provide loo paper!

The cars were parked under argan trees and they set up camp with argan fruits falling on them. We were the only ones camping there that day, so there was peace and quiet.

In the morning, Coen decided to work on his rear brake system while the others go off into yet another valley. The idea was to meet later that day at some campsite or other.