Travellers Tales: Au Revoir Maroc

Our meal at M'Hamid was excellent and we watched a Saharan sunset from the roof terrace lying on comfortable banquettes with just the odd light visible out in the sands. Heading back north through Zagora we enjoyed the extensive views over the huge palmeries of the Draa Valley before turning east to N'Kob and arriving at a small campsite near the town. The large pitches, each with a huge area of carpet to keep the dust at bay, in a walled compound, were ideal and the loo facilities were excellent and beautifully decorated. We walked in to the vibrant town for the usual staples and sat at a corner cafe for fresh orange juice as the sun set once more before a very quiet night.

The following day we took the former piste, now a well surfaced but still very exciting steep and twisty road north through the Djebel Sahgro passing the lofty twin outcrops of Bab and Ali. At the top of the pass at around 6,500' we stopped at a small cafe and then as it offered overnight parking decided to stay the night even though it was only late morning. We parked on a lower terrace with a superb view across the rocky mountain slopes and then enjoyed fresh tea on the small terrace. The owner's wife, and then her elderly mother persuaded us to buy some small handicrafts after which we took a walk out to an outcrop across the road with dramatic views down to a small village way below and then followed a track in to the hills. An ancient lorry rattled past, drove across very uneven ground and then stopped for the three occupants to begin filling it with large rocks, by hand. It was sad and a surprise to see a huge pile of old nappies dumped amongst rocks further along - hard to believe that the local parents can afford to use them as as far as we could see there was no one living up here for miles. Back at the van after sunset the temperature dropped so we booted up the heater, installed the window insulation and were as cosy as could be.

Dropping off the range we turned right for Tinerhir passing through numerous humble villages surrounded by apple orchards and then parked up on the road through to the Todra Gorge at a site I'd not used before as my previous choice claimed he was fully booked that night. The second place was in the grounds of a hotel with large shaded pitches and within easy reach of the palmery that led to the old kasbah across the river. We enjoyed a couple of hours exploring both and returned to the site to see a huge French lorry sized camper towing a trailer containing a quad, and with a small car in its garage, had managed to squeeze in. Later on we cycled up to the gorge to see it in the evening light with far fewer people around before returning for another quiet night.

The following morning we gave a Dutch motorcyclist a lift to the mouth of the gorge and then drove through and on towards Tamtattouchte before climbing the steep pass towards Imilchil. An old guy was pushing his bike up the long climb but we couldn't really have picked him up and in fact when we stopped at the top of the pass for a break he was soon dropped off by a local grand taxi to freewheel his way down the other side. At Agoudal we turned west on the piste that comes up from the Dades gorge that provided me with an exciting drive last year and pulled up at the very simple Auberge La Grotte that I had noted. We parked on a large area of gravel by two friendly dogs and after tea with Abdul started the walk out to the cave located three miles up a side valley. One of the dogs followed us along the stony track where at the far end two Dutch offroad campers were parked up. We then took a path through the gorge to a stone platform but with no sign of the cave - after asking the Dutch people it seemed we had to go beyond the platform and ascend the valley via a series of stone steps. Eventually we found the large entrance beneath an impressive domed formation with two huge holes in the roof and a wide passage leading in to the darkness. I had brought along two powerful torches so we set off inside leaving 'Bonzo' waiting patiently outside. After skirting a deep drop off in to a lower chamber we met two Moroccan lads using their phones as torches before climbing two rather precarious iron ladders to reach a large passage with some nice formations. I ducked under a large calcite flow in to a smaller passage which went a fair way before crawling woud be required at which point I turned round. As we returned to the entrance Bonzo began whining in relief and happily followed us back to the van as a rain squall caught us out. At the auberge we were the only ones staying and as it had turned very cold we were soon in 'winter mode'. The wind blew with a vengeance all night long and when we woke there was a covering of snow everywhere and ice on the windward windows. We paid the requested 50 dirham and then decided to see how much snow there was further up...after a couple of miles and another 1000' or so the snow was much deeper and a 4x4 from the local village was indicating that the pass was closed so we turned round carefully and began to leave the High Atlas by heading east towards Er Rich in the Ziz Valley.

From here after a stunning drive we continued east to Gourrama noting that we had seen no other foreign vehicles or campers all day as this is a relatively unvisited part of Morocco and organised park ups were almost non existent. However there was an opportunity to stay on a smallholding run by a German guy, Thomaz, so turned up on a dusty yard with several friendly children who all spoke only German or Arabic. This tested the dustier corners of my mind but it seemed we were welcome to stay and that Thomaz would be back later that day. Thomaz was a fascinating guy who had worked all over the world looking at plants and herbs as sources of new medicines as well as mentoring a troubled teenager from Germany and directing the Moroccan family who were running his small farm. After some football and other ball games with the kids we retired for a very peaceful night and left the following morning - Thomaz would not take any payment but I gave him the £150 worth of Mauritanian ouighars that I'd been left with as he would eventually be able to change them or pass them on. Heading north we picked up a young lad hitch hiking who seemed keen, as it was Ramadam, to ask our opinions on Islam and the Quran. We answered honestly that we had little detailed knowledge or insight in to the subjects and indeed were surprised to learn that both Jesus and Mary are mentioned and in fact Mary is seen as a supreme woman and is referred to more often than in the Bible. After dropping him in Missour the sat nav took us up in to the Djebel Bou Iblane of the High Atlas on a series of ever diminshing roads until eventually we were on a rough track above the snow line. A sharp hairpin that due to the snowdrifts took two attempts to negotiate saw us heading to a pass with deep snow piled high. At the top a Moroccan family who had come up from the far side assured us the road was passable so we descended cautiously with the snow melting and a glutinous mud converting the van in to a passable clay model of a T4. It was such a stunning area that we decided to stay out for the night - whilst looking for a suitable spot we noticed the remarkable sight of a dry riverbed being slowly transformed by a tongue of brown meltwater threading its way downhill. After some potential gravelled areas on tight bends we eventually saw a perfect flat area reached by driving over a couple of hundred yards of open ground with a remarkable view back to the snowy ranges, cedar trees nearby and a road with no traffic. After a memorable sunset we took the usual precautions against low temperatures and enjoyed a night of total silence under the new moon which signalled the start of Ramadam.

After a leisurely breakfast in the warm sun we gave some wandering donkeys our left over bread and orange skins before dropping to the Chiker Plateau and the Gouffre de Friatou I had descended on my first visit 11 years previously. The cave entrance was undergoing 'improvement works' and the cave itself seemed to be shut but a young lad on a moped said to come back at 5 and he would take us down. We checked out the slightly eerie and deserted village of Bab Bou Idir which I remembered from before as an unfinished and slightly spooky holiday resort. Fortunately at the Auberge Dayet Chiker opposite the track up to cave we were able to stay with the charming, polite and super friendly Siham and her family. There was only enough space for 3 vans so we tucked in by the wall as chickens, geese, donkeys and a cow grazed nearby. There was a well decorated lounge and some rooms but we were happy enough in the van and Siham produced fresh bread as if by magic. We ordered a chicken tagine for the following night and then walked up to the cave to be met by Abdul. He took us in and down the first couple of hundred of the five hundred or so steps at which point we had to stop as the steel covered walkway had been completely destroyed by a rockfall. It turned out that he was part of the team charged with stabilising the various rock faces of the cave walls and would be netting much of the cavernous opening that led out to the plateau far above us. Once the area had been made safe a new steel staircase was due to be installed with all works due for completion this year - thus convincing us to return next year as from the floor of the main chamber it was possible to follow the system for another 3km to the Gouffre de Chiker. As we returned to the surface it transpired that later this year he was tackling the Gouffre Berger over in the Vercors in France, a system I had visited twice in 1984 and 1985. The following day we cycled back to BBI and then a few miles outside the village took a side track which climbed for 6 miles up to the peak of Djebel Tazzeka. We passed a German 4x4 camper parked on a spur, greeted a friendly shepherd and as we neared the summit saw the van occupants walking back from the summit. Two 4x4 pickups, each carrying a generator passed us heading towards the summit antennae and we eventually reached the wooded top above the snow line after passing through some lovely cedar trees. A soldier occupied the small military hut and watched as the two 4x4 drivers began to ascend the masts with no regard to PPE or rope work. We were soon on our way down as it was quite fresh, stopped to talk to a one armed shepherd and then rolled back to the tarmac and on to the van where after hot showers the lovely Siham knocked on the door with bread, two plates of pasta salad, a huge and delicious tagine and fruit as a dessert. It was all excellent and we were glad that within the hour the family would also be eating. Two other vans had arrived and everyone seemed to appreciate the peace and tranquility of this very special place.

The following morning we returned to BBI to fill the van from a tap we had seen by the roadside but felt a bit uneasy as there were dozens of people sat around for no obvious reason. However nothing was said and we followed a lovely meandering road down to the N6 passing through cedar and then oak forests before picking up the motorway - an unusual experience of late - and then a turning north to Taounate, a rather nice town that lay draped over a long ridge. We recognised the turning down to the reservoir and then found the track up to the Montazyfrane base avoiding last year's sat nav guided tour of impossibly tight village dead ends. At the gate a huge French lorry was parked up outside but we were able to pass in to the compound and take a level terrace below the main area with an excellent view across the waters and later a good sunset. The place normally provides food and is a popular place for get togethers but during Ramadam just offers a warm welcome and a peaceful place to sit and enjoy the views.

On the Friday morning we dropped back to Taounate for bread and gas before setting the sat nav for Tetouan which came out as a five hour run. Unfortunately I didn't preview the route and before long we were on a very poor twisting and badly potholed road that ran on and on for some forty plus miles. As it also climbed steeply and required mostly low geared driving I began to worry that we would run out of fuel - the jerry can only has petrol in for the genny. Fortunately however the warning light never came on and we were able to coast a fair bit as we dropped down to the N13 where a Ziz station wouldn't take cards but did accept payment in Euros at the standard 10 dirham/euro rate. 76 litres went in to the 80l tank although I believe it's irregular shape does mean that total capacity can be 85l.

We were tempted to head up to Chefchaouen for the night but that would have meant an early start on the Saturday for the ferry so we trundled on, bypassed central Tetouan and arrived at the camping spot at Cabo Negre. Again due to Ramadam the hotel was effectively closed but still welcomed vans at 60 MAD/night with access to good water and an Elsan disposal point. We took a walk through the local area passsing many guarded appartment blocks before returning to the van at sunset.

Saturday saw us servicing the domestic aspects of the van, driving the hour or so to Tangier Med and then nipping in to the small village for a final gas cylinder and fresh bread before turning up at the port in plenty of time. Outside the Transmed office a guy caught my attention and said he could get us on the 11am ferry which seemed unlikely as it was already 10.30 but within minutes he had a colleague print out our tickets but then asked for cash - I said that we had no MAD or Euros left and that as I hadn't asked him to help would give him nothing anyway - he took this in its stride and we headed off to get our passports stamped, the van import paperwork cancelled and then joined the queue for the scanner.

After all this it was past 11.30 as expected so we joined the line for our original sailing and by 13.30 were loaded and on our way. As we left the port a sea mist descended bringing yet another amazing trip to a fitting close.