Loneliness, great space and the small catastrophe

Christian and I have had radio silence for a few days now, this was due to various reasons, which I will now work through one by one.

The first reason is that the network is sometimes not that good, our data provider in particular always drops after around 5 p.m., so you can't even surf anymore... If you're in the middle of nowhere, then it's possible It can happen that you don't have internet.

After Merzouga we decided that we didn't want to be too touristy yet, so we made a nice stopover to the next oasis near El Hamid. We were at a campsite in Oulay Driss, where we were welcomed with mint tea and the like for the first time. It was a glimpse of real Moroccan hospitality that we hadn't encountered before.

At each of our stops, be it in Boudnib, Merzouga or just the stopover, there was always an offer of dinner, i.e. a tagine. We almost always agreed to dinner because it's almost impossible to cook yourself that cheaply and it's very authentic! I really enjoy cooking, but every now and then you can indulge yourself. In Oulay Driss we were ALL ALONE!

After the solitude we headed towards the Draa Valley, Zagora can be seen as the entrance here, so we spent two nights there. The path out of the respective oases was characterized by the great expanse, amazing mountain ranges and lots of sand, it is gigantic, the landscape changes almost every minute, you can see the earth's history passing by. I'm always spellbound by it because it's as magical as Scotland with the light in winter.

We could have stood freely, but the campsites here are simple, but they cost almost nothing in comparison, so I'm happy about the toilet and electricity, and of course the shower if it's warm.

In Zagora the loneliness was over, here I almost felt like I was in Italy, because the owner parks the vehicles with a sardine oil feeling, which I personally don't like very much. But we are at the entrance to the Draa Valley, so I just have to come to terms with it. What was surprising here was that we were given a mat made of palm fronds in front of the entrance, as well as a small table where we were served mint tea in style. That was nice again!

In Zagora, Christian was able to put an end to the data misery. I topped up my Maroc Telecom card and Christian's cell phone got a new battery. That in itself is such a funny anecdote that I have to describe it.

The cell phone shops and most other shops remind me of garages in terms of size, but the owners all want to help and are very friendly. When Christian asked about repairing the battery, he said yes and said he should come back at 7 p.m. and then the cell phone would be ready. BUT the nice man initially thought that this cell phone wasn't defective, he charged it and then proudly told Christian that only the charging cable was probably defective... UNFORTUNATELY that wasn't the case, so the man had to replace the battery swap, which worked well. The cell phone was ready again the next day.

As a result, we were out and about later than normal, maybe I'm just looking for an excuse, karma, because then the little catastrophe happened. We only wanted to move about 100km, so we harnessed up and drove towards Quazzarte. At Tinzouline, a truck from the Moroccan roadside service came so close to me in the 60 zone that I kept pulling over to the side of the road to let it pass is coming, but he probably knows the speed cameras and hasn't overtaken. I couldn't see him behind me anymore when I hit the brakes because of a dog, YES I BRAKE FOR ANIMALS!

The RUMMS just a second later made it clear that the breakdown helper was still there and unfortunately he was too close, because he had now damaged our Palumbi so much that it had to be repaired again. There would have been breakdown assistance, but they would only have towed the caravan to the nearest workshop, where it probably wouldn't be repaired as Christian and I would like. Now we have to deal with the opposing insurance company, because my insurance company for Palumbi has just replied that this would be a fully comprehensive claim, but I am only partially insured. Two windows need to be replaced, we'll only get them in Spain, I think. Luckily, Christian has all the tools and also the spare parts that he didn't quite install in Ireland, so hopefully everything should be tight again except for the window on the side. He's currently tinkering around, it's just a matter of getting Palumbi sealed again and hopefully then buying and installing the windows, or just the side window, in Spain. I have full confidence in my husband, who got Palumbi sealed again in September. The pictures are bad, but it's a caravan that you can work on yourself; today's plastic bombers would no longer be mobile. Nothing is missing from the chassis itself, the wheels are free, the brakes work, the lights are intact, so we are back to Zagora so that Christian can get replacement wood if necessary. When we pulled into the original campsite, the owner helped straight away and showed Christian the most important shops for repairs AND a great baker today. It was really really nice!

The damage is a bit of a disaster considering we live in a caravan. BUT Christian now has everything tight again and clean on the outside, but the small cosmetic correction on the inside is still missing. I'M REALLY PROUD OF MY HUSBAND!

For me, the experiences while we waited on the side of the road for 3 hours because of the other party's insurance, and what I then experienced in the evening, were almost worse. I have repeatedly emphasized that Moroccans have no problems with dogs and are not pushy. I can't really keep it that way anymore, because while we were waiting, we were besieged by children from the surrounding villages while making phone calls about the police (useless without any injuries or deaths) and insurance. At first there were only reserved girls who kept their distance, unfortunately then the first boys were there too, who always had something to prove to each other.

The car was touched, the wheel was parked on the car, the car was touched reverently, a star was painted on the window and so on. Things got even worse when Christian and I answered questions about sweets, chocolate, etc. with NO. The girls understood that, the really pushy boys don't understand that. First the puppy was handed to me by a boy whose life was spared by my braking maneuver, the little guy's name is Spike, but of course I can't adopt him.

The waiting time because of the insurance was so long that I had to get our black people out of the car and take them for a short walk each. I was accompanied by most of the boys; they kept shouting WAUWAU and made it a test of courage. Whenever Loki turned around, they ran away screaming. Luckily Loki found little Spike's mom better than people, but I slowed him down there too. Things got worse when I ran with Nerone, because in the meantime, eager boys kept knocking on the van's windows and really annoyed Nerone. Then, as soon as Nerone and I were on the way, Spike's little brother was thrown at me as a projectile; he landed squeaking in the sand and couldn't walk at first. I examined the little man and as a layperson I couldn't find anything, but I made it clear to the boys that you don't do that. BUT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND. I protected the whimpering little one, Nerone growled chivalrously at the boys and protected the little one's mother as well as the puppy until I was back at the car with everyone. There an older man intervened to help and sent the boys away who were constantly begging and mistreating the small dogs. Apparently male authority is really needed here.

The last time I was walking in Zagora in the evening was when other boys threw stones at me out of nowhere. That really hit me because I don't know the boys, I didn't do anything to them. Honor was saved by Loki, who became so angry or so "horny" that he jumped over the ditch. Afterwards they left, the two men who had seen everything encouraged me because they had observed everything and noticed my shock. Apparently black dogs aren't welcome everywhere...

A camper gave me the tip that I just confront the kids with my cell phone and they'll leave on their own. Harassment and begging are now criminalized, so just waving my cell phone around is probably enough. Unfortunately, we tourists have fueled the problem in the past, because people used to say that you should give children sweets, pens, etc. instead of a few dirhams....