Farewell to Morocco

How quickly 3 months go by!

We then headed from Mohammadia towards Asilah, which was sometimes very difficult for me.

But first things first! In Mohammadia, Ibrahim from the campsite was always trying to see if Palumbi's brakes could be repaired somehow. He made phone calls, asked questions, mechanics came, and mechanics also came who looked for the right parts in the scrap yards in Casablanca, but unfortunately this time without success. That was devastating for Christian, because now he had to rely on my driving skills in a crisis. He couldn't relax and was constantly on the handle.

For anyone who has never had a trailer brake failure, it should be noted that the trailer only brakes on one side and always jolts into the overrun brake, there is a bang and the 1500 kg or so behind the car then push forward a little, and theoretically it could also happen that the trailer breaks sideways. I have had damage like this on another vehicle, but I just drove and braked as little as possible, it had worked well with the tandem axle at the time, so I didn't worry too much about it. Christian, however, was constantly having a movie in his head...

Apart from that, it was difficult for me to leave Morocco. Some things were not as expected, no one was crawling around the car and trying to break it open, we did have people in the Rif Mountains who wanted to sell us something to smoke, but otherwise we were spared. We only bought a carpet when we really wanted to, it was not forced on us in any way. The people were very nice, even when I was travelling alone, it was 99% the same. The exception were a few boys, but they were probably just afraid of the black dogs. Here too, many reports have not turned out to be true, because most Moroccans are respectful, but they are never unfriendly if someone is travelling with a dog.

I think that we found the real Morocco in the solitude, the markets where mostly only locals shop, the small food stalls where you can first try something and then buy something if it tastes good. I loved the markets, when I can only try the olives or biscuits when the market people give you better apples or tomatoes themselves... I found it magical here, even the accident doesn't change that, or the fact that AXA Morocco simply broke off all contact with our lawyer.

The journey from Asilah to the ferry was a little stressful for me, because we had heard that some Africans try to break into caravans so they can drive to Europe. They forget that every vehicle is x-rayed, but maybe they just don't know that. In fact, a group of three young men came to the toll booth who wanted to try their luck, but when Christian got out, they quickly left. The man in the little house then opened the barrier for an extra long time, and we were soon at the port.

The day started very early because we wanted to catch the ferry at 10am. We made it on time, but what wasn't on time after all the checks was the ferry. It arrived 2.5 hours late, then they put us in the belly of the ship, which meant we were in the lowest part of the ferry. I had to park backwards against the side of the ship after I was allowed to drive down a ramp. When you have 3 people to guide you, it's pretty funny! We knew that we wouldn't be the first to get off the ship, but last. Then they continued loading and we left 4.5 hours late. We kept going outside with the black dogs, but the 4 hours in the ferry weren't easy for the two dogs. In the port of Algeciras it took us an extra long time because a camper with a trailer didn't quite judge the ramp correctly, the driver didn't accelerate enough, then we had to wait another hour until the problem was solved...

We then drove to La Paloma behind Tarifa. Christian suffered the whole journey because it was a kind of mountain pass, there were lots of bumps for pedestrians in the harbor and so on, but there were no incidents and now we can wait here in Spain until the spare parts hopefully arrive soon.

Here on the beach lies the ruins of a boat that must have brought some of the fortune seekers from Africa to shore, hopefully without incident. I can understand that they are looking for a better life, because in Africa, things are not particularly easy, especially for young people. Many cannot find a job, and even training or university degrees do not mean much. It is like in many European countries, where young people are frustrated, cannot get a job in the profession they trained for, and sometimes still live with their parents because they cannot afford anything. The dream of a better life is not just the "American Dream". For us, everything in Morocco is cheap in comparison. A loaf of bread costs very little, as do vegetables and fruit, but the prices are so low because otherwise no one would be able to eat anything.

I don't know what kind of education or training these fortune hunters have, but I wish we Europeans were a little more open-minded when it comes to the entry and integration of these people. Not all of them are the pashas that Friedrich Merz criticizes so much, most just want a job and often send their savings back home to their families. Africans and other refugees do the jobs that Europeans are less likely to take on, but many don't see that... Recently there was a report on television about young men and women from Morocco who are learning German because they can earn good money as geriatric nurses and nurses in Germany...

I confess that I'm not quite attuned to Spain yet, the language and dialect are funny! I should use my apps again, even if I understand a lot, speaking is too much to ask...