Last day in Jamaica and Co. (24th February 2020)Since we knew that we were continuing tomorrow, we relaxed today. Woken up by the flashlight, we read books before Dad called us for breakfast outside. Today we have banana milk - delicious. Not. Mathias meant well. Wilma and I, however, couldn't appreciate it. Not our thing. After breakfast, we built a cave under our camping table. Here we played with Lego. Occasionally, Bender and Joint were with us. However, they were not allowed on the carpet anymore. Dad had already cleaned it properly. The dogs didn't like it. Understandable. They were allowed to be with us for 10 days and now suddenly only from a distance. Doesn't matter. It got warm and warmer. Mathias and Wilma continued in the children's room. Construction site and reading time. I wrote something on the blog of week 11 and had lunch. After lunch, Wilma went to the neighbors. It was nice. They had so much fun and laughed together all the time. Then songs sounded and wild laughter again. Wilma spent time in the neighbor's tent until coffee. We put a small bucket for her so she could cool down and play in the mud a bit. Not long after, she was picked up by the other children. Wilma was on the go for the rest of the afternoon and we could just do adult things. Read. Write. Nothing. Get ready to leave.
Once across the Atlas, please. (25th February 2020)We had a day of driving ahead of us. We wanted to visit the souk and do some shopping beforehand. Always following the donkeys. The market was directly on the way. We bought some fruits and vegetables. We were overwhelmed again. Overwhelmed by the variety and the looks. Wilma learned that animals have to die if we want to eat them. It was okay for her to see goats, sheep, and others hanging in the meat aisle. Chickens were being slaughtered right there. We explained briefly what was happening. A plucking machine made her curious. We also met the family from the campground and said goodbye. We had what we wanted. Now we headed back towards Marrakech. Wilma fell asleep. That was great for us. We actually wanted to stop at the supermarket on the way to the Atlas. But the navigation system led us a different way and we couldn't pass by it. In general, we arrived at our chosen overnight spot faster than expected. So we just quickly had something to eat for lunch/dinner. Wilma could play on the playground there again. It was 5 o'clock. We were at the beginning of the Atlas. The next spot was another 3 hours away. We agreed to keep driving. If it didn't work anymore, we would just stop somewhere. I sat with Wilma and Mathias drove. It was a hell of a ride. It went uphill. Of course. Mountains. But like this? The N9, which led across the Atlas, was a construction site. There was sometimes no road at all. Tight curves and all that. In addition, there were plenty of people who wanted to sell something on the roadside. Wilma wanted to be entertained. Well, it was only me left. We tried to read. I quickly stopped. I felt worse and worse. Then we sang. Finally, when we reached the highest point, we took a short break. 2,260 meters above sea level. Our camper handled it all great. Just as we were about to go back to the camper, someone shouted STOP. A man ran straight towards our camper. A local. Short conversation with Mathias and he was already in our car. He was a Berber who had also set up his small sales stand on the roadside and sold stones to tourists. Great. Mathias and I had agreed at the beginning of our trip not to take anyone. But that worked out great. Wilma always complained, 'I don't want the man to ride with us.' Mom didn't either. He rode with us for 5 kilometers. Mathias talked to him a bit and then he got off. He was nice, but it could have turned out differently. Mathias and I had a brief argument. The journey continued. It was still 1.5 hours. The sun was slowly setting. It got darker. When it was completely dark, we still hadn't arrived. Now it required the highest concentration on everything. People. Donkeys. Unlit vehicles. Potholes and more. Eventually, around 8:30 pm, we finally arrived at the campground just before Ouarzazate (the Hollywood of Morocco). We were assigned our pitch. Right next to the WiFi. That was very important to the owner. Apparently, we looked like we needed it. We also saw the moon, which we saw here in Morocco for the first time. Cheese sandwich for Wilma and off to bed.
A pool and a few horror stories. (26th February - 27th February 2020)We had a good night's sleep. Wilma was now the boss. So we had breakfast outside and painted in the morning. We made butterflies out of toilet paper rolls and goofed around. We had lunch on time. The campground was nice. There was a pool and a nice playground. The latter was not usable because there was no shade. The pool was much more important to Wilma. So in the afternoon, we went to the pool. Wilma splashed around in the water. However, the water was so cold that we only dipped our feet. I was a bit brave later and swam two laps. The day ended relaxed and without any further incidents. The next morning, after breakfast, we planned to go to the town. We needed eggs again. Our egg consumption is really high. Because we bake our own cakes, etc., we need a lot of eggs. In addition, Wilma loves eggs and we usually only have vegetables for dinner and such. The sausage is inedible. The cheese is mega expensive. So in the evenings, we often have avocado, tomatoes, alternatively tomato salad, salad, and occasionally an egg. Just on the side.We walked to the town on the non-existent pedestrian path. It was about 500 meters. Once there, we looked around. We got stuck in a cushion store. Mathias expressed the wish to buy three seat cushions for our carpet. We had seen some nice ones at a souk. So we looked into the store. In no time, we were in conversation. 20 minutes later, we had bought three cushions including our fabric choices and filling. The fun cost us 30 euros. Pick-up the next day, of course.We continued walking and bought some vegetables and, of course, the missing eggs. Mathias wanted some meat. We had only bought meat once before and it wasn't that good. So we gave it another try. We carried everything back to the camper. Today we were going to grill. There was no lunch. We baked a cake and looked forward to grilling.
A little toilet story: Our toilet was full and needed to be emptied. The day before, we had seen where it had to be taken. Yes, we had also seen an employee remove a blockage there. We didn't think much of it. So Mathias set off and poured our toilet content there. A man stood right next to him and watched what was happening. 1 minute after Mathias had emptied everything there, he said, "That's not the right place. The toilet disposal is back there." Great! Now we knew that it wasn't a blockage yesterday, it was also a wrongly emptied toilet. We didn't want to put the employee through that again, getting rid of other people's toilet contents. So we did the job ourselves. While we were scooping and trying to restore everything, the same man came back. He apparently had something to say. So he told us that he had worked for "Doctors Without Borders" for years here in Morocco. That the pool and all other standing bodies of water are contaminated with bacteria. Small worms in the water attach to the brain, etc. 100 meters behind the campground walls, snakes are lurking everywhere and scorpions come out in the evening. Walking barefoot is not suitable. Medical care is bad and we should go to private clinics if we have something. Oh, and when he was traveling with his child at that time, a couple was murdered. More unwanted input within 10 minutes? Hardly possible! The basin was now free of our toilet contents. However, our heads were filled with trash. Sorry, but we didn't want to know that. We didn't ask for it. The end of the story was - my panic about snakes and scorpions reached a new level. Wilma is not allowed to swim in pools anymore and Morocco has an even harder time winning our hearts.He invited us to stop by if we had any questions. NO THANKS. Wilma bathed in a small bucket at the camper. Mathias grilled and I? I don't know what I did. Now it was dinner time. For a change, tomato salad with grilled meat. We were all hungry. Wilma and I had bread with ketchup and some tomato salad. The meat wasn't so great again. Even the dog found it a bit strange. He had to chew a lot, it was tough. Realization of the day. No more meat in Morocco.
Palm grove. (28th February - 2nd March 2020)We had already packed everything and drove with the camper to pick up our cushions. We already thought that 10:30 am might be a bit too early. But nevermind. Mathias asked at the neighboring shop. 10 minutes later, the cushion man was there. Our cushions were finished and really beautiful. Now we drove through Ouarzazate to Zagora. The last stop before the desert. In Ouarzazate, we did some shopping again. Now we had another 3.5 hours of driving ahead of us. Wilma took her nap in the car. We drove through the mountains again. Smaller ones, but just as curvy. At some point, we saw that our engine light was on. Oh. What now? I read that it's okay and there won't be an explosion right away. Nevertheless, we wanted to have a mechanic take a look at it. We stopped at a workshop. The man was very nice but only responsible for tires. But he called a mechanic in Zagora, where we were heading. Mathias and he communicated via WhatsApp and phone. He picked us up at the entrance of Zagora and drove with us to his workshop. Once there, the light was off. Great. We talked to him and his colleague, who spoke German. He asked us which campground we wanted to go to. Originally, we had chosen a campground in the city. However, he recommended our second choice and took us there. Very nice. Located in a palm grove about 2 km from the city. We settled in. Took a walk around. That was done quickly. The campground was not big. We chatted with a German couple and eventually went to bed.Today, for the first time, we ate on our carpet including seat cushions. As if they knew, there was a small wooden table for each camper here. We made ourselves comfortable. Afterwards, we just wanted to take a look around the campground, see what there was to see. We got dressed and started walking around like hairdressers. Bonjour, begging children. Okay, we're pretty good at shaking that off. We walked left and right. Looked at the small houses. Then we walked through a palm forest. Here, the locals had some kind of garden area. Mathias wanted to keep going because the city was not far away. Okay, we did that. Then someone greeted us on a scooter and showed us a shortcut to the city. Very nice. Of course, we were also supposed to visit his boutique. 'The rich tourist' was immediately recognized. 100 meters later, a car stopped next to us. It was the campground manager. He apparently saw us walking. He confirmed the shortcut and gave us a business card from his store in the city. We walked a different 3 km this time. We walked through streets that only locals use. We walked past apartments. Past people who simply didn't want anything from us. Past children who just laughed and were happy that we shook their hands. No one wanted money or anything else. Nice. This changed a few streets later. We had arrived in the 'center'. Either people stared at us or talked to us immediately. Another man on a scooter came up to us with a big smile. We were in his store in no time. Wilma was allowed to choose a small camel. We went on. 500 meters further. Again, eyes full of joy, the man from the second scooter. Here, too, we went in briefly. There was tea and a sales event for jewelry. He really wanted to sell Wilma a necklace. He found Wilma great. He really mean it. But neither Wilma, nor mom and dad wanted a necklace. I don't remember how many times we politely said no. Then he even offered to trade something. Like clothes or something. I don't know if there are people like that, but we rarely carry a bag of clothes to exchange. And we still didn't want the necklaces. Eventually, we just got up and left. For our taste, it's all too much. We can't cope with this mentality. We are aware that many people here have to struggle for little. But we also work hard for our money and don't pick it from trees. That understanding is not there or hardly exists here. We are tired of Morocco and that after less than three weeks.We walked more than 9 km that day. We visited the store of the campground manager briefly. We went back to the camper annoyed. Had a nice evening at the camper. Had another pot of mint tea to stimulate the economy. Went to sleep.
Sunday. Lazy day. Oh yes. After it was exhausting again yesterday, we decided to do nothing today. We painted with Wilma. Made potato stamps. I did some housework. Mathias cleaned up the garage and we spent the day under the palm trees. That felt good. However, our desire to return to Europe has grown even stronger. We will just quickly do the desert and then head towards Spain. Wilma and Mathias discovered a small lamb. Wilma even petted it. It belonged to the campground manager. He had brought the lamb to the campground for a family barbecue day. On Sundays, the Moroccans always go on outings with their families. It's nice to see. We played tag and hide-and-seek. Wilma showed me her castles because today she was a knight. We had a nice day as a family.
On Monday, 3rd March, we drove the last 1.5 hours to the desert. The drive there was great. The roads were fine. The landscape was interesting. We wanted to see two things - camels and the desert. We saw and experienced both.
