Europe, if not ...?

After the Atlas Mountains, we finally had to go north.

The city of Beni-Mellal, which according to Loneley Planet does not exist, surprised us with its western influences. We saw so many young people dressed in modern clothes and unveiled women like nowhere else. Besides the supermarkets Marjane and Carrefour, Burger King and McDonald's also have their place here. However, donkey carriages still travel on the roads and most shopping is done at the market. Morocco remains Morocco.

We drove in darkness to reach our planned overnight destination and once again we noticed how important the entrances to the cities seem to be here. Wide streets, sidewalks on both sides with avenues (usually the trees are planted in such a way that using the sidewalks becomes impossible), decorative lanterns, and now in the dark, a play of lights that makes you think you are driving into Las Vegas. As soon as you are in the center, all of this disappears, only to reappear when you drive out on the other side. The butcher shops were also interesting to see, where the slaughtered hanging lambs were even more impressive in the colorful light of the fairy lights... Martin was challenged in driving while pedestrians and donkey carriages are unlit, the trucks with their over-the-top lighting reminded us of the Coca-Cola Christmas truck.

We visited Meknes again, this city with the most impressive city walls, which are wonderfully clean and well maintained, and where the people are not pushy at all, perhaps it is almost a bit Swiss here.

In general, now the journey is approaching Europe. Endless fields and farmland accompany us, at first I am tempted to photograph them, we haven't seen so much greenery for a long time. There are -green- forests again and there are also rivers that actually have water.
We take a detour through the Rif Mountains to visit Chefchaouen. The blue Medina is truly beautiful, every alley, every building, and every flowerpot is painted blue. But apparently, every tourist group stops here and the not-so-big town feels incredibly touristy.
We continue a few kilometers further to the Mediterranean Sea and now we have been staying in Martil for a few days. Speaking of Europe, the cars actually stop at the pedestrian crossing here! On weekends and apparently also in summer, it is quite crowded with locals and Spanish guests.
On the other hand, the sea is calm, after the Atlantic we almost think we have landed on a large lake. Milla especially enjoys this and swims and bathes until she falls asleep almost at the table from exhaustion in the evening.

We are slowly saying goodbye, reviewing the journey, the family camper life, and all the encounters, and trying to let all the special features and peculiarities of Morocco sink in once again.

Tomorrow the ferry will take us back to Europe. I thank you for reading along and we look forward to seeing all of you again soon!