gliding through twohundredandfifty kilometers of vast anti atlas road from taliouine to zagora, blessed us with all shades and tones of soft red, orange, beige and grey. from flat land to soft hills, from rugged snow patched mountains to monoliths in the starting desert we are so looking forward to see. it was a lot of “nothingness”, beaucoup de rien. saturated oasis’, dense with palm trees, glistening rivers and humble dwellings made of mud in draa valley. red canyons and little villages passed by us on ever renewing endless roads. each curve made us eager to turn, curious for the next grand panoramic view we might expect behind it. never were we disappointed. oasis palmier at zagora greeted us with a carpet, pillows and short table at our truck. a whisky du berber, thé, our welcome drink under the sunsetting glow of the palm trees, finished off our journey of the day wonderfully

a pleasant easy journey, through majestic valleys, filling up our tank with freshest atlas water at a spring, we ventured off-road, into a garden eden, flanked by large cactus and rich blooming almond trees, towards anmid, when suddenly the soft red iron laden earth broke underneath our right back wheel towards an abyss. claas pulled truck and passengers out of that hole into safety. reaching the village, thirty something kids greeted and followed us back down and out of a road that was unfit for a ten ton four-wheeler. three adults walked beside, in front of and behind the vehicle to warn claas of skinny paths, rock walls to limit the damage. it was a true three hour adventure for us on a one kilometer stretch and we were the excitement of anmid. a campfire, soft tunes, well-deserved cold beer, perfect steak du boef with salad finished the grand day of little kilometers, yet memorable experience.

…. you were truly an adventure, place of contrasts, of beauty, noise, a lot of almosts, colors, information overload, storytellers, beggars, friends and delicious food … for digestion, we are leaving into the desert. Soon we will be back.

such charming little village, coupled with sweet people made the stay incredibly memorable. merci myriam and philippe for the laughs, the dancing and joy. kéziah, a bundle of such energy. martin, it was a pleasure spending quality time with you 🙂

essaouira stop with mercedes gear heads

DO buy beer on the “marché noir” (black market), DON’T t if you are not ready to pay double (3€ 0,2l) and want to appear like an addict, waiting for the juice to be dumped by the dealer in a black bag on the street 😆. DO drink that costly beer at the corniche’s gorgeous rim, DON’T drink four, expecting to be chased away by gendarmerie and civil defense looking for drug traffickers, having to navigate a large vehicle at night into the safety of the nearest camping grounds. DO buy cheap delicious sardines (1€ 8pc) on the local market, DON’T pan-fry them in a van, unless you want to stink like a fisherWOman and sleep in that odor all night 😱

kleine yeay’s and neay’s

YEAY: kaufe bier auf dem “marché noir” (schwarzmarkt), NEAY: es sei denn du bist nicht bereit das doppelte zu zahlen (3€ 0,2l) und wie ein junky auszusehen, der darauf wartet den “saft” vom dealer in einer schwarzen tüte im strassenrand aufzusammeln 😆. YEAY: geniesse das teure bier an dem rand der corniche bei zauberhaftem sonnenuntergang. NEAY: trinke keine vier davon, wenn du zu erwarten hast, dass gendarmerie und zivile drogenfahnder dich zu deiner eigenen sicherheit für die nacht verscheuchen, und du ein riesiges fahrzeug im dunkeln in den nächten campingplatz navigieren musst. YEAY: kaufe die leckeren und günstigen sardinen (1€ 8pc) auf dem lokalen markt, NEAY: brate diese nicht in einem wohnmobil, es sei denn du bist bereit wie eine marktfrau zu stinken und die nacht in dem gestank zu schlafen. 😱

loving the sun coupled with strong atlantic winds at the sea-shore away from the crowds at a corniche,

the wind and freezing temperatures in the northern part of morocco have not stopped, yet we are happy to have arrived in the country we are bound to explore.