Dwti Draig

We really hadn’t vibed with Zagora; maybe it was because of the hassle we had had coming in, plus we didn’t like the campsite we stayed in, so we were keen to move on after just one night, but firstly, though, we wanted to pick up some more dates! After googling “dattes” on Google Maps we decided to drive back into town the wrong way to visit a Date Co-operative on the main road. We parked up easily outside and were immediately swarmed by kids asking for money! We went into the tiny shop front, where we were offered the most amazing selection of dates to try from a turbanned man. He spoke little English, we speak even less French, but I think he could guess from our appreciative noises that we were fans of the dates. We bought 3 boxes, and all for less money than Lyn had paid at a roadside seller, and these dates were vastly superior, and had expiration dates on the boxes, unlike the others, so we knew they were fresh, and hadn’t been left out by the side of the road for an unspecified length of time. Some of them are gifts, so my job is now to keep them safe from Lyn’s snack attacks!

We headed happily out of Zagora and onto our next planned stop of Mhamid, which is on the quieter breadth of the Sahara fringe. The scenery changed yet again, as the palm trees thinned out and the land became more desert like and arid. Arriving in Mhamid feels like arriving at the “end of the road” which in some respects it is; as it is the last paved stop before the sands, and where the N9 runs out. The settlement of Mhamid gives echoes of times long ago, with donkey carts and arid river beds. It is so far south it is near the Algerian border, not that we had any plans to visit there! The Alergian border has been closedsince 1994 after a diplomatic fallout following a bombing in Marrakesh. You cannot legally cross the border by land even for transit or tourism, and there are no direct flights between the two countries either. 

We stayed in a little campsite here which had a tiny pool, which was beautifully cold. The hotel had amazing stained glass windows and we were welcomed with Moroccan mint tea and told that it was “your house now’ and we were to make ourselves at home. The interior was lovely, with wall hangings and artifacts. We walked outside that night onto our own private dune for another amazing sunset. We had to move on, so we drove back up the road to Zagora the next day before turning west on our long journey to the coast. Yet again as we entered Zagora we were followed by 4x4s flashing to try and get our attention. 

From there we drove to the little town of Foum Zguid. We had opted to stay in the car park of a hotel there, which had the most amazing swimming pool! Imagine the luxury of desert heat and a 25m pool with cushioned sunbeds and umbrellas. It felt surreal and indulgent at the same time, and I wanted more! I told Lyn we were not moving for 2 nights. The first night was busy as we shared the car park with a German Overlander we had met before and a load of Dacia Duster cars that were going to rally through the area over the next week. We opted for the hotel buffet and really enjoyed, with me liberating 4 oranges from the fruit stand so I could make the infamous “orange slices and cinnamon” dessert I had discovered in Zagora. 

The rally cars had all disappeared early the next morning, and I had the total luxury of the whole pool to myself for hours, until some bikers came in midday. Lyn went out with his bike up into the mountains for a few hours, he loves his twisty roads!I did nothing more strenuous than read and swim, managing to clock up 1.5km of swimming by doing 10 lengths on the hour every hour!

I could have quite happily stayed there another night, but the coast was calling. We stopped for our next night at the little village of Icht; a tiny settlement perched at the edge of the Anti Atlas foothills, facing the sweeping desert beyond. It felt quite remote. The campsite again had a pool, but this was nothing like the last luxury pool. This one was tiny, and, how should I describe it…..scummy! I wasn’t tempted to cool off from the 38 degree heat, although Lyn did, and showered immediately afterwards. We ate in the camp site restaurant, where we had booked a table for 8pm, but were summoned at 7.30. We had chicken brochettes (skewers) and chips; our first chips in forever, with again a fruit bowl for dessert, where 2 oranges were again liberated back to the truck. 

Our next milestone to reach was the town of Guelmin, mainly because it is the largest town in the area, and consequently has a Marjane supermarket. Our first in ages! It was not just any supermarket; this one was called “Kingdom of Morocco” Marjane. It sounded big, and promising! It was big, and did have more groceries than we had seen before, but again the meat and fresh food was disappointing, with much of the fruit and veg being definitely past its best. I guess it’s a symbol of how differently the Moroccans shop and the effects of temperature of food longevity. We stocked up, and hit the road again. We weren’t tempted to go into Guelmim, it looked huge and sprawling. The fast road took us around the outskirts, but the outer area looked very desolate and, like so much of Morocco, sadly full of rubbish. 

At this point in our journey I had come down with the most horrendous, streaming head cold. I could barely see as my eyes were so watery, and my nose was so runny, so I spent most of the journey with my eyes closed, although Lyn told me it was amazing scenery. I couldn’t stop sneezing enough to answer him! We did 99 miles on the spectacular Tiznit-Dakhla Expressway that hugs the coast through the desert through Southern Morocco through Western Sahara. Our plan was to head to the first place we came to on the coast, which was a little town called El Ouatia or Tan Tan Plage (beach). We could soon spot the big waves of the Atlantic. It had been 3 weeks to this point since we had sailed into Morocco, and now we were seeing the sea again. Everything felt different, even the air felt different; no more dry desert air, but moist sea breeze. Yes, breeze! The temperature has dropped by about 10 degrees to mid 20s and I couldn’t be happier, well, I could be if this cold disappeared! I didn’t feel well enough to explore that night, so we just had an early night. I couldn’t even stay awake long enough to let Lyn beat me at cards!

I still felt lousy the next morning, but there was a pharmacy in the small town, so we set out to get me some flu relief medication. We walked through the few streets, passing the usual cafes full of men sat outside; with no women joining them. We found the pharmacy and Google translate got us what we wanted, although they would only sell us one box so we will have to go back before we leave tomorrow to get another one. We also followed Google Maps for a Boulangerie, which turned out to be a tiny little opening with an oven, churning out the usual round flat loaves. Lyn bought two and ate one immediately as it was still hot. We walked down to the seafront and its big prom. The beach is huge, but full of litter. The waves are typical huge rolling Atlantic breakers. We stopped for a drink at a cafe overlooking the sea, but had to have water as they don’t do diet drinks here, like so much of Morocco. The sea front was full of families and children using the beach, and the beach itself had many tent like structures made of beach umbrellas with pieces of material hanging down. It feels really strange to have to walk along the beach wearing a t shirt instead of a vest top, and trousers instead of shorts. I don’t like having to be covered up, and I don’t like the fact I would feel too uncomfortable to put leggings on and go for a run. It may be different further up the coast in the more touristy areas, but I am attracting a lot of attention even modestly dressed, and I find this difficult. All part of visiting a different culture I guess. We went for a final stroll to watch the sunset which was amazing over the ocean, but I don’t feel totally comfortable here, and would not have come out for an evening stroll on my own. I guess I’ll get more used to Islamic beaches as we continue along the coast.