Overland to Morocco. Winter 2015-2016

**XCovlov70** · 12-18-2015, 11:53 PM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Tafraoute - Tiznit.

‘Good Morning’

Time to get back on the road to our next destination Tiznit, but as we came out of the ‘TinTent’ we see we have a visitor who had ‘escaped’ and came over into the campsite for some better grass for his breakfast....

Then we get all secured and hit the road, so sit back and enjoy the scenery…..

Village Gates…..

This was the school on the outside of the village, painted in bright colours….

After a few miles on the narrow tarmac strip we come to a wider road which was going to continue all the way to Tiznit while it actually had a White Line down the middle!.....

Just left of centre is a building that looked a bit like a castle that we though we were going to climb up on the mountain road and pass by, but our road made a left turn which took us off in a different direction….

Down the next hill and we come to a Wadi that had been destroyed in the storm, but as this is a main route, a new Wadi (That’s the concrete bridge) had been constructed but both sides were still just sections that had been filled in with rocks and crushed stone material which meant a very slow ride over some rough sections on both sides…..

Not sure what the building was on top of this mountain but it might have been a lookout post…..

Taking home the firewood….

As we come to another Wadi where the road on both sides of the Wadi were worse than the previous one, so you went even slower over this one…..

With another climb after we get over and around the bend….

More firewood or maybe animal feed being taken home…..

While this lady with another lady whom you cannot see, was harvesting Argan Nuts….

The storm last November left some terrible damage behind…..

As we come to the next village….

We come to the alternative road to Tafraoute, while we turn right and continue….

While up ahead is one of the many Gendarmerie ‘Check Points’ in the country, and we think that this was also a radar trap as the Gendarme just by the truck was writing out a ticket as we passed by to the driver of a car that was pulled over….

On the left side of the next picture you can see part of a Speed Limit Sign which was 60Kmph with the Village ‘Sculpture’ as there were quite a few pottery makers in the village.
That was the next village we passed just after the ‘Check Point’ but we didn’t see anyone with a radar gun unless they were well hidden…

As the greenery increases as we come down from the mountains….

‘Pack em in!’ There were 7 Adults in this vehicle looking a bit uncomfortable in the back!....

As we enter the Tiznit ‘Region’…..

Interesting ‘Garden Wall’ around this property using ‘local materials’….

Then we pass this Electrical Distribution Centre with the Guard Towers at each corner…..

While shortly after we arrive into the outskirts of Tiznit were new buildings are sprouting up!....

Heading to the centre we pass the Trucks waiting for work….

Not sure what’s in the bag!....

As we come around the traffic island in the centre of the town, White Line Painting is in progress….

As you have to dodge the red metal ‘markers’ in the road where the painting has been carried out….

Then 3 miles later and we arrive at our destination Camping Tizerzite….

Off into town tomorrow but for now I need a beer!....

Good night.

**XCovlov70** · 12-19-2015, 01:02 AM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Tiznit 1st Day.

‘Good Morning’

After a relatively quiet night except for one dog that for some reason would not stop barking, we took off after breakfast for some shopping, and a look around Tiznit in reverse order, as we needed some ‘chilled’ items and didn’t want to leave them in today’s temperature that got up to 28C (82F) but felt much hotter!...

Main Mosque…

Bus Station…..

While all around the waiting area in the Bus Station were trees with these flowers on….

Alongside the main road were even more brightly coloured flowering bushes…

As we then went inside the Medina (Walls of the city) we could see more new buildings as we passed different gates in the Medina wall….

The Medina wall with its large buttresses….

While this corner was in need of some repair, but it had been built a very long time ago……

Different types of security on house doors. Secure metal outer door which can be kept closed and locked while the inner door is left open to allow warm or fresh air to enter the house….

Down through some of the shops. (Sorry it’s a bit fuzzy!)

We then came to one of the large entrances and saw this ‘channel’ in the road down the middle…..

Which then got suddenly much deeper….

While the next section had this rectangular reinforced concrete section being built….

This next section was just before another main gate entrance into the Medina as we can see the reinforcing rods being assembled…

As I then turned through 180 Degrees, I could see why.
The old rainwater drains were falling apart and could not handle the amount of water than tried to pass through, so they were building a new rainwater drain to cope….

Fresh Carrots of to the market….

Moped Repair anyone?

Or if you need it here is the Bicycle Repair Shop….

Butchers and Vegetable shops from which we got our vegetables as they are all fresh and you can choose what you want….
We paid 6 Moroccan Dirhams for 1Kg of Baby Tomatoes (£0.45 for 2.2lb)!...

If you need a Shower, then this is the place (Douche Alazar)….

Home Delivery Service waiting for customers. We even saw one of these that was transporting a man in his wheelchair that was tied in place in the back with the man still in his wheelchair!....

Fresh produce purchased, it was time to head back to the Supermarket for the rest of the items we needed and then back to the campsite….

Lazy day tomorrow before we get back on the road to the next destination.

Good night.

**XCovlov70** · 12-20-2015, 12:23 PM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Tiznit - Mirleft.

‘Good Morning’

Off again today but before we do a couple of pictures of Sunset from last night….

Then when the Sun has finally gone the distant hills are lit up in a golden glow…..

While turning through 180 Degrees this morning at around 07:30 we get the Sunrise which was something else entirely…..

Then after packing up and breakfast we were through Tiznit and on towards the coast road and Mirleft…..

Where the edge of the road had crumbled away and left a gulley, it had been dug out and small clumps of white painted stones kept you away from the gulley….

As the workmen were using materials to build back the road and reinforce the edge at the same time…..

Off we go again ‘hill climbing’ with a couple of hairpin bends thrown in for good measure!…..

Shepherdess with a small flock of sheep….

While this lady was balancing the load on her head very well!....

As we come to the first Wadi that has been replaced with a new Bridge as the old road went down to the Wadi which was destroyed during the storm.
You can see the white line in the old road in the picture….

Looks like an angry sea out there!....

As we come into the town of Mirleft….

We see these two ladies returning on their Donkeys after foraging for animal feed…..

Watch out for the Donkeys on the loose!….

As we come into another part of Mirleft on the other side of the valley…..

Down the hill and we see the large rock on the beach….

While the storm last November took out a large section of the Wadi and road each side…..

The new Wadi and road has now been finished with a slight detour to use it….

As the campsite is 5 miles outside the town we go over the hills once again….

Finally arriving at this very large campsite with very few campers on the site….

Cabins for visitors with no camper/caravan or tent….

Campsite Donkey and Guard Dog…..

The Campsite Showers/Toilets and Washrooms which were very clean and in excellent condition….

Just found out after getting here that some English friends are in a town called Sidi Ifni just down the coast, and as there nothing around here we are off after 1 night to go and join them in a campsite that we thought would never start up again after the storm in November 2014, when 3 Meters of water came down from the hills and wiped out 3 campsites in the town…..

Good night.

**XCovlov70** · 12-21-2015, 01:55 PM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Mirleft – Sidi Ifni.

‘Good Morning’

Off again to Sidi Ifni but as its very short run then there are not a lot of pictures to see before we get into Sidi Ifni….

As we set off down the coast road we get the Sea Mist trying to climb up over the cliffs…..

As we then pass what you would call a ‘Holiday Camp’ it has developed over the last 2 years as previously the buildings were still being constructed and the whole site looked a very dull grey colour from the concrete used in the construction…...

I said it wasn’t a long trip and already we are at the Gates of Sidi Ifni…..

Once again passing the large Mosque just after the entrance to the town….

As we watch this overloaded pick up van ‘wobble’ over the speed bump as the driver makes his way to the market with his load of carrots…..

We then get to the top of the hill going down into the little valley between each side of the town where the 3 meter Flash Flood went through 2 years ago…..

In the next picture you can see a small Lagoon of water, that was not there before the flash flood went through but now gets filled up when there is a high tide that comes over the beach….

While this is the new road that had to be built as the old one is somewhere on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean as the flood just took it away…..

The damaged buildings in the next picture were what was left after the flood went through, while the tall building just right of the centre of the picture is a small Salt making business which we understand was back in business a short time after even though there was around 3 feet of mud all around and the town itself was cut off!….

The route of the flood water…..

Next is a link to a video on YouTube which was taken as the Flash Flood came through which you might like to watch before you look at the next 3 pictures which I took the day after we came down from Mirleft as the weather had improved and I went to the location that the YouTube Video was taken to take the pictures…..

Sidi Ifni Flash Floods on You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y00rLg0s3kg

In the next picture of the campsite we are currently on.
The small section of wall painted light blue before the black ‘wall’ which is a 6foot wide erected plastic wall, makes its way anticlockwise to the front of the campsite and the corner of the Camper is all that is left after the flood, while the two small Towers at the original entrance survived….

The houses on the opposite side of the road to the campsite had a lot of water flowing past while a family of goats inside one of the houses managed to climb out of their pen and onto the roof of the house!.....

As we then went up into the town we saw this Cactus growing up on the roof of the house…..

Then coming back down from town we get this view….

As the water collapsed a large section of this wall, which is deemed ‘Not immediate’ so repair/reconstruction can wait for more important work to be carried out….

As this group of young trees and patch of land are getting re-established, while two sets of the Traffic Lights at the road crossing just behind the small garden are also somewhere out in the Atlantic and new Traffic Lights have yet to be installed ....

View looking left from the campsite entrance….

Another pathway of the flood water with some new building materials and a digger now at work…..

Campsite entrance with another small section of the light blue wall visible at the far end, while the ‘black plastic wall’ that is joined onto it used to also be the light blue wall with different countries national flags painted on which looked really nice as some people had a hard time figuring them out!......

To the side and back of the campsite is this land which while it is considerably higher than the campsite, the Truck is abandoned and scrapped off as the flood water went right through it….

Similarly is this JCB which rather interestingly has a UK Registration Number on the front and back!....

Better weather is supposed to be returning tomorrow with once again high temperatures!

Good night.

**XCovlov70** · 12-22-2015, 12:27 PM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Sidi Ifni. 2nd Day

‘Good Morning’

Normally an early riser I opened the door of the ‘TinTent’ this morning and looked around as night time started to fall away….

Looking at the different scenes that I could see around the town in the lights and sunrise as it came through…...

And then the Sun started to make an impression as it came over the hills…..

Then down the valley…..

As it just got better ….

Meanwhile after breakfast we took a walk along the road following the way the flood water had come along to see the second bridge in the town that had been partly washed away, and as we got there the length of new tarmac gave us an idea of how much was destroyed…..

When we looked downstream to the Wadi near the Sea there are 15 Concrete Tubes gong crossways in the road to allow the river water to run through…

In this second bridge there were 8 ‘Spans’ going across the river bed of which 5 were destroyed….

When you look at the span of the river you can see where the 8 spans of the bridge fitted …..

As you look at the next picture and can see the line of the new tarmac finish on the bridge, underneath that is the rocks and stones that was dropped by the townsfolk directly onto the river bed after the water had gone down to allow them to get from one side to the other…..

As we then made our way by a different route into town, we see this man with a few crowd barriers and traffic bollards around him making repairs to cables in the road. (Note the High Visibility Jacket he is not wearing!)

High spot looking down on one half of the Grand Taxi Rank on the left with some of the Taxis waiting for customers….
Grand Taxis are the BIG ones that can take 7 people while small cars are called Petite Taxis and can only carry 4 people….

The view across the valley towards the Military Fort on the top of the hill looking out to sea, that you are advised to stay away from….

Main road at the top of the town with some of the small shops and cafes under the arches…..

The daily caffeine ‘Intake’ which when you opt for the Black Coffee it is strong and sometimes quite bitter, I think that is why you always get 3 sugar lumps in the saucer!....

End of another day!....

Good night.

**XCovlov70** · 12-25-2015, 03:59 AM

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2015-2016

Sidi Ifni. 3rd Day & Christmas Eve

‘Good Morning’

We started our day with a trip to the Museum of the Liberation of Sidi Ifni from Spanish Rule, which is inside this building which looks like it has not long been painted….

The first thing we notice is that nearly all the exhibits have now got details attached in English of what they represent as our first time here 3 years ago it was just the exhibits with nothing else …...

The King of Morocco….

The previous Kings and Sultans of Morocco…..

Some of the Liberation Army fighters…..

As the rooms were being used by other people the free standing exhibits were moved to stand against the walls which made seeing some of them rather difficult…..

While back outside making our way back into town we pass a couple of interesting doorways ….

As we pass this lady foraging for animal feed from the wild plants growing in the central reservation of the main road …

Going up to the small park….

Water fountain but no water …..

With some more interesting views as we wander around…..

Then we spotted this ‘gate’ that had been trimmed along the bottom at an angle so it would fit the frame but not squarely! …..

On the left in the next picture is the Cinema which is still going!....

Murals on the school wall…..

After we got back to the campsite it was a lazy afternoon and evening before time for bed, while the next day was a holiday here so after getting some vegetables and bread from the market which was open we whiled away Christmas Eve as we found that for the first time in 28 years there is a Full Moon this evening…..

As we then joined friends to go for a Christmas Eve Dinner at a local Hotel Restaurant….

The owner invited us to go and have a look at the view from his terrace, which was nice but no different really from the view we had seen while standing on the corner, but the inside decoration of the Hotel was rather nice…

Then after the meal was over we made our way back to the campsite and saw that some of the town’s Christmas lights had been turned on….

With a final look at a special Full Moon again on Christmas Eve, it was time for bed…..

Good Night & we hope you are having or had a Merry Christmas!