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  1. #111
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura….an afternoon stroll!

    After another cold night when the temperature in the ‘TinTent’ dropped to 0C after a bit of a lie in to warm up and then breakfast we needed to get a pile of washing done, so having then sorted that out it was nearly lunchtime! After which as it was only a quick sandwich we decided to go for a stroll down to the river, then along the river bed & up through the Palmerie, then into Skoura ….

    As we get to and look across we see the Kasbah Amridil which appeared on the old 50 Dirham banknotes….



    As we then turned right to walk along the river bed which at this point must be over 100 Yards wide and not a drop of water insight, it seems unreal that less than 2 months ago the water was flowing at a depth of 3 feet and was from one side to the other!
    Karim has a video of the event, which he tells me is fairly regular in December, while the flow was very fast….



    Since last year the wall which is on both sides of the river has been built….



    Which is not quite finished….



    As this concrete buttress has been built to channel the river flow away from a vehicle/pedestrian crossing which is used when there is no water flowing….



    While just behind the wall is this land which was part of the Palmerie and is now being re-claimed for agriculture….



    Then we pass the old ‘Sink Holes’ which were used a long time ago for irrigation …..



    And are quite deep….



    Continuing along the path we enter the Palmerie...



    With another irrigation channel alongside the pathway…..



    While on both sides of the pathway are areas that have been cultivated for agriculture….







    As we then come to this rather forlorn and collapsing old small Kasbah (Family Home) with its intricate design on the tower that look like it is ready to collapse….



    As we then move closer….



    Then inside the outer wall…..





    This looks like it might have been the main entrance…..





    While this rear doorway as we go inside…..



    Leads to a set of steps which I would like to have gone up but did not look safe, so as I currently need both legs for this trip I decided to leave out and stay on the ground….



    While another doorway which was still in possession of the steel door, led to a number of rooms on the ground floor….



    As we then move on I look back and wonder how long before a small part of the history for this place disappears?



    While I nearly step into this small irrigation channel with rather fast flowing water in!.....





    As we follow the water we come to this manmade concrete section….



    Then it was out of the Palmerie and onto the main road that goes past the village to Dades Gorge one way or Ouarzazate the other….



    The heading into the centre we stop at a Café for coffee. As we sit at the table my good lady asks me to look at the Red Van directly in front of us as ‘something BIG is moving around in the front!’…..



    I cannot believe my eyes!…..



    As I take a mouthful of coffee and the caffeine hits the spot….



    I then look back up and see…..



    I did wonder if the Cow is ‘presented’ as the ‘Driver’ if they go through a Radar Trap?

    While off to our left while still sat in the Café we finally get to see a proper ‘Truck with Beds’ as this delivery waits for the driver!



    After some ‘people watching’ which was nice and relaxing it was time to head back to the campsite, and on the way we see this man in the process of splitting the trunk of a Palm tree….



    As we then go across this small bridge and see that the main section is made from sections of Palm Tree Trunks….



    Then a bit further along we pass another Kasbah Tower with more intricate designs in it….



    Not long after the Sunset arrives, so I get up on the Terrace to watch the colours change…..







    A view looking 180 degrees the other way…..



    As I then climb down and head back to the ‘TinTent’….



    Last day here tomorrow but not sure yet what we will be doing!

  2. #112
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    May 2012
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    So any thought of getting fresh cream for your coffee from the van cow? Or was it the incorrect type of cow for cream?

  3. #113
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssicarman View Post
    So any thought of getting fresh cream for your coffee from the van cow? Or was it the incorrect type of cow for cream?
    Ha Ha!

    Sorry ssicarman I prefer this coffee black, to 'infect' this coffee with cream for me would not be a good move as the after taste I think is really nice,

    While my good lady prefers the coffee with milk in.

  4. #114
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura….the River!

    After a day of no mains electric, as it failed at around 07:30hrs this morning and finally came back on at 18:30hrs this evening, we have spent part of today getting ready for the next leg of our trip which will take us up through the High Atlas on a different route from Skoura via Demnate on the R307 then to Tannant on the R304 and finally to Ouzoud on a road that has no number on the map
    While on the Michelin Map we have which was published in 2008 there are some rather steep sections as shown by ‘>>’ or ‘<<’ if you are going downhill!

    We understand that even though ‘Flamenco Red’ is a 4x4 having the ‘TinTent’ on the back might prove to be a big problem, but we will have to wait and see what happens while it will be ‘fingers crossed’ tomorrow….

    Meanwhile…..

    A couple of days ago you may remember this picture of the river bed as we took a stroll into the village via the Palmerie?….



    Well after talking with Karim at Camping Amridil, from his collection of pictures, this was the river at a road crossing point about 200 yards downstream in November 2014….



    While I hope this next one gives some idea of the height the river rose up to as it ran alongside the wall….



    While we hope all goes well tomorrow, there are as well as the steep bits some very tight hairpin bends to get around, so let’s see how we manage!

    Oh and it’s single track road we believe as well.

  5. #115
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    Quite the difference between wet and dry. Looks like in the last picture they did some reinforcement banking on the backside of the wall.

    Take care driving the mountains. You don't want to end up at the bottom of something when you were just at the top of the road.

  6. #116
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    Quote Originally Posted by ssicarman View Post
    Quite the difference between wet and dry. Looks like in the last picture they did some reinforcement banking on the backside of the wall.

    Take care driving the mountains. You don't want to end up at the bottom of something when you were just at the top of the road.
    Thanks.
    I will be hugging the side of the Mountain like it's going out of fashion, while my good lady keeps one hand on the camera and the other on the 'Ships Anchor' just in case we slip!

    While I have not been able to access Google Earth here in Morocco as it is blocked, so I have not been able to have a detailed look at the route.

    My only real concern is how tight some of the hairpin bends on a single track road are as getting 39 feet of outfit around them might be a real challenge even though the outfit 'bends' in more or less the middle!

    Fingers crossed as it's not long before we are 'Off'!!!

  7. #117
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura to Ouzoud, via Demnate which takes you up over the High Atlas Mountains….

    YES! We made it, and it was FABULOUS, although in some places which you will hopefully see a bit nerve raking!

    The scenery along the way was breath taking and I do not think the pictures really do it justice, but….

    It took 7.5Hours to do the 143 Miles which included one coffee break and a stop for fuel just outside Demnate, we forgot lunch!.

    While my good lady presented me with over 300 Pictures and flattened two camera batteries in the process before we had to change over to a continuous power supply courtesy of ‘Flamenco Red’ whom I was in places grateful for the 205 Horses under the hood, it is going to take me a little while to get sorted out …..

    So below as a ‘Taster’ are the few pictures I took (After we stopped) to give you hopefully some idea of what we saw.
    I will work on the other pictures which are in sequence for the trip and get them into the Blog ASAP!

    Sunrise this morning before we hit the road….



    The 'Grey' middle in the next picture we actually went along, but firstly we had to get down there!

























    Now I have to prepare the other ones with some text….

  8. #118
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura to Ouzoud….

    In choosing the best pictures i.e. The ones that had no ‘faults’ with them, I am left with over 260 so have decided to make them into 4 parts for this stage as I think every one of them is worth showing and is a credit and ‘Thank you’ to my good lady who was a bit concerned but kept clicking away as we went and has given us some fabulous memories which we want to share…..

    According to the Michelin map we have, the highest point that ‘Flamenco Red’ tugged us up to was 8464 Feet!!! (2580 Meters) and that was on a ‘>>’ section.

    While during the run we went over Snow & Ice, through Water and sections of the ‘road’ which was more like a rutted track that was that narrow if the ‘TinTent’ had been any wider I would have needed a shovel to dig a bit out, and I didn’t pack one!

    So sit back and enjoy the ride, we did and we hope you do as well…….

    As we leave Skoura after 20 miles heading towards Ouarzazate we turn right towards Ghassane…





    After getting over the mountain pass we did wonder if this place with was on the Skoura side was producing road material to repair the sections that you will see later on as we get to the ‘rough bits’!…..









    The ‘New & the Old’ side by side….







    Out of Ghassate and heading for the Mountains….









    As we start the climbing and the nice ‘throaty roar’ from ‘Flamenco Red’ kicks in as the 205 Horses start to flex their muscles, especially with the ‘TinTent’ hanging on the back!...









    As we see ‘The Lone Ranger’ making his way across, but there was no sign of ‘Tonto’?







    One of the travel stories that my good lady read before we started this run was that there were NO crash barriers on the road, so the sight of these made her somewhat more relaxed, but not a lot!....







    While the ‘broad white line’ in the next picture is a wall to stop you falling over the edge!....





    First hairpin bend with lots of room to get around….

























    Keep to the right of the painted stones as the road has collapsed….









    As we went around this bend you could see the part of the road that looked like a ‘shelf’ as the underneath had disappeared….







    While down in the valley, which you got to via a dirt track was this small settlement….







    There is the dirt track that takes you to the settlement….





    Tight hairpin bend but we got around it…..


    Keep left but not too far as the right side is not good….



    Next is what we just came along…..





    Going down…..















    Definite chance of ‘Rockfall’ along here as we pass what has already fallen down!....





    As the road surface gets worse, so keep those seat belts on!....











    That’s it for Part 1!
    See you in Part 2?
    I’m off for some breakfast!

  9. #119
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura to Ouzoud Part 2….

    I hope you are still with us and ready for some more?





    How nice of the Transport Authorities to finally tell us ‘No Overtaking’ after around 40 Miles on the same type of road!...













    Goats ahead, so slow down and get a ‘Thank you’ wave from the Herdsman…







    We are in the middle of nowhere and I still have Full Signal Strength from Maroc Telecom which is reassuring if you do happen to break down, while that signal strength was the same level throughout the ride!.....



    No sorry, we did not just come through that gap between those hills…..



















    Have to slow down again as what is left of the tarmac has been covered with what has eroded from the side of the mountain and is on both sides of the track and in the middle…..



    As the road we are going along disappears off into the distance as we get further along…..



    As we get to this ‘descent’ sign….



    Looking over we see that ‘Grey section’!!!



    With some snow at the side of the road on the hairpin bend which is out of the direct sunlight as we descend to the ‘Grey section’…..



    Last quick look up and away….



    Then we get to the ‘rough bit’ on the descent through the ‘Grey section’ so hang on, cos it gets bumpy!....



    While the width of the track just accommodates the ‘TinTent’!.....



    We pulled over a bit further down to make sure that we had not lost any of the yellow side lights on the ‘TinTent’ but everything was still in place, including inside as well!....



    Frozen waterfall….











    OMG! Now we get both sides of the track with ‘problems’ as the track should go right up to the edge of the wall and be flat…..



    After carefully picking our way through that one at around 2mph and in 1st gear we are OK to continue….



    So now we get to a different colour, which I am rather glad was not wet!...



    While in the bottom of the valley there are strips of fertile land which are being cultivated….



    Yippee….Out of the Sun and onto the ICE!....







    As we come to another section of ICE, which the Nokian Tyres lost no grip on even though with my window open I could hear the ice ‘cracking’ and I thought of the TV program called ‘Ice Road Truckers’ who take 40+Tonne outfits across frozen lakes in Alaska, but thankfully the ice under us was not a problem….





    Next was the ‘Wadi’ well the tyres could do with cooling down…..





    As we then came to puddles and mud where a small stream of water was coming out of the mountain onto the track…..





    Not knowing how deep the puddles where it was a case of slowly, slowly through them otherwise you could easily end up with a puncture or damaged wheel and puncture….



















    5 Ladies with their Donkeys heading home after foraging….



    As they had this to negotiate as we got in front of them….





    As we got to the bend in the road by a waterfall I looked back and could just make them out in the shadow of the mountain…..



    Then looked the other way to see the small waterfall…





    Just be careful getting around the landslip from the Mountain….



    See you in Part 3….

  10. #120
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    Overland to Morocco.
    Winter 2014-2015


    Skoura to Ouzoud Part 3….

    OK! Off we go again, and watch out for the ‘debris’ on either side!…





    WOW! Can you see all those houses on the cliff face?



    As we got closer, you would pay a high price for a place like that in Europe!
    “Spectacular Mountain View”!....











    Across the river….



    Then up the hill….



    Round the little bend and come to a full stop, as I cannot get through the gap between the truck and the stall….



    As the Moroccan in the Jeleba realises this then scoots around the the drivers seat, cranks the engine up and sets off up the road with his ‘helper’ hanging on the back!.....



    We follow while seeing the openings in the wall on the mountain face….



    While up a bit higher we get the chance to look back….



    As we then catch the truck up, (Those 205 Horses are doing excellently under the hood!) and the guy on the back looks a little worried….



    As the truck then pulled over to give someone a lift, we passed by with a hoot of the horn and a ‘Thank you’ wave and carried on….



















    More houses with agriculture patches below them…..



    While a bit further along is the river which looked to be quite fast flowing…







    I’m ever so glad that rock came down before we passed by!....



    And then there was another one a bit further along….









    Tarmac is once again missing from here…..

















    On the right is one of the Mini Bus Transport vehicles that takes people to and from Demnate, from outlying villages along the R307, while this was the first one we had seen so far….





    Washing day again was something that was continuously seen with clothes left on trees or hanging over walls to dry out in the sunshine….









    Another BIG Puddle of water, need to slow down as don’t know how deep!....



    Some of the ‘contortions’ in the road presented by TomTom!....





    As we climb up a section of the ‘squiggly’ bit of road….





    Quick stop to have a look and rub the eyes and temple as I was not using any sunglasses for better viewing of the road…..





    Then off we go again and get to the top as a 4x4 Desert Truck comes the other way but it was too close to get a picture…



    As we climb a bit further we see this lone cyclist in front!…..



    As we pass him by and wave, we then a bit further see number 2 cyclist who must be on a ‘sadist expedition’ on this road and those bikes!.....



    Hang on, there’s a real ‘lumpy/bumpy’ bit just in front!....







    More ‘rough stuff’ up ahead…..



    Oh look there is the road we have just come up back down there….





    Part 4 next and it does get better, so your ‘queasy’ feeling and lack of oxygen should settle down!

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