2025 Morocco

Today we needed to pack the van ready for our departure down the mountain and into the valley where it will be significantly warmer.

Breakfast with Moha, Rkia and Yanis and then finished bringing in the hookup cables and we were saying our goodbyes. Yanis, who is 3, was convinced he was coming with us and placed himself in the front passenger seat. Oh how he cried when Moha extracted him. Upsetting but we needed to go.

We left at around 11am to make our way back to Skoura which was the place we left 10 days ago to visit the framily. On the way we stopped in the small town to buy a few things but mainly some milk. We arrived at the site at 2:20pm and started to add water as we were nearly out again. The tap was so slow so we decided after 10-15 minutes to only fill enough for the next few days.

Tina organised the washing machine and we were hanging out the clothes on the line I had just strung up at 4pm. At 6pm we brought the washing in and it is now strewn around the van and hopefully finish drying overnight.

Tina retired to bed early as she was exhausted. Saying our goodbyes was telling on both of us. Tomorrow will be a relaxing day we hope.

Our last full day and it was a quiet one.

I have been suffering with nausea and wind due to the medication I take weekly being increased in dosage. We were thinking of another picnic but decided instead to have a more relaxing day.

I watched the end of the darts tournament that had been televised all week and also England qualifier match on ITV. Our lunch today was a chicken Tagine which was cooked to perfection. I also investigated how to make paper fortune tellers and paper aeroplanes. The kids loved this and I am sure will show their friends in the morning.

Rkia demonstrated how she made the rounds of dough before cooking the bread. It was fascinating to watch a skill that had been passed down the generations over time. Later we saw her come back with the grass she had cut and carried back to feed the sheep. This woman never stops. Whilst a watching some TV she decided to sweep through our van…. she has such a generous spirit.

As we retired we ran out of water so we needed to put a few lites into the tank so as not to burn out the pump that was continuously running. We had originally planned to leave today so we would have had enough.

Full day of exercise today.

We had agreed to visit the local larger town market so we got up an hour earlier than usual. We left our overnight parking spot at 10am to travel the 7km and found some parking. The market is the biggest in the area and covers a huge area and based on an incline. Moha led us to buy vegetables whilst Rkia took the children to buy some clothing. I found walking uphill a real struggle. Soon we climbed to the upper part of the market to meet with Rkia. At this point it was agreed that Tina would continue with Rkia and Moha and I would find a local cafe where we would wait for the ladies.

The cafe was outside of the walled market and here we ordered some drinks. Moha then left me there whilst he went searching for some beef and chicken for us. I probably waited 90 minutes for everyone to meet up again. I was getting worried that Tina would become anxious but later found out she held on to Yanis, the 3 year old, to ensure she was not lost. Eventually we all met back at the van and then proceeded to drive back to the house.

We then learnt that the Governor of the province was due to visit the village and Moha didn’t have the required permission for us to be camping on his land. He had arranged with a local garage that we could park in their yard thus hiding our presence. We walked back to the house.

Rkia made a Berber omelette for lunch followed by apple. It was about 5pm before we went back to retrieve the van from its hiding place and got hooked up again.

Later Tina found some custard sachets and introduced the family to apple and custard. It was a moderate success.

Both girls are keen to help their mother and happy to wash the dishes.

Yesterday we had strong winds with occasional showers and overnight the wind got stronger so much so we felt the van rock occasionally. However, today it has brightened up…. still cold and some wind but nothing like yesterday. We experienced the first rain since arriving in Morocco yesterday.

Marwa is making use of my internet to do her homework. I helped her again with her Maths and set a few challenges which she requester. She does very well at school. The girls generally only do half days over a 6 day week but the sessions alternate between morning and afternoon. So they can finish school as late as 6pm.

Moha has bought some goat meat to make a Tagine. Neither Tina or I have ever tasted goat so this will be an experience. We found the meat a little fatty. Not sure we would order it by choice.

Agreed with Moha that will be leaving on Monday after he pleaded with us to stay longer.

Nothing planned for today however it was a very enjoyable day.

I suggested we have Kefta for lunch but this was not possible so we agreed on a Berber omelette. We joined Rkia & Moha for breakfast and then Moha said because it was so cold he wished he had a Jellaba. Tina suggested that we gift him mine which I bought in 2014 on our first visit to Morocco. She retrieved it from the van and he tried it on. It was huge if not a little long so the ladies have spent all afternoon altering the hem.

Moha emptied our toilet cassette again so we can now stay until Sunday.

The lunch of the Berber omelette was delicious and then some apples completed the meal.

Quiet day today. After breakfast I wanted to add more fresh water as I was concerned we were likely to be low so we added about 60 litres by hand. Moha helped with carrying the water from the tap. We adapted a bottle to make a funnel.

During lunch Tucker got close to the goat who roams freely in the backyard. When we first arrived the goat was no where to be seen.

Later during the afternoon I tried to do some work on the website and completely mucked it up so I then had to relearn how to correct my mistakes as I had forgotten how I originally created the site.

The plan is now stay until Sunday with a visit to the large market in the nearby town on Saturday morning.

Is there anything that Rkia can’t do? When we visited in 2024 she said that she would weave me a carpet with my own logo on it. She has already started by having a frame built and on the way with the piece.

Our lunch was a Lamb Tagine cooked in a traditional way on a cooker using hot cinders. It consisted off the meat together with the potatoes and vegetables. Delicious.

This evening I helped Marwa with her Maths homework. She was working on fractions.

What a fantastic day today … Lots of fun and laughter.

We were once again invited to have breakfast with them and we were told Rkia was going to bake bread which she does every 3-4 days. We saw her choose her kindling to start the fire in the oven and get the cinders good and hot.

She then introduced the flat bread onto the plata much like a piazza oven. Over the course of the next few minutes the bread was rotated to cook the underside then it was raised from one side so the flames could cook the top surface.

The whole process took about 7 minutes. She then showed us she had already prepared a number of bread rounds ready for cooking. The thought crossed my mind how this process had been followed by the Berber people for centuries. I felt really lucky to watch how this was done in peoples homes and not in a commercial bakery.

Later we decided to have a picnic much like we did on our last visit. However, there is no snow on the roads like before. Check out the last time So we packed the van and we all got in… Moha in the passenger seat, Rkia and Yanis in the travelling seats and Tina and the girls on the bed. They loved the ride. We passed the spot where we got stuck before and found a spot of road. Soon Rkia was making the fire ready to cook the brochettes. In the meanwhile she started to prepare a salad of tomato, onion, cucumber and lettuce.

We had purchased some Turkey meat on our way to visit and so now Rkia was cutting this up to place on the skewers. Cooked to perfection and far too much for Tina & I to consume but the kids enjoyed the meal. All three kids took the time to throw the ball for Tucker and he loved it and got some much need exercise.

Everyone had high spirits and a great day. We packed up and left just before sunset, just as it was starting to get cold.

Fantastic !!!

The good and the bad today….

First the bad. AFC Bournemoth lost 4-0 to Aston Villa which was a great disappointment and as a consequence we have dropped to 9th in the table. Lets hope for a better result next week.

Now the good. We were invited in for breakfast where we had some delicious orange jam with bread & butter. All washed down with milky coffee.

Lunch we ate cuscus with chicken and everyone sat around with their spoon and tucked into the large bowl. This evening we are being treated to soup and jacket potatoes with curry or cheese. We purchased some replacement skillets before we left England and gave our old ones to Rkia. Tina is teaching her what to do with the skillet. Looking forward to the meal in her new kitchen which is a major upgrade from when we visited last.

We tidied up the van today. I have carried clothing, shoes and sweets for the kids together with our old Skillet we use in the van. All of these things were gratefully accepted. Whether they use them for themselves or give / sell them we have left as their choice.

We also brought some writing materials and paper for the girls together with some sticker books which the girls love.

Rkia visited a neighbour / friend who was holding a traditional party for the birth of a new child. Later we were invited to attend in the evening but we declined as Tina was exhausted.