Marocco is a country of big variety. A few kilometers will change about everything, from the landscape to the people and their mentality to the wheater. The day i arrived the only thing i knew was that i’ll have to meet up with Lucian in Marrakesch the big Placa in front of the postoffice.. And since Lucian has been there for a while, he allready knows his way around, and i had nothing else to do then go with the flow!
The mission is CLIMBING. We have a 80m rope a few quickdraws a set of stoppers and we are ready!
So what do we do, Todra or Tafraout? The sports climbing place, or the place with a bit of everything, between boulder and alpine style? Well it had to be Tafraout of course, and not just that. We wouldn’t just take a touristcoatch to get there we would travel the old fashionad local way. And as much the airline as possible. So the next morning we took of to the busstation, well it was allready the wrong one, but that didn’t matter we were intent to leave Marrakesch behind, and go for Tafraout. So we fighted our way throu all the guys that tried to sell us some othertickets we didn’t want. And found the bus that would bring us
as close to Tizi-Test (thats the first pass we were gonna go over) as any bus would go. And then suddenly everything was really easy. As soon as the bus wouldn’t go any farther on the way we were about to take. The bus driver told us to get out and like 5 Berber where standing there to explain us that this one dude would take us over the pass to Olad Berhill.
We didn’t even have time to breath and where allready on the next ride over the pass! Throu this amazing valley direction Tizi-Test. On the way down on the other side. There had happend an accident and there was police and stuff.. so suddenly the guys in the car started to go really nervous and closed all the curtains, to hide us in there. And as soon as we passed the police, our drivers style changed from really relaxed and easy to fast and speedy??? Then in the end he didn’t really want to go to Olad Berhill, so he just handed us over to a bus, and payed for the bus ticked to Olad Berhill.
By that time it was allready dark and we were tired, so we tried to find a hotel, but the price was a bit to high. So Lucian told the owner, well but there is no shower no nothing, so we are not gonna pay that much. (That was quite funny and i allmost couldn’t hold back my laughs since in the 2 weeks i shoured like 2 times :p )
The next day we started walking out of town till we would find something like a bus stop.. (well basicly you just have to send next to the road when the bus comes so you we didn’t have to look for it for too long)
Taroudant. Its a nice relaxed town that awoke our interesst so we stayed for a day. Got some food and had a look around.
The next day when we wanted to leave, there wasn’t any busses or taxis running anymore. Strike. But tomorrow.
Ah what the heck..Let’s just take it easy then, we are on vacation. let’s go for lunch. Well it didn’t become me that good and i started to pucke up the next day, surrly no condition to travel in. And the strike was still on as well. So we decided to stay another day.
Maroccain people are so helpfull once the patron of the hotel found out that i’m sick, he came up and ask me how i feel. I told him that i ate something bad and my stomack is cramping like fuck. “Ce n’est pas une problem messieur, seulment boir en peux du lait avec du coca!” That sounded really wierd to me, and i told him no, no it’s allready a bit better. But he insisted and went to get me some milk and coke. He gave me two shot’s and it was way better then the electrolyt drink Lucian made for me earlier that day. He tabed on my shoulder and told me to go on the toillet, which confused me a bit since its ment to help me and it should be better now. But then i knew why and i just made it in time to the toillet which was about 5m away.
Well the milk coke mix makes your stomack turn 180° and everything gets out. Really usefull when you drink eat bad stuff ;)
After this my stomack was all fine, and we desided to leave after breakfast. Some proviant and we were off.
Hitchhiking, since la grève was still on.
It was quite easy to get the orientation, costed us about a cigarette. So we started walking. Direction Tafraout.
Smart as we are, we figured we could short cut a massiv turn, just straight thru some bushy sandy land, which was basicly the junk yard of Taroudant, they digged holes everywhere to junk in the trash and cover it up afterwards.. so we about two thirds thru and suddenly there was this herd of camels in front of us!
What do you when you walk into a herd of camels? – Well lets walk around them.
There was no chance of doing that since the camels just started walking the very same direction. So we tried to get even further away from them, and that was about the time where this dude turned up shouting at us and makeing signes if we are stupied and wouldn’t see the herd. Well he was proper pissed cause of us he had to leave his shade to calm down the herd.
So we figured a big circle would be the best option if you see a herd of camels, and desided to leave the shortcut thing by itself the next time anyway..
We walked quite a few Kilometers allready to the big roundabound and figured we could hitch from here. But it’s hard, no one would pick us up. It took about two hours till a pickup came and offred to take us to the next village, where the road splits and our way would leaf the big road, for 20 Diram. So we had some rest bought a new bottle of water and a bread in that village and were ready to walk again. But stupied as we are we walked for about 7 km in the wrong direction till we made a break and a guy drove up and was woundering what we were doing there. We explained him, that we are on the way to Tafraout and he just looked puzzled and tried to explain us that this way is never ever leading to Tafraout, i think it was quite amusing for him as well, two locolocos just somewhere in the middle of nowhere. He was really kind and drove us all the way back to the place
where we turned the wrong way and told us we would have to walk down this way.
We were freakishly tired. But we basicly didn’t get anywere yet so we had to keep on walking. There was no other opportunity in our stuporn minds. We walked till a guy told us we should just wait there with him, he’s gonna get picked up and we should wait and they would takes us with them. He didn’t speak much, and we waited there, its quite relaxed. You know somewhen someone is gonna turn up and take you with him. So you wait. It’s quite a lot of waiting in marocco actually. So you just have to keep your mind togheter, und don’t start with those mindgames like oh he’s never gonna turn up why didn’t he turn up yet…
Well he turn up with he’s pickup and they took us quite a bit. till the road split. and they told us that we would have to go this other way. And should just wait for the plus grand caminion, which is basicly a big truck.
So we sat there on a big piece of concrete in the mittle of the crossing, waiting for the plus grand caminion. That finaly never turned up. Plane B, hide and sleep.
There were this massive pipelines that we figured would make a good cave to sleep in, we waited till we didn’t hear anything and then run to hid in that pipeline, but as soon as we were in there the guys from that tent where the workers stayed in came out and everything went really bussy out there. And the idea came up that cause of all the heat they gonna start working now and would put the pipelines underground.. and it was freakishly dusty in there definitly no place to sleep at.
Back on our big concrete block, we didn’t really know if we should hide behind some bushes or in that ruin a bit further down the road. By that time i was so feed up with the hole hidding issue so i just took out my sleeping bag and desided to sleep on the spot, wheter or not Lucian would stay with me.
It was all fine, and we had a really funny morning when all the workers came on their bisycles and rode by us. Their looks where just priceless.
So keep on walking (since we are no fishes). Today was quite good we hitched 2 rides to get into the next bigger place, bought a bread and new water and keept walking out of town. A short brake since we allready managed about 100 km and hitchhiking, ah no its a girl, never gonna happen. But she stopped and took us to Ait Baha, aperently she lives in Agadir and works in Ait Baha, so she has to travel back and forth all the time. She let us out befor entering the town, so noone would see that she picked us up, otherwise people would start talking she said, and it wouldn’t be good for her. Well for us it was all fine to get such a long ride anyway, we thanked her and walked into the village.
Tee time! But somehow the tee doesn’t smell that good down here not so fresh and i think they are useing really bad water? And since the only bus that left town was going to Agadir and we defenitly didn’t want to go there was the last choice to wait for the plus grand camion.
We found our tree just a bit out of town, giveing us shade. Your mind really starts going off when you have to wait for a ride in the hot midday sun and noone wants to take you anywere then Agadir which is in the wrong direction. After 5 houres the sun wasn’t that strong anymore, and we deffenitly had enough of that tree! So we started walking again and desidet to take any ride we would get, knowing that there wouldn’t be anything on our way on the map. This old man picked us up and took as along the lake which is basicly the drinking water for Ait Baha, and not a beach to go swiming!
After a while there came up a crossing, and he told us that both ways go to Tafraout. But the one he takes home doesn’t have as much traffic on the road, so we desided to take the other one since we allready were pushing our luck to far by hiching anyway. And it didn’t take long – and another guy picked us up, comeing home from work.
Slowly the Valy started to form into one of the most amazing views with nich cliff bands, and little therasses where they had their farming growing. an amazing view! The dude was leaving our rout on a crossing where there was a water hole, so we were able to fill up our bottles again, since we sat on our lazy asses for quite a while back at our tree drinking all the water. And old French army jeep was parked there and the drivers where washing their faces and drinking the water from the tap, that we filtered first. that must have been wierd for them, they looked at us in a funny way and you could guess that they couldn’t really figure out why Lucian was doing that wierd thing with the tee pot and that pump? Anyway the dude that took us with him, talked a few words to them in arabic and left.
Suddenly they were like get in the car, we didn’t even know yet that they were gonna take us with them. So we just jumped into the car with our backpacks me in the front seat with the two guys totaly in the way of the gear thingy. and Lucian in the back on top of a big pile of cement. The car went like 5 to 20 km/h was totaly over weight and as it seams hard to stear, on a windy road next to big droping cliffs :) SWEET!
On a little highland in the middle of a field there was a crossing and our ride ended.
I offerd a few cigaretts to the driver, but all he wanted for the lift was one single cigarett thats it.
Another walk a cooky break – you don’t get any bread that late at day anymore in the shop, and the final walk for the day, just till we would fall down and not beeing able to move anymore. But what is that one of those big trucks stoped next to us and told us to jump onto the back! Le plus grand camion! hahhaa finaly, just about 200 km after we expected it :p That was some big excitement.
They took us into the next bigger town again, i can’t even remember the name. and told us we should stay in a hotel tonight and get a car ride tomorrow morning all the way to Tafraout. but we didn’t wanna stay in that village the finish line was to close so we just had to keep walking our of town.. the next town and we slowly started to get tired, we figured we wouldnt be able to walk all the way throu (like 80km) so we desided to just leave this town and then find a place to sleep.. but the town turnd out the be a really long streched out farming house rowed up to the next farming house one. and it took us ages to get out of it. finaly we figured that that had to be it. so we went a bit up hill like 10 m from the road. and sat down for a while. then there was voices comeing up so we didn’t move and when they passed by we started fixing our beds. And as soon we had everything set up and layed down it started to rain! pffff (of course we didn’t have a tent or anything like that just a sos blanked that would have to do.)
Another day another luck. We managed to get 2 lifts the next morning and ended up beeing about 20 km from tafraout. So we started walking again. And slowly figure out, that so close to touristic places noone would pick us up anymore.. and finaly we didn’t want to have a lift anymore, since houre egos were to strong and wanted to walk into the village.
But the bloody last 3 km from the were just killer, there was 3 km stone and then a 4 km stone??? but we made it. finaly Tafraout! And there is huge boulders all around it!!
We needed a rest day, befor we figured out that we absolutly had the wrong gear with us. Tafrout is not that much sports climbing.. but there is so many nice cracks going up some huge boulders so if you bring a 40m rope and some friends and stoppers you should be fine. But even better and even i have to say that would be a boulder mattrass! there is wicked bouldering!
It’s like boulders every where you can pick any direction and start walking and you’ll finde hips of lines and projects!
