Morocco – North African mystery, desert, drought, camels, heath and a completely different culture to what we had otherwise experienced. We have to go there!!
Earlier this year we went on a trip to South Africa. Safari, culture, landscapes and wildlife – it was all there – we got so excited about Africa.
Now it was time to seek the adventure on our own and we had a bigger plan lined up. Johnny had 5 weeks of vacation and time off, Sus had the usual 3.
Hocus Pocus, then magic must be done.
The car is packed and Johnny zig zags down through Europe, where there are geeks with technical museums and car exhibitions which are probably primarily a man's thing.
Sus touches down in Toulouse in the South of France, rushing straight from work and boarding the plane.
Together we drove on through the South of France, here we accidentally find a cave attraction. Grotte de NiAux. When, after a long walk in the dark, you stand in front of cave paintings that are estimated to be between 11,000 and 17,000 years old, it is deeply impressive. Another chance find on our trips – which left strong memories.
Full throttle through Spain and on to Gibraltar.
The myth goes that as long as there are monkeys on the Rock of Gibraltar, it will remain British, Union Jack and all.
Naturally, we had to go up the cliff with the cable car and see the monkeys. On the way up we are warned not to bring bags, the sneaky monkeys think there is food in them. HAPS and then they steal the bag and run off with everything you own.
So no bags.
We walked around, enjoyed ourselves and looked at the monkeys. In the middle of it all comes a young German couple. Suddenly a monkey jumps onto his back and the boyfriend bursts into wild laughter. It won't jump down and instead of helping the poor man, she starts filming him and keeps laughing. Always good to know you can count on help...
We went into the cafeteria to have some lunch.
Just as we are sitting quietly enjoying our lunch, the door opens and a monkey runs in full quadrupeds. People scream and hide their things. Johnny is quick and gets the camera and sunglasses hidden away.
Sus is almost in a frozen state and just has to think "what's going on" and the sandwich is gone. An employee sprints after the monkey and gets it out of the yard again. We are dying of laughter and the rest of the cafeteria is laughing along.
With slightly red cheeks, Sus tried to blend in with the wallpaper.
The cafeteria staff is really friendly and provides a new sandwich free of charge
You could see that it was not the first time that the monkeys had sneaked inside. An employee was promptly armed with a broom and then guarded the door.
The next day we sailed from Gibraltar to Ceuta. We thought that the easiest thing was to arrive on the EU part of Africa. Ceuta is a tiny Spanish enclave in northern Morocco. As we stand there on the deck and watch Europe disappear behind us, a flock of flying fish takes off – a fun surprise.
The temperature is considerably higher on the African continent, an overnight stay in an air-conditioned hotel is extremely attractive before we try our hand at Morocco.
Parking is often a challenge. We found a parking garage, albeit with limited headroom. Even the parking attendant came out with a concerned face and guided us into place. There was a maximum of 1.5cm up to the ceiling and his knowledge of the floor's curves and elevations was worth its weight in gold.
After a sweaty check-in at the hotel, it was time to relax a bit with a good steak and night photos of the beautiful city.