Terrorist attacks, kidnappings and similar news are circulating the media nowadays when talking about northern Africa. That was also the response of our friends and family when we decided to travel to Morocco. After all we didn't plan on going to a club and hang around the beach - we wanted to get to know the country a bit. So we set off in our 4x4 and worked our way south. One of our highlights should be a deserted track along the Algerian border - from Taouz to Zagora.
Although we were equipped with a
GPS and maps we had a bit of a problem finding the start of the track. As usual
a local offered his services as a guide, this time asking 100 Dirham per kilometer
- that's close to ten Euros/km
We searched for the track by ourselves, always with that shadow (guy on a moped)
in our neck. After about five kilometers he gave up - we had found the track
without him. Soon after, we reached a little hut with two Defenders parked in
front - two Swiss couples who had spent the night close by and had checked out
the river which we planned to cross a little further on. They told us that the
water was about one and a half meters high (one of them had walked it) with
a strong current and deep mud at the entrance and exit, which made passing impossible.
And thereafter it wouldn't be much better: according to the local living in
the hut, the second river is usually much worse.
After some deliberation, we decided to turn around as did the Swiss guys. They invited us to tag along with them and we gladly accepted their invitation. We returned to Taouz and went back north to detour around the two rivers. From Rissani we headed west and followed the paved road to Mecissi from where we turned south to follow a track which would eventually connect with the one we had originally targeted. A few miles into the desert we looked for a place to camp since the sun was about to set. We parked next to a wash and had a lovely dinner together with our new friends, accompanied by the most spectacular lightning all around us. Just as we retired into our vehicles, the thunderstorm finally hit: bright as daylight almost all the time and a constant growling from one thunder after the other. The extreme winds shook our vehicles vigorously. After fifteen minutes everything was over and we enjoyed a quiet night.
The next morning greeted us with sunshine and we tried to follow the track but soon lost it. We navigated a straight line to the next waypoint and marveled upon the extreme beauty of this desert landscape. Along a mountain range we searched for any path leading us through the mountains to the other side. Even though the ascent on our side was easy, the descent on the other always proved to be a drop with only donkey trails zigzagging down into the valley beyond. After a few hours and some spectacular view points (even if visited involuntarily sometimes) we finally found a good, drivable slope on the other side. We pushed on south and actually joined with the trail we had been looking for. Due to the recent rains, however, the original track had been washed away and we drove much closer to the Algerian border than planned. A "ranger" who was on patrol in the middle of nowhere confirmed that we were still on the right track and so we continued. Some areas proved to be very wet and we started to have problems getting the momentum going. But at the end of the day we all made it through alright. We spent the night ducked away in a small valley to be hidden from the "terrorists" supposedly roaming the area.
Another thunderstorm moved over our
heads at night and we hoped the situation wouldn't get worse as more and more
of the surrounding was soaked and getting flooded. But the next day proved to
be nice again and the track was still in pretty good shape. We followed along
and reached a nicely kept up building sitting all by itself in the middle of
nowhere. We took pictures and only found out later that it was a military site
- it is illegal to take photos of military and police buildings.
Nonetheless, we were greeted warmly by the soldiers and had a great time chatting
with them for a while. The captain even gave one of us his fancy, furred shoes
we'd been marveling about. In return he received medicine and cookies for his
men. They wished us a good trip and we were on our way. Two river crossings
and some soft sand were still ahead of us. We journeyed along a dry river bed
and passed a few small settlements before reaching a huge oasis. We were too
close to the Algerian border for our liking and we definitely didn't want to
end up on the other side by accident. According to our GPS, we had already laid
some tire marks in Algeria but when we checked in an official looking building
they confirmed that we were still in Morocco.
The trail continued through the oasis snaking between agricultural fields. The
road featured more water from the rain than the fields and we wondered about
their irrigation systems. It was a maze in there but after a while we actually
made it onto a paved road again which lead us north - definitely the direction
we wanted to go. From here our plan was to push on to Zagora and visit the sand
dunes on the way, but our Swiss friends wanted to carry on towards Marrakesh
immediately. So, after crossing another flooded section of the major through
road, we said good bye in a developing sand storm and went different ways.
It's amazing how things sometimes go: first, we wanted to explore the track off the beaten path on our own; then, when it looked like we would have to skip it altogether due to the weather, we met new friends and ended up spending three terrific days in spectacular scenery and wonderful company. Who would have thought that we would bump into these Swiss couples again as we continued through Morocco - a friendship meant to be