Mum arrives safely

And here she is outside her little house in the orangery near Taroudant. Today is the 29th February and mum has slept very well. 

 We arrived yesterday in time for her to have a sleep before a tajine supper in the van. She is so happy to be here. It is very pretty with orange groves and palm trees. We have to walk through a charming garden to get to the van which is parked in a nearby campsite, all in the grounds of this lovely place.

here is the view out of her front door

The lounge

the garden

And the terrace!

We are going to have a brilliant time

lots of love The Beynon's and Mum

Moving on from Imssouane

But not before a day out yesterday to Tamanar souk and the Argan internet Tree. The souk was it's usual mix of madness and hospitality. We needed to sort out why our Maroc mobile wasn't working and a chap in a small booth fixed the problem after much deliberation. It doesn't work, don't know why, put a new sim card in it! Sorted for 20 dirhams. Now we have a new number and a phone that works!
A cafe fellow tried to overcharge us for mint tea, I wasn't having any of it, so gave him only 10 dirhams instead of the 20 he wanted and walked away. bloody cheek. Mint tea!
We tried to get internet in town but to no avail. Pas de service! So we drove way back to our usual tree and got full signal!!! Amazing place this Morocco. We have started meeting local folk who we recognise as they do us, which must mean its time to move on. ( only joking ).
Ken and Pat leave today as the call of adventure takes them south. We have been camped close to them for 2 weeks now and it has been a pleasure. That right mix of company and space makes them good neighbours to have had  and we hope to bump into them later on somewhere else in Morocco.
A camp fire under the stars is our way of spending the last night here, dogs barking to the moon and a million stars to dream with. The sound of the waves crashing as we drift off into sleep as this spell in Imssouane comes to a close. We would never have thought that 35 years after we first came here, we would still be enchanted by this odd little place.

So yesterday becomes today as they usually do! We get away from the campsite by 11 am after fond fairwells to Anders, Johannah and family, Jean luc, Simon, Phil andVeronic  and the dogs that barked all night long!
At Tamri we find a souk in full swing and buy bananas, of course, a tajine because the first one broke and wander this lovely berber village as we are on the way to Agadir, where we imagine Morocco comes to an end and Mallaga takes over. How true it was but the feeling starts way back before Tahgazout. A complete village has been demolished! No wild camping is being tolerated and large signs advertise a grand development touristique from Tahgazout on to Aourir. Non stop development. Even the Anchor factory looks set to change. And its all going to be in the style of Agadir.  Which is not our cup of tea! Still, thats the way it is and we are staying just 1 night and then we pick up mum tomorrow.
We walked the beach parade in the evening along with the many tourists who come here for the very thing that doesn't appeal to us. Hotels and restaurants a la costa del sol. Cafe's full of boozing tourists is an odd sight in Morocco! So we head back to the van for a vege tajine in the privacy of our travelling home! The campsite here is a dump with possibly 200 vans set up for the winter. They must like the sun and the booze.
May they be happy and we'll move on tomorrow.
sleep well
The Beynon's

sun and surf in plenty

Saturday 25^th including 23^rd and 24^th February

Well, its started to happen! I'm losing track of time! Thursday was another lovely sunny........come to think of it, everyday is a sunny day, leading up to today which was very warm indeed! So no more about the weather. Well until tomorrow probably! So what happened on Thursday? A long chilled out day around the campsite and a walk in the hills nearby. The view out of our window is special. As is the spot we are camped in. Photos please!

Walking to the village and back is always an outing .

Artwork back at the van

Friday is Argan internet day, the run along the coast is stunning. We posted previous blogs before returning to the growing excitement in the campsite.

The swell is arriving and surfers have been a bit starved lately of surf. It's going to turn on tomorrow! Which of course is today and turn on it did. It is so amazing to see a swell build on calm sunny day, just the ever increasing sets of waves turning a mirror like seascape into a heaving mass of energy. Awesome.

Sunset to end Friday

The waves have been crashing through all day, I followed the crowd this morning and went over to 'the bay'. It looks good and a fine swell is wrapping around the port and long boarders are having a fine time. I paddle out with expectations of a good surf but they are dashed with wave after wave passing me by, either uncatchable or already taken by longboarders. I paddle and paddle without success and have to leave the water in the end, not catching one single wave! My shoulders feel like they have been on 'the rack'. My board, a 7 footer seems inappropriate for these bulky sloping waves, longboards are the business here.

I should have waited and gone out in front at cathedral point as the waves were more top to bottom out there but would the shoulders have coped with the moving water and rips?

  I won't find out today as I'm knackered so we enjoy the rest of this hot sunny day by just being here, which is as good as anything, in fact sharing my days with Krysia is as about as good as life can get. Surfing has always been a bit of a solitary pastime.

Krysia sat on the rocks and took photos of the session, capturing me wallowing in the water and others riding. Her finest shot must be of the rubber ring man paddling in from a hard days fishing, alongside the boats who all take the swell in their stride! The rubber ring fisherman is the king of all them as far as we are concerned. What a star.

As the tide rises, a few hardy surfers take on the large lefts that were covered with beginners just yesterday morning. Now, they command respect as sets break further and further out to sea, rewarding the experienced and fit, long large rides. We enjoy watching it all. The surf, the campers, the Moroccans, the bikini clad babe doing yoga on the beach? ( she seemed to be turning herself inside out! ). The port. All adds up to a stunning day.
Even if my ego got a little bruised!

lots of love
The Beynon's

Argan chat and fish dinner

After having written the blog under the Argan tree on Tuesday, an old chap came and sat with us admiring all our wealth; computer, camera's, motorbike, etc. All he really wanted was my sun glasses and apart from that, made pleasant conversation in Berber about what we could only guess at! As he talked, Krysia took the opportunity to boldly sketch him. He didn't seem to mind and giggled at the developing drawing, thinking it looked more like me than him. Do I look like that? I think not, drawing seems to be less intrusive than photo's as we are finding out, although he didn't mind a general snap but a full face portrait he was not so keen on.

 The issue of taking photographs is an ongoing one. In Tamanar souk, I took 'secret' shots and then was called to take group photo's by the locals, who posed proudly. I think the rules are the same anywhere, ask first or take the consequences of offending the subject. As I found out yesterday at the port while shooting the fisherman at work. One chap got quite heated, we're not sure why, none of this 'taking my soul away' stuff we are sure and there are many tourists coming here and taking pictures of the port. Other locals just said 'take no notice' but it did leave me with that ' whoops, I've just upset a local ' feeling. All the while, Krysia was sketching the scene and held up her drawing pad as if to say ' you can't tell me not to draw '. That's a bit like saying, you shouldn't look ! So she continues to sketch and I shall post the results when she's happy they're presentable.

Back at the Argan tree, the old fellow suddenly shouts at a passing lorry and runs off to get a lift! Gone as quick as he came and I still have my sunglasses. Krysia by now, has also accumulated a lot of photo's of the farmers working in the fields, at a distance needless to say and without appearing to have offended anyone! You take your chances whenever you point your camera, people are either light or heavy!!!

We finish Tuesday with a long walk south of Imessoune, along a beach only accessible by a rough track hewn by locals for the pleasure of being there.

Wednesday is fish day! And the days dinner was Mirn ??? A delicious fish that cost us 40 dirhams and we were assured would be lovely, which it was. Cooked on a barby in the sun.

Oh yes, and to contrast the unhappy fisherman, moments later, we were invited into a local shop for just some mint tea and some warmth. No selling, just smiles and hospitality. ' Hamid ' has the opinion that far to many people have ' blah, blah, blah ' to say about little things, I think he's right!!!

Underneath the Argan tree

I've just posted the 18th and 19th blogs and as krysia is drawing the local scene, I thought I'd update yesterday and this morning. The scene is a wide open valley of Argan trees surrounding fields of wheat and flowers. Local folk are gathering by hand and loading donkeys with the crops. It is sunny and very tranquil. The internet mast is about two miles in the distance with reception being good.
Yesterday was a lovely quiet day doing chores, cooking food and being happy. We had Shrin barby'd for lunch, thats the horse mackrel again and a chicken tagine for supper cooked under the stars and eaten with our hands.
People come and go in the campsite, we have managed to stop. Yet the urge to move on creeps in, especially when many leave as happened yesterday. But we sit firm and know that we will be moving on quite soon to pick up Mum, which we look forward to. A week today. The weather seems set to last and a warm welcome is what we hope for. We haven't as yet had a cloudy day since we arrived in Morocco. We'll be waiting at that airport mum, ready for your Moroccan adventure to start.
Hope you are all well at home and in Australia
Special thanks to Ross and Eve for being so lovely to Jaimie and Storm. There is nothing quite like family. Thank you both xxx
Love to all
Ted and Krysia

Two Souks and a surf

19^th February

Today's adventures start with another trip to a Souk, the second in two days. This one was in Tamanar, larger than yesterdays but still small in comparison to what they can become. It's a real stunner as its got a souk as well as a small town mixed up into the one event. So friendly and polite are the people. It makes you want to buy whatever they are selling even if you don't need it!

We still buy two kilo's of dates, a kilo of dried figs, 2 kilo's of oranges( 2 dh a kilo! ), eggs, some goat meat,spices, a woven basket, the list goes on and lucky for us, Ken and Pat are there to take our bags, to leave us free for wood collection on the way back. 

We have lunch at a cafe opposite the souk. It's very local food, well all the locals seem to be eating there! I think it's knee of goat with chick peas, a bowl of lentils, a few chips and loads of bread. 22 dirhams! Can't say it was our favourite but when in Rome......... and it was very cheap.

We drove home on the back roads! Driving through time in Argan country, trees as far as the eye can see, and all Argan!. The coast road turns to rough track, piste, but we keep on going as it can only lead to Imsouane, which it does.

We stop to gather cooking fuel and marvel at how these hardy Argans grow on what looks like bare rock. 

Their root systems are amazing. They look very ancient, everything around here looks very ancient! We can't get enough of it. The coast road winds down to the campsite wherer we fie up the barby and tagine our goat supper. Not bad for a couple of lapsed vegetarians but there's something so vital about eating the local food. We eat like kings here and a lot of folk do not. Still, a bit of goats knee won't hurt, we hope? And as for our tagine, I had forgotten how good a goat can taste. Well he was slaughtered outside the shop today! Hopefully our tummies will agree with me!!

I'll try and post this tomorrow if we can find the time to pop out to Argan internet!

Lots of love

Leila Saeida

The goaty Beynon's

18^th February

Another sunny warm day, phew it can be hot! Long may it last. We drove on the bike to a souk in the hills behind Imsouane, which was a small affair, very local, very cheap and great fun. The locals are so friendly. They couldn't be more helpful and are delighted that we try to make an effort to speak Arabic or Berber. We buy amongst other things, a fresh chicken as well as fruit and veg. When we say fresh here we mean alive then ready to take away after the necessary business has been taken care of. Not what we are used to but here they do not have chilled cabinets or freezers.

I forgot to take the modem out with us, so we had to go back to the van and out to Argan internet tree so we could keep you up to date with our adventures. It's a lovely ride on the bike so it's no real hardship, in fact it's a pleasure.!

I had a good surf in the afternoon! I managed to hold my own out the back with the youngsters! Well done me. Although I did sleep very well last night and I do feel a bit stiff today. We watched the sun set from a rocky outcrop along the cliffs, with waves crashing and exploding in the air. A lovely spot and then the mobile rings and we're chatting to mum, Dave and Meg. It's a thoroughly modern Morocco when it comes to communication.

Our chicken is tagine'd to perfection, cooked on an Argan fire underneath the stars!

Leila saeida

The Beynon's