We drive to the north. Luca wants to buy a "djeleba" in Chefchaouen - the blue pearl of Morocco. As far as Marrakesh, we take Mihai with us, a pilot from Romania whom we met while flying. After a short detour via Rabat, where we get our booster vaccination (everything was surprisingly easy and uncomplicated) - otherwise travelling on becomes more and more difficult - we arrive in the blue pearl. We explore it for a few days, but the weather is bad, it drizzles all the time and we are a bit emotionally shaken. When the sun finally returns, we go on an excursion with two Frenchmen - one 57 years old and on the road for years with his dog and car, the other 22 and doing an internship on renewable energies in the containers behind ur parking place. So unexpectedly and amusingly thrown together, we spend the last day before Ramadan begins together.
Sinking in the Mediterranean
Afterwards, Luca and I want to go back to the sea and drive through the Rif mountains - to the Mediterranean coast. We thought we were smart and fled the forecast rain. Only in the evening, when we are already standing in a field next to the beach and under a huge palm tree, do we realise that we have driven right into the middle of the coming storm. Well, we will probably wait it out here and only leave when the road is dry again. It doesn't look so tragic now. But far from it. The next day it rains heavily and without interruption. That alone doesn't really matter to us. We believe that we could still drive away if it should increase further. But we don't.
All of a sudden, the river erupts nearby. And the water from the sea pushes in. Although we are standing on a relatively flat spot, our surroundings turn into a lake within minutes. And we are in the middle of it. Driving away is now just a far, far, far away dream. As the water comes up to our side door, we pack our things and leave the bus. We know it will stop raining tomorrow and just hope the bus will still be there. Leaving it behind like this hurts. After all, it is our home...
We chat up someone at a small shop and ask for a room. He rents one, even a whole flat. With a little haggling we pay 200 Dirham (20 Euros) for the night including food. We say three times that we are vegetarians, but the soup still has meat and the tajine is with fish. Well, a successful evening meal for a great day. Oh, did I mention that it's our anniversary?
rescue mission
All we really want to do is sleep... but at half past nine there is a knock at our door. Four men are talking in confusion, it's about the bus. Luca pulls a pair of jeans over his pijama and is immediately on his way with them again. About an hour later he calls me - the bus is saved, but he can't find his way back to the flat. I want to go out into the street to wait for him at the crossroads. But the landlord's family won't let me. Instead, the whole family is standing there and tells me to go to bed. Then they call someone to help Luca find his way home. I'm not allowed to. I am angry and exhausted. Luca tells me - also very exhausted - what happened. He came with these men to the beach, where a big fire engine makes the scene look incredibly dramatic with its red siren light. Out of the darkness, he saw our bus being pulled through the mud, hooked up to an excavator.
For the last 300 meters, Luca was supposed to ride along so that they could move faster. The engine started and the muddy ride continued. The excavator ran over a palm tree backwards in the dark and gave our truck a few small scratches and dents, but what counts is that our home somehow gets asphalt under its wheels again... It feels like the whole village is standing around filming and helping and actually manages to do it... The next day, however, we notice that there is mud in the engine oil as a result, have it changed and drive on so that we can stand in the sun in peace for the next few days... We have to process this day...
The long waiting finds its end
On 7th of April, this long-awaited meeting between Spain and Morocco is actually taking place. No one can really believe it. So now the borders are opening step by step. We make a few phone calls and get a ticket for 20th of April. We try to fly into Moulay Bousselham once more. Unfortunately it doesn't work. Then we drive to Assilah to a campsite. Here we just wait until the ferry leaves. We meet very nice neighbours. It is the first time we see a campsite filling up. Every day, more and more expedition trucks, campervans, jeeps.... are arriving. Everything you can imagine actually... arrives. All those who were stuck here are slowly leaving for Europe again. With a bit of luck, we can even postpone the ticket again and our Moroccan adventure now ends on 16th of April.
On the final day, everything runs incredibly smoothly. There are no problems, even though we overstayed the visa. We even get the confiscated drone back from customs after only 10 minutes of waiting. Suddenly we are standing in front of the ferry, waiting with everyone for its gates to open and fall dead tired into the beds of the cabin at night. The next time we see land, the next time we enter land will no longer be Africa. The next time will be Europe again, and our journey towards Asia can begin 🙂
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