Dear Diary,
We woke up at parking in the middle of the small village El Borouj. More or less that was the only sleeping spot available and probably the safest. Most likely we would have found another one but as yesterday we arrived in the dark hours of the day, we decided to play it safe and just park in the town.
Not far from our parking spot, in a typical Moroccan bar, we enjoyed our morning coffee. Shortly after we drove off to our destination of the day, Ouzoud falls.
A quick smoke on the way made Vince’s imagination bloom so he had to stop every 5 minutes to take pictures. No exaggeration, it was literally every 5 minutes.
Due to those pauses along the road, it took us longer to get to the waterfall but we had many encounters with locals. Some pleasant, others less comfortable.
Both of the young guys who initiated contact with Vince were super friendly and genuine.
They shared their story and curiously listened to ours. One of them even took Vince on his scooter and proudly showed him a good spot for a picture of his slightly ruined village.
As we continued driving, we crossed many small villages. Almost all of the locals waved at us or greeted us in a way. I am a people smiler. I smile at everybody. Sadly, from what I have seen until now if you smile at kids, it is most likely that they will come to beg for money. Poverty is a problem in Morocco and sights like this are encountered daily.
We continued stopping in rural areas and small villages. In one of the villages, we were absolutely attacked by a group of kids. They posed for the camera and played around.
Vince decided to give them stickers of A Permanent Holiday and then everything changed. The initially polite kids started pulling them from his hands. Others came to the other side of the car and started knocking on the windows and begging. More and more kids came. Some started begging for money, others for food. In the end, I think we were surrounded by 25 kids shouting in Moroccan, almost not letting us drive away. We quickly left the town in shock.
A bit down the road, in a more rural area, as Vince stopped the car for the 1000th picture.
A cute little girl approached us, offering us Moroccan spices. “La shukran” (No, thank you in Moroccan). Hearing this, she started begging for money, and food and even chasing the car as we drove off.
Many other kids chased our car or even tried to hang on the side mirror.
Finally, we arrived at the waterfalls. The 1h and half drive took us a total of 3h.
Read about Ouzoud falls here.
After the walk at the waterfalls, we drove in the direction of Marrakesh. Passing the villages the smell of grilled meat caught our attention. The streets were full of people (as every evening) , walking, shopping, and having dinner. We took a break and enjoyed a tasty meal in the middle of a loud, chaotic, typical Moroccan town.
Writing this, I am sitting on my bed, while being in the middle of the forest. This will be our spot for the night. Tomorrow we will head off to Marrakesh.
Ah, life is good <3
That's all for today! We will keep you updated on everything that happens on the road during our trip.
XXX
Maggie and Vince
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