{"id":3930,"date":"2015-03-28T18:15:14","date_gmt":"2015-03-28T16:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/?page_id=3930"},"modified":"2018-09-17T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T08:07:45","slug":"marrakesch-und-nordmarokko","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/travel\/notes\/notes-to-our-motorhome-trips\/notes-of-our-morocco-trip\/marrakesch-und-nordmarokko\/","title":{"rendered":"North Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From Marrakech northway<\/h1>\n

Marrakesch, F\u00e8s and Chefchaouen<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\n

These 3 cities and their places of interest we didn\u2019t want to miss out. Marrakech was definitely our favourite. This city is vibrant, lively and stays true to itself despite the huge amount of tourists visiting it. We stayed with Bj\u00f6rn \u2013 a compatriot \u2013 in his wonderfully re-decorated Riad Enija in the middle of the old town (medina). He has done a very good job restoring the old buildings considering the local culture and architecture.
\nThe big and well known Djam\u00e2a-el-Fna square changes every night into a huge open air restaurant. It\u2019s really amazing to see the many different small eateries which court clients. We loved it, especially given the fact that we love to be wooed \":-)\"<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=”” width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”5893″ alignment=”center” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full” css=”.vc_custom_1432215768137{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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In F\u00e8s we had a cool-daddy-guide. Though Gabi had a clear list of \u201cmust to see\u201d and a clear statement \u201cmust to avoid\u201d \u2013 like carpet shops for example \u2013 he didn\u2019t care and just delivered his standard program, topped with a visit in a carpet shop!!!!
\nHowever, what was really impressive was the open-air tennery in the medina.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1432219606458{margin-top: 10px !important;border-top-width: 20px !important;}”]\n

Chefchaouen is cute, but one can do without it. The original Andalusian style is far nicer in Spain and has on top \u201cjamon crudo\u201d!.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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The normal every day madness<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\n

One of the many different mineral water of Morocco stems from Sidi. And it was in Sidi where we had to refill our water tank \u2013 how handy! As usual we ask at the gasoline station for water, but nobody wants to give us some \u2013 very strange. All of a sudden a farmer approaches us and asks us to follow him. Which we did. He guided us to a place 5km away where 2 other young farmers were about to fill their 3.8 t tank. In the middle of a field is a little water access for the locals, where everybody can grab mineral water for free. We turned immediately into locals and filled out tank as well! So cool.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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Whenever the situation allows it we camp wild somewhere in the nature in nice location. Today we\u2019ve chosen a place close to a small village. So we can observe the locals coming home with their animals (donkeys, sheep, goat) and with the bus. One of the bus passengers posed as a police officer and wanted to see our passports. We gave him our self-made copies of our documents and he was happy \u2013 we as well.
\nIn the middle of the night we hear somebody knocking at our door. We got up and saw policemen in uniform in front of the door. They wanted to see our passports as well \u2013 in the middle of the night????!!!! We didn\u2019t give our passports but filled in the forms they usually ask for as we can do that quicker ourselves. We complain that this is bullying. They apologise and let us go sleeping again.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”5894″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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After a 4 hour ride \u2013 quite exhausting \u2013 over a beautiful pass we had to find out that the street is closed after Tilougguite. The winter was too hard and therefore the street is not yet ready. Which means simply turn and drive back.
\nThe next pass in the Rif mountain area is another story. We start easy. The street is indeed quite narrow but the landscape is bucolic and the street climbs up steadily in little loops. There is snow; nothing to worry about. We are used to it.
\nAs far as we can imagine the street has been cleared a couple of days ago with a caterpillar \u2013 the width between the snow walls is exactly as wide as the bucket of the digger. Slowly the walls get higher and higher \u2013 even for us \u2013 around 3.8-4m! The side-mirrors get folded in and we couldn\u2019t open the doors anymore. We are still driving up and up and up\u2026. We hope nobody has the same idea from the other side, or at least only something really small, which we easily could push away. After 2 hours (it felt though like 5) highly concentrated silent driving we arrived at the other side of the mountain. No bigger harms other than some lost prevention strips was the result. But we felt that was more than ok 😉<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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As we often drive through mountainous areas we encounter here and there a bridge. Often we see \u201c5t\u201d and something in Arabic letters on the signs. We believe that the translation of the Arabian copy means something like \u201cdon\u2019t worry, it\u2019s more or less 5t\u201d. We prefer to believe that as our truck weighs 10t. And today we know that we were correct: all bridges made it, though some of them didn\u2019t look like!
\nSuch a mobile-home needs power; for example for the water heating \u2013 yes we are wimps! One day our generator definitely said good-bye \u2013 now power anymore while standing. Fridge gets warm and no coffee machine. While driving we can charge the batteries, but that\u2019s not enough electricity for the water heater, so no warm shower in the morning. We had to do it the good old way: boil water and wash yourself. And because of the fridge we cannot rest a day or so in the nature. We need a solution.
\nAn in a nice remote natural preserve, which we could enjoy completely on our own, the clutch gave up. Didn\u2019t allow us to change gears anymore. Start and stop only the hard way with the engine.
\nIn the middle of nowhere is nobody to help so we decided to start the truck and not stop until we found a garage \u2013 hoping nobody would cross our way, as the street was definitely too small to let 2 vehicles passing each other. We were lucky. We made it through the entire natural preserve without another car coming along and we managed to turn into the major road without disturbing the traffic too much. After 120km, slowly, we arrived in F\u00e8s. It was a quiet drive!<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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The normal shopping madness<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]
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In the tannery of F\u00e8s we wanted to buy 2 sheepskin rugs for our camping chairs. It seemed to be the right place here with tons and tons of sheepskins. But the tourist price they\u2019ve asked for seemed to be a bit high. Luckily we could check with our handy the prices in Switzerland for a similar rug \u2013 and they were even cheaper than the Moroccan price. The negotiations were a bit one-sided, but hey we paid 40% of the original offer at the end.
\nWe travel with some luxury, one of which is our Nespresso coffee machine. We love this coffee and most of the colleagues we met here as well. Which led to the situation that the calculated stock wasn\u2019t sufficient. But we found a Nespresso shop in Marrakech on their website. Big smile on our face! Hop in the cab \u2013 and we got enough capsules until home.
\nIn Marrakech you get nearly everything, so we asked Bj\u00f6rn to help us searching for a generator. The shop was huge with many different kinds of generators.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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[vc_row][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1432220057324{margin-top: -20px !important;}”]Obviously they tried to sell the biggest they had, but unfortunately that one didn\u2019t fit the space we had. So I\u2019ve chosen a smaller one. It was really hard to convince the sales stuff and the manager, that I only buy it if I could try it (yeah, you learn your lessons \u2026.). Of course the guys didn\u2019t like the idea to \u201cuse\u201d the machine in reality \u2013 but somehow I was convincing enough so we tried it in our truck. And yeah it delivered the power \u2013 so done deal. Great news we have electricity again!<\/p>\n

Changing gears manually without a clutch is a bit delicate. So we decided in F\u00e8s to trust the small garage, which assured that they can repair it and let them to tow away our truck. On the street in front of the tiny little garage they took down the clutch and analysed which parts they needed to order. Saturday the order went to Casablanca, delivery Sunday morning and in the afternoon we could drive back to the hotel with our truck. And the costs for all this wouldn\u2019t even cover the analysis\/check-up time in Europe.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”5891″ border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full” css=”.vc_custom_1432220170046{margin-top: -40px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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The loneliness<\/h3>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]
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We drive quite a while through the countryside and natural preservation area without any little villages where you could get food \u2013 bread for example. So at the end of the day we arrive at a beautiful little lake in the mountains and decide to camp there overnight. Super idyllic, but no bread. Now we can rely on Gabi\u2019s knowledgeableness. Before we go to bed she\u2019s preparing special dough and places it into the pan. In the morning the dough has come up and we could bake it in the pan. Our first bread in the pan: delicious.<\/p>\n

At another lake nearby Tanger we found again a wonderful camp space with a great view over the lake. Nobody there. All of a sudden a man appeared with coffee and cake. He liked the fact that we\u2019ve chosen this place to stay. He wanted to chat a bit and some entertainment. The other day he came with a cup of tea \u2013 he didn\u2019t know that we had our little Nespresso machine with us 😉<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”5896″ alignment=”right” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full” css=”.vc_custom_1432220218212{margin-top: -110px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]

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<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] From Marrakech northway Marrakesch, F\u00e8s and Chefchaouen [\/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner el_class=\"\" width=\"1\/2\"][vc_column_text] These 3 cities and their places of interest we didn\u2019t want to miss out. Marrakech was definitely our favourite. This city is vibrant, lively [...]","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":3529,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3930","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3930\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}