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Sunday, March 12, 2023

Such a gorgeous area.

It was cool overnight, with a low of about 8C (47F) but with a forecast high of 27C (81F) and lots of blue sky and sunshine. And that's exactly what happened.

We set off at about 10:00am for a walk through the nearby town. Other than that, we didn't really have a destination in mind. There are so many trails in the area we figured we would just pick something and see where it brought us. 

So far, Max is the only motorhome here. Which really surprised me because everyone who stays here gives it a glowing review. But, it's difficult to get to, and the owner says that most people want the beach at this time of year.

The Dar Ahansal Guest House.


Where Max is parked.

We love the mountains!

Out for a hike.

Scenery along the way.

They have a lot of garden plots by the river, with an old irrigation system.
This valley has been occupied since the 13th century.

The road towards town.

Lots of snow melt from the mountains.

Just after we crossed the bridge, a large herd of goats came through.
There must have been a hundred of them, all led by a girl about Sadie's age.

After we crossed the bridge, we came to this huge building.

We though it was another agadir, or grainery as they are common in the southern part of Morocco. But we could see that there were actually three buildings like this in town. Ruth wanted to see the inside of one, so she asked a teenage boy standing nearby if we could see the inside. Ruth's French is terrible, but it didn't make any difference because this guy didn't speak any French! Moroccans speak Arabic, with French as a second language. And probably 80% of them do speak at least some French, but that means 20% don't speak any.

In this little town in the middle of nowhere, it seems French is not that common.

Anyhow, as we usually do, we managed to be able to communicate what we wanted. He motioned for us to stay put, and he went running off. Came back a couple of minutes later, saying we had to pay... 2 dirhams each which is about 25 cents!

We were led past some sheep.

A couple of curious boys.

Some kind of courtyard.

Look at that wall!


The teen boy led us inside to a totally dark, narrow stairway. I used the light from my phone. Up about three flights to a landing where we met two women and some children. This may have been a grainery at one point, but now it's some kind of apartment building!

But they were very welcoming.

He led us to the top where they have a view of the mountain. Just gorgeous.


Lindsey, Sadie, Cameron, Ruth, and the teen boy.

Ruth with a little guy.

The family that welcomed us in.

We thanked them and headed back outside. Frustrating not to be able to communicate with them though. We had so many questions.

It's a big complex.

Almost like a castle.

Looking down on some more garden plots.


There's another village about 8 kms (5 miles) further along a dirt road that follows the river. We decided to walk a little further just to see what there was to see.

Some people we met along the way.

We spotted something odd about the river. The water had been totally muddy looking, but we saw one part where it was clear. It looked like there was some kind of natural spring, so we went down to have a closer look.

Sure enough, this part of the river came right out of the ground!

The muddy section is from the mountain snow melt.

Cameron, sitting where the spring water meets the muddy water.

Walking back through town.

Sadie and Grandpa.

The town of Zaouiat Ahansal.

Such a gorgeous area.

We were back at Max for lunch after having done 8 kms (5 miles). Relaxed for a couple of hours afterwards, then Ruth, Lindsey and the kids went for another short hike up a small canyon while I stayed behind and gave Max a bath.

Although it was warm, I wasn't sweating. There is no humidity at all. 





There have been one or two other guests, but otherwise really quiet up until yesterday evening when a tour group of about 16 people showed up in five 4 wheel drive vehicles. We spoke to one of them and he was from Israel. Apparently they are on a 13 day tour.

At the dinner table.

Tajine.

Me, pouring the tea!

We were served soup, bread, salad, dates, and a big tajine stew. Probably made with goat meat. It was fall of the bone tender though. Really delicious. And just enough for the five of us. And then a fresh fruit cup and some mint tea for dessert.

The sun is shining and we are off to do some more hiking this morning!

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Yet another price drop on the big 12' x 12' Coleman Instant Shade Canopy.

And in Canada...

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