The atmosphere in Morocco and Western Sahara is safe
and friendly. Almost nobody seems to speak English but every tenth person still
knows a few words and, in the end, things get done. Northern Morocco was an
agricultural landscape as far as the eye could see. Only the mountains tinged
it – every now and then they were a vague outline in the distance or close
enough to dazzle us with an array of colours. It seems easy to be a geologist
here because everything is visible to the naked eye.
Colourful mountain side near highway
Close to the mountains we could see the village layout
and architecture which is usually hidden behind a high wall.
Southern Morocco and Western Sahara are eminently a
desert landscape. It is cut in half only by the road.
The desert landscape is hilly. Besides the problem of
passing by it all so quickly while driving fast, the darkness is another
concern. For example, we crossed the mountains in the dark and at some point
the fog was so thick that we could see no more than 10-20 m ahead. Some cars
had stopped and some were moving at a speed of 10-20 km/h. So despite making
stops and looking around, a lot still goes unseen.
Road to the south: ocean meets desert with its Bedouins and camels
There is space and privacy. Tents and huts are
kilometres apart.Both desert and ocean offer a certain harshness and loneliness
that can be inspirational.
There are usually 5-6
camels on the side of the road, sometimes even more. What are you looking at –
can’t you see the arrow!?
A monotone landscape
alternates with a number of towns that are relatively clean but the same cannot
be said of the surrounding area. Traffic rules in towns are simple and
complicated at the same time – drive and let drive. There is constant
lane-switching and everyone keeps an eye on everyone else. Yet using lights and
indicators in Morocco corresponds to the European standard. The quality of the
main roads is also very good; only a few roadsides have deteriorated and formed
potholes. The only problem is that the roads are quite narrow. Drivers follow
the speed limit more or less – in towns more so than on highways, where they
feel the need for speed so characteristic of the southern temperament. Taken
all together, there is nothing bad to say about the traffic, during the day or
at night.
The control points are a real nuisance and are
sometimes located every 100 metres (albeit not in the desert). They usually
come before and after each town. Hamor ran out of forms and so started copying
them manually. He had a doctor’s handwriting, but the Moroccan police liked it.
We had a bet on which was faster – his copying them out or the police taking
them away. After a tight race, Hamor won.
Translated by Luisa Translation Agency
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