Apes and Storks

Its Sunday evening here in Azrou, I left you yesterday in Ifrane where I can get a signal to post blog. I went to a cash machine in that surreal town and it promptly ate my card! Now that's progress for you. I summoned assistance from whoever I could find but of course its Saturday and the banks are closed, so a telephone call to the bank manager and he says ' Its quite safe with us, come back Monday' ! Lucky I don't want to go anywhere in a hurry. And we don't, its very beautiful here. We continued with our plan and drove the bike through an old volcano crater high up in the mountains around here. As hot as it is in the sun, snow is lying and people are enjoying tobogganing and horse rides, we are enjoying just being here and find empty spaces that feel like we are on top of the world.

And then, as we descend into the cedars again, we come across them, Barbary Apes. Fantastic, this is not a zoo, it's wild woodland and these beautiful creatures live here naturally, blending in with the environment. This Cedar forest is their home and they are gentle and very used to humans. I just walked up to the one in the photo and I'm only a couple of feet away from him. He just sat there and posed for me! We once again were like children in a sweety shop, could hardly believe our eyes. We've not experienced being with wild apes before.

On to today, the campsite owner, Hassan, who runs this orchard/campsite called Amazigh, told us of a lake we could drive to easily on our bike, so we did. Up through the cedar forest we went coming to an enormous dead cedar where coach loads of moroccan tourists had been brought to be in the middle of this wilderness! Imagine our surprise, snow lined dirt road, apes and tourist coaches! Still, it shows us that it's not only the 'french' who come here to holiday. Moroccans love their country too and like to enjoy it just like we do. We climb higher and the people thin out to just one or two picnickers and a couple of hippy-ish coaches out in the sticks. Shepherds wave as we dig deeper into the forest in search of this lake and eventually have to admit defeat. We stop and ask a delightful shepherd if he knows where we are? Of course he does, we're here! Yes but the lake, oh to hell with lake , its so beautiful here off road, we unpack our lunch, lay out our mat and have our picnic! Surrounded by cedars, sheep and birds, we eat our fill and take in the peace and stillness. That is until, out of nowhere come two large trucks laden with enormous lumps of cedar. This 'road' we're on is hard going on the bike but these lorry's are swaying over one way then the next, how they don't tip over is a mystery. The drivers smile and wave as they pass us and disappear over the hill. ! So we follow them after packing up and find ourselves driving out onto a bluff overlooking the middle atlas, stunning, absolutely stunning. A smooth drive along narrow but good roads, stopping to ask friendly locals the way to Azrou and we complete a 45 mile round trip.

We still have time before dark for a spot of photography ( resident Storks ) and a walk behind the campsite into the hills and the small farms that work this arable land.

I'll post this blog tomorrow when I go and collect my card at Ifrane!

So goodnight from us

xxx

Ps I Have my card no problem!