part 1: AZROU and IFRANE

Ifrane, population 10.000, elevation 1650. Our first and only night of camping. Ifrane is an alpine-style resort, favoured by the wealthy Moroccan youth. It doubles as a ski resort in the winter, but even in summer time, it gets "cold" at night (16°C - 55°F) and it RAINS every night too... We did not find Ifrane a particularly memorable place, but it was a memorable experience of Moroccan hospitality.

At the campsite where we stayed (approx.40dh/night), we met a lovely Moroccan family - next to our "slot" - who'd traveled all the way from Sale (near Rabat) in a grand taxi with all their camping stuff. It was a family of six, and they had a large family tent (with several separate rooms), cushions and carpets to sleep on, a huge table for 6 and chairs, a TV and Playstation (no kidding) a separate tent used as a kitchen with all the fittings to make proper tajine, an electric dual hotplate, a kettle to make tea, pans etc.

Let's say we were a face when they told us they'd made it in one single car, the lot of them. Anyway, they were charming, they offered us to share their tea while we were putting up the tent, which was very much appreciated, then we brought them some olives from the souk the same night as a token of gratitude, we got Moroccan pancakes in return, etc. and we shared every tea opportunity with them after that, until our departure. So despite the damp sleepless night and the dull town the human experience was wonderful.