The second week in March rumours began to circulate on Facebook that the Moroccan authorities were about to make an announcement about opening their maritime borders. The government had already granted special permission for a group of 4×4 enthusiasts to enter Morocco to take part in a rally to be held later that month. That caused an uproar amongst the, reportedly, nine thousand travellers stranded in Morocco – there was even talk about demonstrations in Sète to prevent the rallyers boarding their ferry in France.
We felt maybe the border situation was changing and decided to head north slowly towards Tanger Med. We stopped for a fews days near Essaouira on the Atlantic coast, the area where argan oil was produced and we then took the main highway towards Marrakech. The road was a major tourist route and there were dozens of tourists buses taking visitors from their hotels in Marrakech to the ancient port of Essaouira. Along the route there were many roadside sellers of products made from argan oil and opportunities to marvel at the strange spectacle of goats that grazed in the argan trees.
We found a better than usual camp site 4 Km outside Marrakech with a swimming pool (too cold), and a restaurant that served wine. We were surrounded by beautiful gardens with date palms, vivid yellow mimosa trees and bright geranium bushes. There were chickens, peacocks and ducks roaming the grounds – the weather was warm and sunny 20°.
