Agadir,
February 

Well, if we were looking for a difference in Morocco we did find it in Agadir.

At first I thought we had arrived somewhere in south of Spain with the port and all the sailing boats. 

Then it was the huge beach so clean we couldn't' believe it and the large promenade with restaurants like pizzeria, japanese, seafood.

All the five starts hotels are here, and the golf resorts and the deckchairs in the sand. It is so Europe that it is a tad sad :(

....and we stayed in this big parking outside the shopping area with other....500 motorhomes!

Drove to Paradise Valley and it was so beautiful and refreshing, a real oasis in the middle of arid and rocky Morocco....and after a long walk down we were rewarded with the cleanest and freshest water!!

Time to say goodbye to Morocco for now. We left SalSolcito in the airport on the hands of customs and we flew to rainy and cold England....BUT the promise to see Jan and Edu is so worthy!!!

January 20

And after 3 weeks it was time to say good bye....very difficult. We have learned so much and we truly enjoyed our time together. We left them in the airport, a last mint tea and a big hug

Driving to the south we were once again surprised by all the new developments, this part looks more modern and yet far more isolated. We pick a place high up on a cliff, Plage Blanche, south of Sidi Ifni; we can see the ocean , the dunes and as far as ever a huge beach.
Hecti describes the place as "where the desert meets the ocean"... it is really unbelievable. Raw, inhospitable, pure nature. The closest houses 60 km away. There are a handful of motorhomes here. And we stay put for 4 days!

What have you learned about yourself and our relationship in this trip? What surprise you the most? Anything new, unexpected, any confirmation?  I did ask these and other millions questions to Hecti as we strolled in a very long beach, Sid Ouassay. We arrived at this place after spending another 2 nights "hanging on a cliff" and where we saw SalSolcito being buried in a dune after a humid day...and we were only able move thanks to some berbere guys!

Morocco
December 30 to January 20

As I am  looking to the dunes and camels through my window  I wonder what this year has  installed for us. The last few weeks was rough, not for the country but for the news from home (robbery). I have been sick for the last couple of days so the group has gone to the desert for 2 days excursions and I am staying in my home. On top of that we lost our camera before crossing to Morocco, from now on mobile phone photos until we buy a new one.

Morocco is full of contrast. We drove from medina to medina, we crossed the planeside and also the snowy mountains and today we are here, on the edge of the desert. This is a real "road trip": Tangier, Asilah, Lalla Mimouna, Rabat and Casablanca; all along the coast up to here; then going to the desert through Meknes, Fes, Azrou, Zeida, Er Rachidia, Erfoud and Merzouga (the desert); finally Tinerhir, Ouarzazate and last 3 days in crazy Marrakech.
The people are extremely nice; is true that they have all perfected the art of selling and that their smile often means one thing, however we never felt unsettled or pushed. Absolutely loved our hammans (moroccan baths) and after a while we were a bit over the tagines (moroccan food).We are amazed to see so much development going all the way; so many constructions and new houses, the nice and long beaches and their unusual markets. The sad bit is to see all the amount of rubbish everywhere; that gets us angry.

I ask Ani what will she say about this experience once she gets home. She ask the same question to me. I said: I couldn't image having a better partners for this leg of our adventure. I am still puzzled by it but we have managed to sleep the 4 of us all together in the home and without any inconvenience. We are in such a confined place but we never feel overwhelmed or suffocated; the amount of "inner place" that we give to each other seems to be the magic ingredient. I love the laughs and the memories and certainly appreciate all the d&m (deep and meaningful) nights. We are so different and yet we have so much in common.

More South of Spain
December 24 to 27

We found already so many gems, little paradises here and there that we dreamed about for so long and still can't believe is here. But this one is different. It may be because the desolation of all; the arid soil against a very calm ocean; or it  could  be mountains on our back; or the total sublime silence; perhaps it is also because the beautiful sunset , red and big sun as never seen before hiding in between clouds and sea-seamlessly, tinting the whole landscape in reddish colours. La Fabriquilla is that and so much more.
A place to stop, to reflect, to replenish, to meditate, to be grateful for. Nature and only nature, just 4 or 5 white houses spread around- all empty now- a lagoon over there with lots of flamencos and a tiny town just 9 km down the dirty road.

Granada,
December 23 to 24

We arrived early in the afternoon as we did not want to miss the sunset from Plaza San Nicolas, just across the Alhambra. A group of guys playing flamenco on the terrace brought the right atmosphere into the place. The sunset did not disappoint! Walking down the streets, later at night, we had a flavour of Morocco as we pass so many little streets, shops, tea and the fabulous and colourful lamps.

I really liked the new city too. It was big enough to be interesting and yet small enough to be cosy. The old town is built along the river which is so pretty. And wherever we go, the magnificent view of the Alhambra from so high up is quite something. Granada (minus the wheather) does go to my "places to live for 3 month" list .

 We enjoyed the whole day at the Alhambra even though it was -1 degree and with a ticket for 7:00 am!!! I can understand why people would come from all over the world to see such a magnificent place but I must say that having being at the Taj Mahal at the beginning of this trip and to  Morocco a few years ago have taken the OMG element of it.

The things you do when you stop and listen. An awesome run on a long beach become a chilly and refreshing dunk following by a insightful chat in our place with a "still recovering" young woman from a religious cult. We gave a piece of body and soul nurturing... it was a challenging encounter. I started this trip with a great sense of wanting to do community work and contribute, support people who are suffering. I said that to her casually when she turned around and said " I am here and I need  you"....and so it happened. There are so many people, people I have already crossed and talked that are in so much need. I realised along in this trip that I don't need the institutions or a major project to be involved with others.

We drove to another town just to discovered so many motorhomes on the street...people who just come down and stay for months on the street, there were more motorhomes than in a showroom!

A great bike ride took us through the ......mud baths, nature, wild.... we did an extended boardwalk in between what it looks like wheat spike and finally spent the night in a rocky ocean wharf. From all the sounds of the world, nothing compares with the water gently crushing onto the rocks at night....happy 21st of December,  38 years together!

We are so loving this part of the world, it is very different to what we have seen so far. As usual I focus on the colours and shapes of the houses. These ones are soft yellows and whites and oranges. I always have a sense that the colours blends so well in the surroundings, rather than disturbing or disrupting the environment, they became part of it. This is a dry and spacious region. The streets are wide and there is plenty of parks. The houses are bunched in suburbs but never overcrowded. And as they told us, the further we go into the south, the friendlier the people are.

December 12 to 17

Our next stop, Valencia, provided us with one of the strongest winds we have experienced so far. It was so strong that even when going downhill in our bikes we still had to pedal through!

The city is.... I don't know how to describe it. While I love the "old town" (as always) and we had fun in the fresh food market; I find the "art and science" buildings so over the top! Massive set of construction, all resembling fish theme- tons and tons of water around...I guess the best of these cities are the huge amount of coffee shops, restaurants and bars;  all of them so alive.

We left after 1 day and we settle in Calpe; which I really like...enough buildings to be vibrant and yet a sense of small town and a super mountain that we climbed and conquered! And a very "motorhome friendly" place, with lots of places to park and sleep...yuppyy!!

Benidorm definitely not our type of place...a very beautiful long promenade, fine white sand but the buildings... oh! so many buildings and plenty of them in very poor condition... and cheap shops everywhere and lots and lots of people who come here in hordes escaping the cold winter of their countries (Germany, Netherlands, England)

I can't say that I know Alicante that well, as we spent only 1.5 days there. But we visited the most important place, a castle of Arabic foundation but influenced by a baroque style on top of a mountain. You can see the whole city from there. I can see why people will choose to live here. Plenty of interesting little streets with  distinctive balconies - all on black iron, a big fresh food market, the old town and a clean and nice modern city.

And then we hit the jackpot (or we thought we did...). Arrived at night at Playa del Pinet (La Marina) and slept looking at the ocean, on the sand, free internet and all!. A one only cute line of fisherman houses- all empty at this time of the year. Woke up in the morning, 10 km of sandy beach and a very pleasant sunny day inviting us for a run. And we run! In the afternoon we noticed a big sign saying motorhomes not allowed :(

A memorable weekend...

We heard the noises as soon as we got up. A big group, chatting and just enjoying being together. Kids playing,  parents talking, dogs running around. We had to find out more. What a delightful choice! For the next  3 days- a long weekend- we shared our adventure with 7 Spanish families who got together via ACPasion. Absolutely loved their company, their laughs, the paella "competition", the very long table with so much yummy food, their generosity, their openness , the very cold night at the markets, the furious bike ride, the gym in the morning, the uphill walk to the church.  Not enough time to get to know each one of them and their stories. Just a glimpse, sufficient to want more . They fed our bodies and lift our spirits. They reminded us of another time, when we holidayed with our kids. It was great to be part of a "family" again. They asked " do you open up to different people when you know you will lose them straight away?" The answer: absolutely! We value these moments so much. They are precious to us. We grab them with gusto.  We are getting better at the "after they leave" (not really!!) It is not easy but it is totally worthy.. Perhaps we can get lucky again and meet them another time, another place?

Spain
28 November

Tossa del Mar is  a very cute little town with a great castle on the cliff was our first place in the costa brava. But all is shut down so half of the fun is not there....

We weren't going to go to Barcelona; we had been there before and we knew it wasn't going to be a nice place to go with SalSolcito. But we were so close! We took the opportunity of a Sunday free parking and we walked though the old city on a heavy rain....and we even managed to get into the Picasso museum!

We promised to come back here- by train- and staying in a city hotel for 3 days next time

Love coastal drives!!

1 and 2 December

Sitges is a another one of my "two months" place to live. A gorgeous promenade, a church on a cliff by the sea, a "happening" place even though it is very off season. We slept looking at the beach and the only difficult has been- once again!- dealing with the telephone companies....I said to Hector that I could write a "horror story" book with all the experiences (all terrible!) that we had in each country about this issue. And the weather which is not helping at all. It was the first really cold night and it has been raining for days now....

4 December:

I am writing this entry on our home, parked on the beach, near Tarragona. As I always wanted, on the sand. I am looking at a green/brown ocean. While la costa brava reminded us to Sydney- rocky, uneven and wild; this cost (which I think is called " costa blanca"  reminds us of the Atlantic coast in  Argentina; flat- long and open space

                                                       

5 December
On our route to Valencia, we spotted this neat place for a great bike ride- from Benicasim to  the port of Castellon. The promenade deserves a double tick  for a great, safe and fun ride along the beach- including some boardwalks.

And we slept in a beautiful park along the beach!

27 November

After 2 weeks in Fontes- including back and forward to Lyon to do minor repairs in Sal Solcito- we are ready to continue our journey.

Second leg: crossing through the south of Spain to Morocco! We have mixed feelings about this. We had been in Morocco 5 years ago- in Marrakech- and it did blow us away. But we were staying in riads (very exquisite french houses made into hotels) and it was wonderful. The colours, the weather, the culture- so so different. This time it is with our motorhome and issues such as safety and services for our motor  living has become a priority.


I like surprises and Collioure  was certainly one. A beautiful  castle/forte on the water and the yellow and oranges houses made a very impressive view.

 The water was furious! A pity that the whole village is "close"; there are plenty of restaurants/shops/coffee houses. I  have a clear sense of a busting and thriving town in summer. They told me that 3.000 people live here but 15.000 come down  in summer! What was so pretty was all the little ins and outs inside the castle used  as artisanal shops....and they were decorated in Christmas theme!

Bye Bye France!!!