Valentine's Day.
The alarm goes off at 3 am. Backpacks are ready. I get dressed, brush my teeth and put on some mascara. In the meanwhile S. has got out of bed and starts his morning ritual when I walk downstairs.
I leave Bertje, the dog, outside for a pee and give the cat a plate of food. I make some coffee. Yesterday I had already prepared sandwiches for lunch today. I put some biscuits, fruit and water ready to take with us for the trip. (I am always afraid to be hungry while traveling :)
When S. is downstairs, I check the last time that all the windows and doors are closed. We load the luggage in the car and leave for Charleroi. On the way, there is little traffic and so we arrive at the parking lot at the expected hour.
We leave our car behind. A shuttle bus takes us to the airport 1 minute away.
With the necessary nervousness to check in, we are waiting at the counter. (Because of the unpredictability and lack of clarity to travel with Ryan Air, what we have experienced in the past, we keep booking with Ryan Air for its low prices). Check in is going well, we're ready for take off.
Arrived in Morocco at 09.30am. Full of enthusiasm and impatience to finally sit in the sun, customs control seems to last forever! (In Belgium, the sun shone 2 hours in December.)
At 10 am we are already outside. Waiting for the man we will rent a car from. No one to see. After 15 min we see someone with an A4 paper in his hand the name of S. He takes us to the car. A white Dacia Logan, looks good, no deposit, all insurance included. Will discover at the end of the trip if this is a reliable landlord. We sign the papers and finally we can leave!
We drive through Aït Meloul where we fill the car with gasoline. Immediately a very old female, who is very crooked, comes to the car and asks in Arabic if we can drop her off at the bus station. (S. Speaks a bit Arabic)
S. wants to give her 5 dirhams (50 euro cents) for the bus, but she does not want to accept this. At that moment, a young marrocan guy around the age of 20, passes by and asks the woman what she wants. He tells the female that we are not from Morocco and that we do not know the way. Seems the bus stop appears to be only 500 meters further. We take her off and the young man helps her on the bus.
The boy and the female do not know each other but this helpfulness was incredibly beautiful to see.
We head south towards Tiznit and continue to Mirleft. On the way we stop for a glass of tea.
We still have to get used to the landscape, the people, the habits and the traffic. Donkeys with carts and truck overloaded with hay or the like. A world of difference seen from where we come from. And that only fly for 3 hours. This is enjoyment for me !!
We have booked an apartment in advance for two nights. We drive to the local neighborhood where our apartment would be located. We take the student who we have given a lift along the way. After some driving around, we can not find the street. A passerby on his scooter offers his help. We drive behind him and arrive at 'Agadir Well'.
A beautiful, well-kept apartment where we drop our belongings and take a refreshing shower. The view is beautiful.
It is 4 pm and lusts something to eat. We drive to the village 5 minutes further. We order our first tajin. Sun in our face, fingers bleeding and yellow from the saffron we make a quiet evening walk. Reflecting on the past day, which has been very successful so far!
