Settling in

We've been back in Tahannaout for just over a week now and are settling back into life very quickly. There's been the usual household tasks to do of cleaning, washing, cooking and ironing - and, of course, not forgetting food shopping, all the things that need to be done when you are living in a house - but a fact which people seem surprised to hear that we do - I'm sure lots of people think we are on a permanently holiday and someone else does all the dirty work for us. Well I can tell you that really is not the case. My role here is very much as a housewife - though I do concede I have a husband who is a great cook so I do get out of that one where main meals are concerned!
Of course it would be very remiss of us not to enjoy the beautiful country we have made our temporary home at the same time!

To give us an even nicer view from our lounge, Said has offered to cut the monstrous hedge back - using traditional methods. This evidently means he climbs a ladder, jumps into the middle of the hedge and begins to hack away at the branches using a scythe that has seen better days. Martin holds the ladder :)

Cutting the hedge

Said with his scythe

So far we have spent time wandering around the souks of Marrakech, drinking copious amounts of coffee as we play 'guess the nationality' of tourists passing by. We have stumbled upon a Norwegian student male choir (Pirum) who spontaneously burst into song as we emerge from one of the ornate archways, much to the amusement of local kids and shopkeepers alike. We have enjoyed a scenic drive to Amizmiz, about 50km from Tahannaout, driving along mountainous roads, barely meeting another car en route. And we have just enjoyed the prospect of this being our home for another eleven weeks. Not to mention of course the antics of 'our' pets. 

The Norwegian choir

Bemused onlookers

Our scenic drive

Crossing the Oued N'Fis

Ouirgane reservoir -very atmospheric in the early evening light

The kittens have proved to be a great source of amusement. If they are not chasing each other, rolling over and play fighting, they are being played with as a toy by Scruffy, the youngest dog here. He picks them up carefully in his mouth and delivers them to the middle of the courtyard where he proceeds to 'paw' them, roll them over and playfully gnaw at them. They try to escape but he's too quick for their little legs and soon he ensnares them again, showing them who's boss. At other times, as I mentioned before, he acts as mother to them, allowing them to cuddle up to him and suckle the pimples on his belly, obviously a great comfort to them. It really is a delight to see such tenderness shown by a dog to two tiny kittens. The other dogs tend to ignore them - though will put up with these tiny, squeaking things that get in their way and try to eat their dog biscuits!

Cat in a hat

Double trouble - Cat tagine anyone?

As we drive along the 500m track to our house on the way back from Amizmiz, I suddenly spy movement out of the corner of my eye - not unusual as there is always an array of birds, sheep and donkeys moving about in the fields. But this is different. Animals, bigger than cats but smaller than sheep or donkeys are walking through the field right beside us. My husband is convinced they are just wild cats, but equally I'm convinced they're not as I've caught a glimpse of their cute, grey rounded faces. I pass him the camera as quickly as possible to try to capture an image of these creatures which I'm sure I've never laid eyes on before. He manages to take a picture as they disappear over the brow of the hill. We ponder what they could be, searching the internet for any clues. Finally a friend confirms that they are mongooses. How amazing to spot these elusive animals right beside our house!

Mongooses

Our eyes will definitely be more alert from now on as we walk or drive around the area - who would've thought we'd casually stumble across such amazing creatures.  Apparently, mongooses are good at killing snakes - a skill that might come in handy!

This morning, after yesterday's rain, we awake to see a fresh dusting of snow on Toubkal, the highest peak of North Africa...can't wait to see more - as long as it remains in the mountains and makes them look so spectacular!

First glimpse of snow in the mountains

A Welcome with Surprises!

Arriving at our London hotel the night before our flight to Marrakech is such a relief. We've only been back in the UK for seven weeks, but the last four of those have been spent meticulously trying to get our house in order so as to rent it out - not that we intended for this to happen; as far as we are concerned, our time in Morocco is unfortunately over - but other plans are afoot unbeknownst to us which will give us the opportunity to return...it just so happens that a lovely Hungarian couple are desperately looking for somewhere to stay for 3 months at the exact same time that we are wishing we had the means to return to Tahannaout. Our paths cross and the rest is history...so here we are...back at 'home' in Tahannaout for a further 3 months...and loving it.

The welcoming committee is here at the house to meet us...Said, the guardian, five dogs and a new addition of two tiny kittens to the family who are so small they really are like skin and bone; apparently Said's nephew, Zachariah, found them on the roundabout in Tahannaout and brought them home to his uncle, knowing that he would take them in - softie that he is. They are beautiful and have been given the names Scrawny and Fluffy. We've only been back four days but already they are beginning to resemble real cats rather than just bags of bones - thanks to eating the dog biscuits before the dogs get hold of them!

Some of the Welcoming Committee

Fluffy & Scrawny

Fluffy's favourite place - our bread basket!

A sleep Scrawny

You are correct in reading that five dogs meet us on arrival. Many of you will know that during the last nine months we lost three puppies due to poisoning, another three puppies were still-born due to their mother being given an injection to abort them (whilst we were not around) and finally we lost Mr Dog who had a major genital infection; it was surmised by the vet that he had been attacked by a wild boar and this left him in a very bad state. Mr Dog spent three weeks in a clinic where the vet tried very hard to save him...until finally he decided there was no more he could do for him as he wasn't responding to treatment. Permission was given to put him to sleep. We were very sad...and returned to the UK with a heavy heart. It is now seven weeks later...and Mr Dog greets us on arrival...he is very much alive!! Apparently the vet realised that this was not just any old working dog that you find everywhere in Morocco, but rather he'd become a much-loved pet to us - that was evident by us helping the vet to perform emergency surgery on Mr Dog on our tiled garden table when we called him out to the house. He had therefore decided to give the treatment a few more days before putting the dog to sleep - and it worked! Oh the joy at seeing the dog alive - he bounds up to us with such affection...and to think for seven weeks we thought he was dead! Now we have to try to keep him away from any future enemies - especially wild boar!

Beautiful Mr Dog

'How do the dogs and cats get on?' I hear you ask. 'Wonderfully' is the answer. In fact Scruffy, the  puppy who arrived most recently, has adopted the kittens and looks out for them constantly, becoming anxious if he cannot see them. He playfully picks them up and carries them around in his mouth and lets them snuggle up to him. They seem to think he is their mother as he allows them to suckle on tiny pimples he has on his belly which to them must appear like teats. It is indeed a heart-melting sight.

Suckling up to 'mommy'

It's fair to say that the animals play a large part in my life here in Tahannaout, but in addition of course there is the beautiful scenery, culture and way of life that we find ourselves part of. There's also a downside - from the moment we arrived on Sunday right through to Wednesday evening we had very little access to the internet and at times none at all. Not a good situation to be in for my husband who relies on the internet for his work (web design) - or for me who is an avid Facebooker! Dangling your dongle from the rooftop is not exactly the best means of running a business! At the same time we had no electricity for a whole day - serving to remind us of how much we rely on power - even to make a cup of tea! Thankfully all is now well and normality resumes - and with it my blog begins again. Keep an eye on it...neither you nor I know what is in store for us as we embark on our next three month adventure.....

The Return

Hello again.

Just a quick post to let you know that we will be returning to Tahannaout in the middle of September....and hoping to have more adventures over the coming months which I will blog about here.....

SO WATCH THIS SPACE MY FRIENDS.....

The End?

Today has been spent packing - tomorrow we fly back to the UK. Over the last 9 months we have flown in and out of the UK a number of times in order to satisfy the demands of the tourist stamp and also because each three months has been a stand-alone period of time whereby we have made our mind up whilst still living in this fabulous place that we must come back for the next stint, for further exploration. This is the first time we are returning to the UK without having booked a return flight to the beautiful country of Morocco - and it's scary!

So much has happened whilst we have been here, some of which I have written about and some of which just cannot be captured in words. How can one describe the everyday experience of living in such a culturally different country where at every turn there is a new discovery to be made? From the  generosity of heart of the poorest people to the sight of the most spectacular mountain scenery, from the serene beauty of the desert to the windswept beaches, this country has so much to offer...and we feel privileged to have shared in this.

I'm talking as though this is the end....but is it? Who knows what the future holds? All we know right now is that we are returning to the UK on that aeroplane tomorrow afternoon, carrying a multitude of memories with us...and thousands of photos as physical evidence should those memories start to fade.

I can't believe somehow that this is the last time we will be here, so I'll finish by using the French phrase along with the arabic prayer:

À bientôt....See you soon!

Insh'Allah... God willing!

Awaln'Art

Every time we go out in the car we see the same ragged poster hanging from the wall at the roundabout in Tahannaout....'Awaln'Art - 16-17 juin' it reads. Only one way to find out what this is all about....

So it is that we make our way up to the main road in the sweltering heat of the evening of 17th June. There is no-one around. Have we got the wrong evening? Did the poster really say that whatever this is begins at 5.30pm tonight? Finally we come across some Berber tents set up in a field at the side of the road and a group of young boys are clambering on the barriers around them, straining to see whatever is happening beyond. We begin to chat to them in French and they, like boys the world over, begin to make cheeky remarks. Soon we are having fun though as one boy shows us his dad's mobile phone that he says he has been given...but I doubt that somehow; another tells us he likes eeenglish, yet another asks for 'un dirham, un dirham'. They shrug their shoulders as we ask where everyone is.

Cheeky boys

It's nearing 6.30pm before an official exits a tent and we quickly grab him to find out what's happening. "L'école", he says and points down the road in the direction of the school. Ah, so that's where everyone is! Sure enough, as we amble down the road we can see many people in the distance; young and old, babes swaddled in makeshift harnesses on their mothers' backs, toddlers running around in the middle of the sealed-off road, boys kicking a deflated football to each other, old women sitting on plastic stools they've brought with them for comfort, whole families gathered together for an evening out in their home town. It seems like all the inhabitants of Tahannaout and maybe even the surrounding villages are here, waiting for the spectacle to commence.

As we arrive at the school we are confronted with 15 foot high giant papier mache figures which illustrate the diversity of the Moroccan people. There are figures of Gnawa musicians playing instruments, a djellabah-clad lady carrying a baby on her back, blue men of the desert, old men wearing turbans with very distinct facial features...many lifeless figures strewn around the front of the school, surrounded by students wearing face paint. One of the students wears a massive hat, obviously part of a costume for a giant figure that we have yet to spot. A young man approaches us and speaks in broken English asking if we'd like to take photos - hardly a surprising request as both Mart and I have our cameras slung around our necks as ever! Soon we find ourselves taking many photos as the students gather around and pose with understandable pride alongside their magnificent creations.

Students wearing face paint

So proud

Where did you get that hat?

Waiting patiently

A hand made out of plastic bottles

At the exit of the school stands an enormous figure of a camel, again handcrafted by the students. It is made of papier mâché, canvas, plastic bottles, materials, rope, wool - you name it, I'm sure it is in there somewhere - it really is an amazing feat, standing about 20 feet tall, mounted on a trolley, waiting to be pulled by a tuk-tuk along the road. Astride the camel sits a young man who will 'ride' and 'steer' the camel along the route. As we watch, the blindfold which has been covering the camel's head up until now is taken off to reveal a very life-like face with moving jaws. We are amazed once again at this amazing feat of creativity.

The blindfolded camel

How life-like is that camel's face?!

It is time for the procession to start. Groups of men and women gather together, all dressed in bright colourful costumes, stripy djellabahs for the men and white for the women, the women's heads adorned with a yellow headdress, the men with drums in hand waiting for the command to start the musical accompaniment to the procession. As they start playing, singing and clapping, women in pink, white and red costumes with fringes of co-ordinating colours follow behind the musicians, dancing steps to the left and then to the right in time to the drummed music.

Musicians in full flow

Drummers

Does my bum look big in this? :)

A second group of musicians joins in, adding their own rhythms to the overall sound.

Then we have the sword-fighting dancers who perform acrobatics as they make their way along the route, alternately running, jumping, somersaulting and performing karate-type moves whilst brandishing their 'swords'.

And now we see the procession of the figures we saw earlier, ably led by the camel caravan being pulled by the tuk-tuk.

The tuk-tuk and the camel

The camelteer

Here come the figures, now brought to life by the students who are camouflaged nicely in the 'tummies' of the giant figures by the use of their face paints, controlling their every move with the aid of long sticks attached to the arms of the figures. Ingenious!

The Gnawa musicians

Fab expression on his face

Berber woman complete with 'Henna'...

...and baby on her back!

'Henna' detail

Young and old line the streets to watch the procession in all its glory, the sights and sounds filling this small town with cheer as people smile, clap and run ahead to try to take that perfect photo as a memory of a very special day in Tahannaout.

Grannies and babes

Lining the street

A cheerie chappie

Musicians and characters

A blue man of the desert

Student in the 'tummy'

Fingernails detail

Gnawas dancing

My favourite figure - smiley Gnawa

The camel makes its way along the route

At last the procession reaches its end - the empty field with the Berber tents where we started from all those hours ago. Here the procession ends but there are more activities just beginning. There are acrobatics, people flying through the air as they are flung from trampettes, arms and legs flying in all directions. The giant figures watch the spectacle along with the crowds of people gathered.

Acrobats 'flying' through the air

The onlookers

Many boys and young teens have climbed onto the top of goalposts in order to get a better view.

From this vantage point they watch the drama group, one of whom is now seated even higher than the boys on top of the gantry of the stage, playing his guitar.

Silhouetted against the night sky.

Aerial dramatics

The costumes are now taken off and the students must stack them away safely, maybe to be used again at a later date. Once again the figures become lifeless.

The Gnawa

An old man

The musicians relax at the back of the field.

The camel looks forlorn as it is led to its shelter, probably to be blindfolded once more.

What a fabulous evening this has turned out to be. Smiley faces make their way home with much laughter and cheer. I hope we get to see a festival like this again - it is lovely to see families come together as a community to support their young people.