Thurs 16th May. Our stop tonight is Source bleue de Meski – one of our favourite places from the last trip but as with most of this trip, we do not take the direct route! First stop is Gourrama for a sneaky nus nus, well it wouldn’t be right to pass a coffee shop and not stop, and it’s then on to Boudnib. Here we have a guide and are shown round an old kasbah (walled town) which despite being devastated by a huge flood in 2008, still has some inhabitants. The King, who is a major factor in modernising much of the agriculture in the country, granted funds to be made available for the restoration of the kasbah, including the installation of electricity, although many people have moved to the new town.

 

Slight problem on the way out when one of the vans got stuck in the dried riverbed where we were parked! After much discussion amongst the men and with the use of anti-slip mats, the van was finally free and we were on our way again.

 

 

 

The campsite at Meski is built around a natural spring which fills a swimming pool. Not being totally sure that the water was parasite free, we gave swimming a miss so spent the afternoon drinking tea in the various shops on site – the tea drinking is a vital part of shopping and price negotiating here! An impromptu drumming session accompanied the tea with Abdul and it was then on to Beni who had been our unofficial guide last time we were here; if there was anything you wanted then Beni could provide it! Bob was after a silver bangle and managed to find one in amongst the rucksack of goodies Beni was unwrapped as sadly a break-in last month meant that he no longer kept the good jewellery on show.

Beni remembered the girls from the last trip and wanted to give them something so after dinner we went back to his house to collect a bottle of olive oil. He also wanted to show us his house of which he is very proud (it’s a beautiful place) and to which we have been invited to stay on our next trip back…..