A non drive day today and we took a walk into the local town. It is very quiet here and I don’t think they get many tourists so we sparked a lot of interest as we walked through the town. The town itself is primitive with sand or gravel through the streets. The houses are basic constructed of what looks like breeze block coated with a rendering of mud and straw.
Our presence was of particular interest to the children as they come out to look at us and say hello. We went prepared with sweets to give the kids but the numbers increased and we run out of sweets.
We saw a lady carrying cleaning products out of these steel doors in the side of a building. We stopped and chatted to her in a mix of French and English and it turned out this was her shop and she said she was selling cakes and biscuits, so maybe a general store.
We came across a large number of children of about 5 to 10 years old and Jo asked them why they wasn’t in school. A man came out and spoke some English and told us they were on vacation but I doubt that.
We walked a bit further and came across an area with lots of palm trees and concrete structures that looked like they should hold water a bit like a swimming pool but I think these are no longer used and where bone dry and collecting rubbish. The palm trees were starting to look like they were struggling too and not very healthy. Looking at the map these areas are called Park and Garden and it looks like they used to be lush areas with the concrete structures full of water where locals could cool down. Not sure if it is a temporary thing or sadly a more permanent change as water seems to be becoming more scarce.
Our afternoon was spent relaxing in the sun until the wind got up and we had a sandstorm.
Later on the older guy from the camp was leaving in his car and I went over to say goodbye as we might not see him tomorrow. He wound down the window and I tried to explain where we were off to next. I don’t think he understood a word I was saying but I could hear a strange noise coming from under his bonnet and pointed to it. The sound was like a squeal and I thought perhaps his rad or a belt slipping but this got loud even after he turned the engine off. Then I recalled a story I had heard about a car in Morocco where a cat had crawled under a car and was in the engine bay. Well, would you belive it, this is what had happend, so we’re both trying to encourage this cat out. The older lady from the camp comes out. Then the most dirty oily looking cat comes out from under the car. I reckon that cats been living in there for ages.
Shower time now, get all that sand off. Tomorrow we’re off to the interestingly named Foum Zguid.
