Brief history

Sorry for not having updated the blog in several weeks. Here is a quick round up in pictures;

This is Meknes, a beautiful city in the north that we visited briefly during our grand tour that also included Fes, Rabat, Tangiers, Tarifa, and Gibraltar! 

I really enjoyed this city particularly the old medina that is a maze of dark, winding pathways past towers of spices, boxes of chickens, antiques of questionable origin, roof terrace cafes and iron damask ornaments.

  

Had to see off some particularly brazen pick-pockets in Gibraltar who wouldn't take no for an answer!!

After two weeks away from Laayoune, I was delighted to get 'home' We celebrated with a big bowl of salted popcorn. It was 'up and at em' the next morning as I launched straight back into classes. Had a few days of feeling frustrated with the lack of progress I'd been making in my language learning which kind of seeped into a frustration of what on earth is happening to me when I get back to England...I have no job, firm plans, money etc Was able to create a reassuring flow chart to restore my equilibrium, albeit of all the issues I needed answers for, then sent it to a few friends for them to 'chew over'. Almost immediately plans started to come together and although there are still many unanswered questions, I feel much calmer.

At the beginning of May I decided to quit the English teaching I was doing and double my own language lessons. I also asked if my classes could pick up pace. I'm very glad I made that decision as I've launched into grammar more systematically now. I have noticed that I am understanding much more of people's conversations lately and although the amount of conversation that I can generate is still limited, I feel like I'm making progress. 

There do, however, continue to be conversations like this between the teacher and me;

Teacher pointing to a picture of a fig: What's this?

Me reading the word next to the picture in my book: A fig

Teacher: No

Me: Yes it is

Teacher: No, not fig

Me: Well that's the word it has down here

Teacher: Show me

Me showing him the arabic word: See, 'fig'

Teacher: This isn't fig

Me: OK...

Teacher pointing to a picture of a fig: So, what is this picture?

Me: I don't know

Teacher: It's peach

Me: But you've got the word 'grenades' down next to the peach picture, 

(then muttering) not that grenades are a fruit.

Teacher: No, that's granite

Me: Granite? Oh yes, pomegranite

Teacher holds up picture of raspberries for which he hasn't given me the word in Arabic: What is this?

Me: Well they are raspberries but they aren't on my list

long pause

Me: I don't know

Teacher in Arabic: Strawberries

The last week has mostly been about watching the temperature soar to the mid 40's and finding inventive ways to keep cool. We are currently preparing some coldwater bottles in the freezer!

I am preparing for my very dear friend, Elaine, to come out and visit me in a couple of weeks time and after that it will be time for me to leave. I have 4 remaining weeks before I return and my head is spinning with all the new things I have seen, heard, learnt and smelled!!! I have as many questions now as when I first came but some of them at least are different questions! 

I will try and blog again before I leave.

Thanks for reading.

Why take it easy when you can rush?

Jo and I went away for a few days chill time and we had everything timed to perfection.

We got to the airport and browsed the one shop that is there in Laayoune airport. I bought a necklace and a couple of silver rings - that a week later are now clearly not silver - then ambled out to discover that everyone had boarded and we were the last ones through the gates.

Later at the train station in Rabat, we arrived with an hour and a half to spare so stopped for some lunch in the cafe overlooking the train tracks. On the way out of the cafe, I noticed that we had three minutes to run for the train and it was already on the platform as we threw ourselves on board.

Later at the port, we got stuck for two hours with bad weather. We could see our ferry a few hundred yards out but it was unable to dock because of high winds. After playing cards and buying unappetising biscuits from a vending machine, people began to queue. Jo pushed her way to the front while I did the English thing and said it would be fine to wait. Jo then beckoned me forward, fast, to get on the sh;uttle bus to the boat because the queue was for the later ferry. We were last on the bus.

Later at the bus station, with an hour and 50 minutes wait, we sat and had coffee and played Rummikub in the cafe while we waited. Engrossed in what we were doing, we got to our bus after everyone else was ready to go. Last on again!

Puppy Love & Hard Work

Life has been quiet and uneventful. Hang on, no, that was someone else.

Life has been crazy, full of busyness and adventure. A lengthy gap between blog posts means that you're only going to get the highlights, apologies.

So I got a dog.

Jo and I were in the flat and heard this awful whining sound that could only be a dog. Jo thought it might be trapped somewhere so I went down with something out of the fridge to see if I could help it. At the far end of our street, a tiny puppy was sitting and crying. Seriously, what would you do? Of course she came back home with me and spent a week totally disrupting our lives with her need to be fed every two hours, day and night, complete lack of house training and the need to keep her presence a secret from the neighbours. I named her Elle and despite the exhaustion and effort it took to keep her, we both found her utterly delightful to have around.

As we are due to travel in a few days, it was essential that we found her somewhere permanent to live and it was, I truly believe, a miracle that we found out, via a chain of unusual links, of a guy that wanted a puppy. She is now happily in her new home being doted on by other dog-crazy individuals.

I had my friend from Boujdour up with us for several days and we got to do some fun stuff together. Meals out, visits to various places in Laayoune and visits to friends houses.

Language learning continues to be a lot of fun for me. I was beginning to get a little frustrated that I had a lot of vocabulary and could fairly confidently negotiate the alphabet and read most things, I still wasn't able to start conversations. Try as I might, saying 'turban', 'courgette' or 'table' was not proving to be great openers.

Things have improved since then and I've had the chance to spend time with some native speakers who have welcomed me into their home, given me the obligatory three glasses of overly sugared tea and helped me learn new vocabulary. Today I put some words together that I was sure didn't constitute a sentence but I was understood and corrected. It's like being a small child learning to talk. Now if i could just get the hang of drinking without spilling it down me...

Earlier this week, I spent an afternoon in a primary school learning some classical arabic. The words weren't important as I was trying to get a grip on some of the different accents, of which I know nine. After 2 hours I was shattered and had to leave but the kids just kept going. They were coming up to the teacher and reading some pretty advanced French while I was working. At one point this little girl came up to show the teacher what she had been writing and it was the same work as me. She just read it out without batting an eyelid, leaving me feeling very envious!

We took a trip out during the week to an oasis about half an hour out of town. I'd been here on a previous visit but it was lovely to go back and spend some time relaxing there. That's the climbing up palm trees kind relaxing as you can see.

There are lots of bird around and it is a fun place with a tiny, not very clean, outdoor pool, areas to sit and eat and even tents that you can stay in overnight.

Jo spent a lot of time last weekend with a very poor family who have not been able to afford one of the children's medicine for epilepsy. He had a fit, fell, banged his head and was vomiting for hours afterwards. Thankfully all is well again now. The medication is about £10 a month. The mother is on her own and has to leave the two younger kids with the 7 year old to look after when she goes to work. There are a lot of comfortably well off people here but where there is poverty, it is pretty shocking because there is no NHS or social security. This family is being financially supported by various people but they continue to live in a garage that has been converted into a place to live. (I don't know why this month was particularly tight for her)

I have run some lessons while I have been here. One in Dakhla and two at the centre where Jo works. The last one was a fun session with about 10-12 of the mothers where we made paper boats and floated them, had a dressing up game, team games and picture identification games - all with a message about communication and interaction.

The significance of this week has not gone uncelebrated.

Well it's half past midnight and it's time for me to put out the surprise chocolate I bought for Jo for tomorrow morning (Sunday) before turning in for the night!

How can I put this..?

...I'm having more fun that you'd think considering I'm in a desert, miles from home and hanging out with lots of people I don't understand.

Last weekend Jo and I went to Dakhla. Wow. It's beautiful. Flat sand stretching for miles, perfect dunes to run over, warm sea, friends with a boat, an eat-all-you-can fish buffet, dozens of people kite-surfing. Dakhla is a peninsular about 6 hours south of Laayoune, where I'm staying and it does that confusing thing of having ridiculously arid places that drop straight into the sea. Forgive the photos and please believe me when I say I'm not ACtually just having a holiday!!

We were far enough away from anyone local to wear short sleeves without anyone being scandalised by seeing my upper arms and I even got into the sea for a few minutes at one point. In more public or popular places the women wear pyjamas or jogging bottoms and long-sleeved t-shirts to go into the sea.

On Sunday afternoon we went off-roading to 'Dunas Blancas' and listened to our friends stories of cars that had sunk in the sand, never to be recovered because of the tunnels the fiddler crabs make that fill with water when the tide comes in.

The sand was surprisingly cool under foot

considering the heat of the day. A strong wind helps prevent you from over-heating.

There were a group of pink flamingoes in the water, oystercatchers, sanderling and some other birds that I thought may have been curlew but couldn't identify without binoculars.

I threw caution to the wind and flung myself in the sea which was warm.

One evening we stopped by at a 'hanout' which is what I called a box shop when I first came arrived. They come in different sizes but they are basically a small room with a counter with products behind and you have to ask for what you want and you are served everything by the shopkeeper. This hanout that we visited was about the size of a shed, the counter was gone because it was evening and a group of women were sat on rugs inside drinking tea in the traditional southern style. We joined them and left when there were so many people sitting cross-legged in there that a world record was about to be set.

At the dunes I was challenged to take the leap of faith, a rite of passage made up by one of our friends that involves running up to the peak of a dune (as pictured) and jumping as far as you can, blind, over the other side. I made a modest effort while pulling off a convincing impression of the much-loved, knee-length trouser wearing sleuth, Tintin!

It was a great week-end and a perfect break from 'normal' life, though I use that term advisedly!

I think this weekend we are actually going to be staying in Laayoune. We are invited to a wedding of a brother of a friend of an acquaintance of a person of a .... I'm not sure who! I will be able to provide you with more pictures of me looking silly as a result!

Bleatings from Boujdour!

So I'm back from a weekend in Boujdour, a bus ride three hours south of Laayoune where I am staying. An aller-retour costs just over £8 which is pretty good for 6 hours through the desert. The view through the window goes a bit like this; sand, grit, sand, rocks, dirt, litter, sand, low-growing shrubs hanging on for dear life, sand, rocks, dirt, dunes, sea, rocks, half-built building, police check, sand, petrol station, sand....you get the picture. In fact, it was a quite weird sensation last weekend when travelling north and I found myself shouting; 'Look! A tree!'

So anyway, back to Boujdour...I have a family that live there who I've stayed with before and it was so good to see them again. There were lots of hugs and tears when I arrived and being on the conservative side of emotional (!), I was really touched with how pleased they were to see me. The weekend was mostly eating vast amounts of bad-for-you food, followed by long siestas. My friend and I had an afternoon at the beach, Morocco style. That's to say, we walked on the sand and took some photos. Long sleeves and high necklines cause plenty looks and comments. I think swimwear would cause major meltdown! We shopped in the souk, sat around in the square and went to a book fair where I managed to get a copy of 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' for the equivalent of £1.80. The mother made us couscous even though it wasn't Friday (!) and I was spared any glimmer of cow's ears.

One evening she made peanut butter from scratch which was really fun to watch. She has a large, stone, conical type of pestle and mortar with a well in the middle where you ladle in peanuts that have been in boiling oil. The whole thing is then turned so that the nuts are crushed, boiling oil and sugar is added and slowly the paste comes out of the bottom and drips down from the base into a plastic tub. It took her all evening and I was staggered at how she kept going. My arms would have been cramped up hours before she stopped!

I learnt more words to add to my Hassaniya vocabulary and helped a neighbours daughter with some English homework. I got to visit the neighbours roof and check out their baby goat and sheep. They had woken me in the middle of the night and it sounded as if they were in the same room as me!

I'm working a lot on Arabic letters and how they change depending on where they are in a word and realising how difficult it must be to learn English actually. We have so many silent letters and sounds that change depending on what letters they follow and sounds that change when combined with other letters. In class it's easy to think that I am doing really well because the teacher is, naturally, getting me to practice the things he has taught me. However, take that smug feeling out of the classroom and listen to people talking and you recognise a word every few minutes. I'm still feeling the excitement of learning though and I'm making the most of it because I'm sure there will be times in the future when I want to throw my exercise book across the room!

Highs of the week: Putting together Arabic letters in a word to make the right sounds, the Boujdour trip, having my English student describe me as a 'full battery' when I teach!

Low of the week: Seeing on FB that my niece has learnt to ride a bike and I wasn't there to see it and cheer her on.

Burning rubber and spitting sand

Last weekend, Jo and I went to Agadir for a few nights. It was good to catch up with some of her friends, get our hair done, have the car fixed and the computer mended. The drive is 10-12 hours each way, depending on how many stops you have. For example, you might stop a couple of times on the way there but on the way back have a near death experience with a truck and feel the need to drive very cautiously, slowly and stop to recharge more!! Ah, it's me making light of a near catastrophe - some things never change! We're fine but it was genuinely a close call with a huge vehicle pulling out directly in front of us and the whole screeching brakes and burning rubber scenario.

You've got to love the whole driving experience here though. It is normal to be driving along and have pedestrians walking in the road instead of pavement, have cars coming down the road on the wrong side towards you, mopeds and bikes zipping up the inside of you and cars forming up to five lanes in a road marked for 2 or 3 lanes. Pedestrians genuinely step out in front of cars assuming they have the right of way and the actual road rules about having the right of way is nothing like England so if you are coming out of a minor road onto a major road but you are on the right of oncoming traffic you can just pull straight out. Of course they keep you on your toes by sometimes pulling out and sometimes not.

We've both been rather under the weather with a cold and sore throat but while I am almost back to full health, Johanne is feeling really lousy with a chest infection now :(

Have been enjoying the bird life here. Also emailing my parents to gloat has been good! I've seen crested larks, egrets, flamingoes, bulbuls and a hoopoe! Tow of these are what my folks call 'lifers' as I've not seen them before.

This week I have started teaching English as a foreign language! After the courses and training I finally have a girl who wants to come for three hours a week. This is great news as it means I am a lot busier and am enjoying lesson prep and teaching again. It pays just under £7 a week but I'm enjoying it for practice sake rather than to make anything.

Today is crazy weather! The wind is up and sand is causing a kind of mist that blurs the edges of everything, whips into your face and eyes. Walking home from my language class, I could feel the grit of sand between my teeth and I was glad to have my sunglasses on. The sky which is normally blue is a dull sandy/grey and the shutters all over the apartment block are rattling.

Language continues to go well. I am learning lots of good vocabulary and I am trying to learn some of the script. This is going to be a slow process. I've heard, and it makes sense, that students who learn to read and write the Arabic script can make much better progress in the long run so although it is slow now, I think it's the way forward. Of course being able to identify the letters in a word doesn't mean you know what it means or that it's even in the same dialect as the one you're learning! Did I mention the letters form different shapes if they are at the beginning, middle or end of a word?!

I have plans for this weekend to go down to Boujdour with my local friend to surprise her mum. I will stay overnight and try and practice as much of my language as I can although they both speak French so it might be difficult to break out of that.

Food, drink. Did I mention food?

Have gotten to meet a good few people here. Friends of friends who quickly become friends. We do lots of going out in the evening to visit people and enjoy hospitality. The routine for local people here seems to be to have you round about 5 and serve you 'atey' (tea) and bread. The tea has a whole complicated ceremony with actions that don't have an english translation - as I've discovered when I was set homework around tea vocabulary! They wash the tea leaves first then brew in a pot for quite a while so you can talk and talk. The tea is poured into a 'kes' (glass) from a great height to cool the liquid down. That kes is then often poured from one glass into another to cool it down more before it is put back in the pot! Ah, and of course there is the sugar. I am getting Jo to get mine poured pre-sugar because I don't want an early onset of diabetes. They seriously put in BRICKS of the stuff. It sets your teeth on edge just watching! The bread is phenomenal. They have batbot bread which is a flat round bread that is good on its own or with butter and anther flat, oily bread that I can't remember the name of right now. So good. So fattening. Men here like their women large. Seriously.

Had an interesting conversation with a guy about learning Arabic who said that those who work at figuring out the script do much better long term. I guess this makes perfect sense so I'm trying to get the hang of some of the writing. It's only 28 or so characters and little kids are taught the alphabet so how difficult can it be?? I'm overlooking the fact that each letter can be written three different ways depending on whether it is at the start, middle or end of a word. I'll be fluent before long, I'm quite sure!

Have been sampling a quite staggering amount of home and shop baked desserts. There have been three birthdays this week, a general meeting up of friends twice and probably other things my guilt is blocking out! Honourable mentions go out specifically to a friends cinnamon buns that were PHENOMENAL and my tarte aux poires which did not fail to impress!

Had an evening strolling along the beach with friends. The grown ups walked and talked. I jumped across the dried, seaweed-covered rocks looking at rock pools and shells with the 11 year old!

Language lessons are going a bomb. I can very slowly and 'with great concentration sometimes manage...' (NOT going to finish that Arrested Development quote T&G!!) ... give directions, name places round town, greet people, count to 11 (?), say the alphabet and give a little information about myself. I'm really enjoying it and the words that even a few days ago I thought I would never learn are beginning to stick.

All for now!

Pictures

(L)A typical meal with local friends; bread, oil, salt, tea.

(R)A snap from the souk

(L) Always love rustic doorways

(R) A typical street scene with a 'box shop' as I'm calling them, next door to a home with the washing hanging out on the street

Tuesday

Jo drove me to my class again this morning but this time I drew a map as we went so I could retrace my steps afterwards. I was expecting to go over what we had looked at yesterday so had been frantically repeating Kem andak minam? Shnoo li zain andak? - How old are you? What do you like? We didn't look at them so I guess I have some extra time to try and lodge them in the ole brain.

Today's class provided me with two opportunities today to speak that I wouldn't have managed otherwise. I went to Las Dunas again by myself and this time I ordered my coffee in Hassaniya! Ridiculously chuffed at such a simple act. Later in the day I needed to spell my name to someone and I managed three of the four letters that make up 'Joy' in Arabic.

I ran into someone on the street today that I knew. It was a great little moment to see someone in a foreign town that I recognised, could speak to and embrace. A little thing you'd accept as a nice but normal occurence back home felt like an encouragement and reminder that I'm not on my own here.

I found my way to and around the market, drawing my map as I went. Bought the ingredients for tabbouleh and haggled a pair of shades down from 30 dh to an impressive£1.86 equivalent! If you've not been to a North African market before, imagine it like this; stalls piled high with fruit and vegetables like in England. Now shove them all together so you can just get by each one, add shoppers who stare at you, throw in flies and suspect smells, add litter, dirt, piles of sand and market stall holders calling out to you to try and get your attention because you're white and therefore fabulously rich (or so they think), intersperse vegetables with dirty, brick rooms full of chickens, stalls with whole goats hung upside down, most of the meat stripped off but with the heads still hanging intact with fur. Now if you can, pluck up the courage to pick something up from a stall. You're given a bowl to put in what you want and told how amazing the rather tired looking tomatoes are and how much do you want, a kilo? Grab some herbs and wince thinking you're going to be ripped off because you're white. End up paying pennies for everything you've bought. Leave surprised that some of the women smiled back at you and even spoke to you. Feel relieved the guy who followed you saying; 'Bonjour. Hello. Hola...' finally understood 'DEGAGE' (shove off in French) and left you alone.

Slept for a couple of hours then had a quiet evening watching Jo's 'Gilmore Girls', which isn't my thing but is an easy distraction, then several episodes of Arrested Development.

Monday

Johanne dropped me off at the language school today where I had mistakenly been signed up for Derija lessons rather than Hassaniya but it was quickly sorted out. I had the same teacher as when I was here two years ago and had taken a one hour lesson. We covered how to ask and answer questions about our name, place we are from, languages we speak, things we like, if we are married, what we do for a job and how old we are. Zain andi safar - I like to travel! After ten minutes, the board was covered with Arabic script that I tried to copy for a while but I couldn't keep up, so resorted to writing what I could hear.

I walked to Las Dunas cafe and haltingly ordered coffee, I think in French..? Jo joined me soon after and we ended up having a drink and a pastry each. I generously paid the £1.76 Dhiram equivalent! The weather was absolutely perfect; sunshine, very warm (even though someone Johanne knows stopped her on the way home to ask how she was coping with the cold!) and a gentle breeze.

I spent a good while trying to remember the phrases from this morning's class; Inta men mneyn? Shuny kha dimtek? - Where are you from? What is your job?

Spent a good 20 minutes tracing a map of Laayoune from Google Maps (roads, no street names or landmarks) and went out to orientate myself. It was going brilliantly until I got to the main road that wasn't there! I soon realised I was totally lost. Men were staring at me all the time even though I was wearing a high cut, long-sleeved top. I didn't want to make it obvious I had a map in my hand and there was nowhere to stop and gather my thoughts so I resorted to turning on data roaming, found to my horror that it was already on and located myself in the right direction.

Some time after 5 we went out visiting with one of the cakes left over from the previous night that we couldn't possibly manage. It was a really special time and I felt genuinely blessed to be so thoroughly accepted and welcomed into someone else's home. Heartfelt words were shared. They invited us to stay for dinner and we said yes. It was 9:30 at the time but we didn't finish eating until close to midnight at which point Jo and I were dead on our feet!

The eagle has landed. The first evening.

So it didn't take long before the craziness set in! Stood at passport control for about half an hour before getting through. A was waiting for me at the other side and it was great to see her again. The first taxi we piled into was already full to my eyes but we sat in the front passenger seat together while her friend got in the back with the three existing passengers. I was closest to the driver, my spine hanging on to the edge of the seat and the gear stick wedged against my leg, with gear changes proving an uncomfortable experience. A 'discussion' began which was deafening even above the Arabic/French radio! A threw herself into the conversation at full volume and the driver turned his head when he 'spoke'. The resulting effect was that he had his eyes off the road and was effectively shouting in my ear! All the while, I'm not at all sure if we are heading towards the right place! A told me I had to go to hers first and that buses don't run after 8m and if I stay at her flat, I can just tell J that I arrived too late for the bus. It wasn't until we were in the third taxi and after repeating the importance of getting my ticket from friends, that I felt confident we were going where I needed to go!

Little For-it

A quiet day with little to report, hence the latest bastardisation of a Dickensian title.

The journal reads:

A late, lazy start. Some breakfast and coffee just after 11. Helped B with some definitions of disability and rehabilitation before F arrived to give her a massage. (She is suffering from cyatica - how do you spell that?) We spent all of the day indoors which allowed me to finish reading Siri Hustvedt's 'Summer Without Men' and start Zadie Smith's 'White Teeth'.

In the afternoon, Johanne and I popped out briefly to get a few supplies and we just happened to run into someone who works for the ministry of education. When Johanne introduced me and told him I had an interest in Boujdour, he said that Boujdour was under his jurisdiction and we made plans to see him tomorrow. There's a lot more I could say here but is better to tell anyone face to face if they want to know more.

In the evening, with B still feeling under the weather, Johanne and I went out to a 'party at Debbie's' which was a crowded celebration with students receiving certificates for sewing, patisserie and other crafts. Johanne got a helper certificate for always bringing cake. I sat next to a deaf and mute woman for much of the evening but despite that we managed to communicate well. No language barrier to worry about, I suppose! Lots of litle cakes and biscuits and fizzy drinks are handed round on foil trays and people sit and talk. I saw the guy wo I'd met ther last year who had been painting glass with his mouth. All of the students at this association are physically disabled in some way. People were smiling and friendly and drew out a bit more Hassania from me.

When we got home after dropping various people off around the city, B was up and feeling much better. We stayed up and chatted for quite a while then once Johanne had gone to bed, I had some time online before turning in.

A Tale of Two Cities

I slept fitfully and spent my waking time falling in and out of love with Africa; in the last three days I had not been in a toilet that was more than a hole and without any sign of toilet paper and the romance of living like a local was wearing thin in that respect BUT the clouds of women in highly pattered floating mulafeh was like watching flocks of exotic birds preening themselves as they rearrange the material over their heads BUT there is a constant thought near the front of your mind that whatever is causing that fearful smell in the market might splatter up your feet BUT the night sky is stunning and you see so many more stars clearly etc...

Around 5, I was sleepily aware that the bus had stopped but not for a break. We had broken down and there was quite a delay. There had been a noticeable increase in light by the time I had properly woken up and we all had to get out, collect our luggage and fight for a place on one of the two other buses that had stopped to accommodate us. One benefit was that the seats seemed much more comfortable and we had more space to move about. We stopped a little while later at a regular spot, now fully light but cool with a low hanging mist. Assmae and I had coffee (small glass o fhot milk and a sachet of nescafe) and that delicious, oily, rectangular bread that looks like a pancake and tastes like a paratha. I'd been looking forward to that!

We travelled on, the countryside looking distinctly more like a desert but with lots of low scrub and mostly flat. We arrived at Laayoune and seeing things I recognised was surprisingly exciting. Assmae transferred to another bus to Boujdoour and Johanne arrived shortly after. It was great to see her and she launched straight into her usual chatter, telling me about all her visitors; I and her son J are leaving and B is staying and six men are coming from the UK next week. It's election day...

We got to her flat, I was introduced to her three guests and then we all went out to the dunes. This is one of my favourite things to do here. Where the sand had been blown hard it is easy to walk but where it is soft, the heat scalds your feet. I took lots of pictures and asked about scorpions! We then drove on to a section of the beach I hadn't been to before and enjoyed the spray and cool winds. The plan was to have a short rest when we got back then I passed out for six hours on the banquette and was woken to say goodbye to I and J. While Johanne was taking them to the bus stop, I showered - with running water! I shared potato sald adn tuna and talked for a couple of hours with Johanne about all the possible plans for the future.

Barnaby Grudge

Slept in the lounge on the floor just because it was cooler than lying on the cushions of the sofa/banquette which sink to nothing after a few minutes of sitting on them. I slept well and lay awake for quite a while before a call woke Assmae, enjoying the quite and time to myself. We got dressed and had a breakfast of sweet mint tea, poured from a great height into small glasses, returned to the pot and the same procedure repeated. More bread and chocolate spread and olives if you wanted them. We sat together for a while, Assmae and her grandfather and his wife talking and watching more Top Gear. Assmae then said she was going to leave me for a bit and she disappeared for maybe an hour. I read 'Nice Work' and got to within a page of finishing when she came back and we prepared to leave. We dropped in, unplanned, to someone else's house for a few minutes but involved ltos fo greetings and farewells and 'a la prochaine, inshallah'. At the same time I had a call about a job that later came to nothing. We left and took a taxi back tot he guys house and hung around drinking tea and discussing the state of British castles.

Abdullah had made us all a chicken tajine with onions, plums and boiled egg. The television, always on, was playing some very silly film about people stealing cars. After that, while I sat and watched most of another film, Entrapment, the others wandered off and did their own things and Assmae took 50dh from me to get a taxi to collect our bags from her flat and buy some things to eat for the journey. They called me through to the other room as the girls were dancing and I tried to join in but it's nothing like dancing back home.

When Assmae left to get the luggage, I started watching Fight Club above the deafening noise of someone taking, what sounded like a battering ram to the front door downstairs. I never really found out what was going on but they very soon cut through a wire and killed the television supply so I lay face down on a rug and slept soundly until Assmae to me we needed to head to the bus depot. Tyler was still on the screen so I can't have slept for more than an hour but I had been in a dead sleep and it felt like the middle of the night. We took a taxi and hung around waiting for our bus, taking photos of each other until it was time for us to leave. We said fond goodbyes and boarded seats 10 and 11. The evening's drive was uneventful, passing through towns and villages in the dark.

Their Mutual Friends

I slept very well on a bed made up for me and woke a couple of times during the morning before getting up around midday, thirsty but reliant on someone buying me bottled water before I can drink. Sat listening to and watching a channel of men singing from various Arab countries but all in long, white robes and head scarves. All five of us went out to buy our tickets for tomorrow; another long walk with sweat pouring off my brow al the time. En route we saw the usual donkeys and carts laden with fruit standing at the side of the road, scarlet hibiscus and purple and white bougainvillia pouring over walls and gates and the endless Yamaha Citizens laden with passengers and goods. We got back, drank water and rested. My ticket to Laayoune was 22o dhirams. We packed up half an hour or so later and took a taxi to Assmae's flat. She changed while I sat in the little room in the courtyard again. We crossed over the main road opposite the compound and found a place to eat. I generously stood a meal of a large salad and a baguette and fries each. I think it came to nearly £4! We had to return to the compound for something Assmae had forgotten, then we caught a taxi to near where her grandparents live.

They live in an area of Agadir that Assmae tells me is very popular. The roads are in a bad state and there are pedestrians everywhere and piles of stray kittens in raggledy mounds. We arrived at the house and as usual, a very humble looking entrance belies a well kept interior. We sat and were offered very sweet mint tea, small biscuits, bread and chocolate spread, olives, oil, sugared palmieres and pains au chocolat. I sat for a long time not understanding anything but quite content not to be doing much. Assmae then said we would go out and have a walk. We went round streets of souks and saw carts of fruit, mountains of watermelon, goats heads and hooves fronting butcher's stalls, shops with chillers full of improbably red sausages and mince, toys laid out on the floor and an assault of smells; bread, raw meat, body odours and a general stench from detritus on the street. It was very colourful and heaving with people. After walking the length of the souk area, Assmae suggested we stop and sit and pointed to a grassy area that was essentially a large central reservation between two main roads, one of them a dual carriageway. We made our way across and joined a few hundred other people who were sitting on the grass. Assmae shouted over the traffic that it was a beautiful spot. Oddly enough the cool grass under my feet and a holiday feeling with kids running round made it a welcome stop. We walked back and just before getting to the flat, Assmae spotted someone she knew and we called in and sat for an hour and a half with various friends, drinking fizzy apple and eating watermelon. People were friendly and spoke the few words of French or English that they knew but I pretty much just sat there.
Back at the flat I was introduced to the uncle Assmae had told me about earlier. We all shared a lamb tajine and then melon and watermelon.
I later took a shower and was just as hot and sticky as I had been before. Sent some texts and caught up on my journal.

Great unexpectations

Twenty four hours ago I had no plans for today. Now I am on the train to Gatwick to attend a wedding in the desert and reconnect with Assmae and Johanne.

Seven days ago I was in my overdraft with no income. Now I have experienced the lavish generosity of God who cares for more than just my needs and whose timing is perfect.

'All change' in some respects but true to form, I threw coffee down my white shirt before the train even pulled out of Bedford station.

Yesterday was stifling and close, today its throwing it down with rain. Tonight in Agadir, the temperatures are due to be in the high 90s. Thunder and lightning at Gatwick meant a delayed flight. We were in the air for about 3.5 hours - enough time for me to read 3/4 of a David Lodge novel; 'Nice Work'.

Met Assmae very easily and texted Wes to let him know I had arrived and quickly changed my FB status to let friends know I'd made contact and was safe. Assmae came with three friends and we started to walk from the airport. After a few minutes we stopped and talked to a taxi for several minutes then stood around for several more before getting in; three girls in the back and two guys sharing the front seat. We arrived at an apartment complex, Assmae tells me, just for girls where I waited downstairs while she went up to change. I took off my silk scarf from round my shoulders and savoured the few, occasional seconds of breeze while watching other girls covered in hijab, western clothes and Moroccan tunics. Assmae's girl friend is wearing mulafeh and I've used a few Hassaniya phrases already. I was mostly laughed at!

We then got into another taxi and my case was thrown on top of the car in a shallow kind of crate and held down by gravity. We came to another flat where my case was carried up and I think is the home of Assmae's two male friends. Assmae holds my hand when we walk and even though I can only understand when someone speaks French, I'm not disposed to ask to many questions about where I'm spending the night or what is happening or where we are headed as we jump into various taxis. It's fun to live totally in the moment and just see what happens. I've been promised a henna tattoo later and a trip into town.

A plate piled with pastries arrived on the table and what looked like a bowl of milk. Top Gear is on the television with Arabic subs! The large mixing bowl was indeed milk, as I later discovered. It was mixed with sugar and apparently it's something they do when they have a visitor or someone new with them so I was invited to start and then it was passed around the circle. After a while we all went out and walked through town. We walked past an enclosed park that had dozens of animals that were like mountain goats and some with very cute babies. Assmae said there were monkeys in there too - neither native to Morocco. There was also a loud chattering of birds I couldn't see or recognise from the noise. We caught a taxi part of the way to the beach and walked down the really touristy area and walked the length of the prom past clubs and restaurants. At the far end we got onto the beach and began to walk back. It was lovely to have cold sand under my feet after such a hot day. We walked in the surf and the water was really warm - cooling but no jolt of cold that you expect even after hours of sunlight. WE came across this enormous oddity that Assmae could only describe as sea butter but it looked just like an enormous, white jellyfish to me but she laughed when I asked if it was alive. She pushed a bit off the top with her fingers and it looked as though it had a jelly-like consistency. It was the shape of a big-domed fried egg and about the size of a car wheel. We sat down on the sand and sat quietly for at least half an hour until I was just beginning to get really chilly and then we walked for about 45-50 minutes then took a taxi the rest of the way back to the guys flat. I had lost all track of time but knew I was really exhausted. Before passing out I checked my watch - 3:30 a.m.

Sardinia: Day 8

In the morning we said various goodbyes and Sonia went to look around the Botanical gardens and amphitheatre area as she hadn't explored this before. I just walked to a local cafe for coffee and to catch up with my journal, partly because my leg would prevent me from walking without pain.

I wrote in the visitor's book at the hostel and was equally amused and ashamed by the previous comment of an Englishman who accused the hostel of infringing human rights by playing music later than midnight!

Sardinia: Day 7

Sonia and I took the bus to Baia Chia together. She has not already been to this beach. The sky was more cloudy but still warm. We laughed about how we crept in last night and then the moment we got to bed the two German girls came crashing in and turned the lights on and how Francesco had made signs from paper plates with numbers to grade 'Miss Hostel' in an event that never took place. We laughed about the woman we'd seen at the traffic lights with long tapered toe nails and how I'd said she looked like Wolverine!

The sea was quite a bit colder than yesterday at Villasimius so after sunbathing for quite a while, we went and sat under the palm leaf parasols by the cafe shack, had lunch and talked more and watched the spotted flycatchers going to and from their nest in the top of the umbrella we were sat beneath. I swam once more before leaving, knowing that in all likelihood I wouldn't return to that particular spot again. My leg was still giving me considerable grief walking back to the bus then hostel.

We stopped for fried potatoes and mixed vegetables in the place opposite and returned to the hsostel with them. There was already quite a lot of people in the outside bar area and we were soon a group of about half a dozen - two portugese girls who are now in our room, who Sonia made particularly good friends with as she is of Portugese descent. Bart joined us and a new guy called Joel who is Lebanese, living in the States, speaks four languages and is here to humour himself with an 8 day stay on his tour of the Mediterranean, studying the remnants of Phoenician history and language. He is 21. In late autumn he is going to Chennai to work for an NGO promoting the rights of women. It is a delightful reprimand to meet people who are really pursuing what they want to do, learning multiple languages, studying somewhat niche areas of interest and being so open, friendly and driven by a love for life. We stayed up 'til 2, talking ancient history, etymology and travel.

Sardinia: Day 6

After breakfast we headed to the bus station and bought tickets for Villasimius. It's a longer ride that to Chia but the views are stunning - no flamingoes but a coast like Cornwall with translucent, aquamarine blues. We passed beach after beach, little coves with boats and almost unpeopled stretches of sand. It was a 15-20 minute walk to the beach but i started to have really painful shin splints in my left leg and I was soon limping. We stoped at a little mini-mart for bread, cheese, fruit and water. The beach was equally beautiful to Baia Chia - the water as transparent with the same fish swimming at our feet. I didn't get to read as Sonia and I talked lots and I had a doze too. I just loved getting to practice my French so much. There was a constant wind and the sand was deep in my ears, covering my eyelashes and I had a whole other beach on my scalp. After eating our flatbread and emmental, there was sand between our teeth also! We were there for about five hours. The walk back was really painful for me but once I was on the buse and stopped weight-bearing the pain went.

Back at the hostel it was so good shower out the sand and wash off the white, salt residue from my legs. We went out for dinner at Restaurant Olympic. I had a really god spaghetti carbonara. We spent the rest of the evening, 'til about half 12, sat in the 'outside-inside' bar talking with Simon, the English guy from York who is teaching English, Hisham, the Moroccan who claims to speak French but clearly cannot, Simone the Italian guy who works in the bar and Bart, the Pole with excellent English accent who is studying interior architecture in Holland and has come for a 2 or 3 day workshop. A really great melange of cultures and languages which is what I so love about travelling and hostelling.

Sardinia: Day 5

Bad idea!Last night I smothered myself in, newly purchased, after sun. This morning I look like a bullfrog. My eyes are bloated and nearly shut with swelling from having put some of the cream near my eyes. I went down to breakfast late with a peaked cap and a sullen air. The guy who runs the bar asked how I was and took my 'so-so' as an indication that I was hung over - an honourable excuse here! I went out to find Saturnino church which was (one of?) the first locations of the early church. Its plain, rough interior and restoration work going on outside was, for me, a lot more attractive than the more ornate churches full of marble and gilded shrines. I went on to where I expected to see art (Exma) but found it was shut, despite what the guide book suggested so I just sat for a while with a cappuccino. Next, I walked round an area I hadn't looked at before. There were no particular attractions but the narrow, pedestrianised streets were very pretty and many of the inhabitants had made lush gardens along their outside walls with potted plants, most of which would only grow in a conservatory in England. Today has been roasting again with occasional patches of cloud.

I stopped at an outside cafe in front of Bastione St Remy and ordered a meat-stuffed aubergine which was delicious, covered in toasted breadcrumbs and served with a small helping of warm, oily salsa. Very good. An entertaining, the increasingly aggravating elderly man who worked at the cafe stood at the doorway shouting offers, greetings and directions to all passers by. I finished my insalata mista and ordered a cupuccino. He enthusiastically shouted to someone inside to bring coffee with 'dolce' for the lady and out came my drink and a plate with two cakes, neither of which looked very appetising nor was I prepared to pay for. I didn't pay for the sweets but a bill of over £18 was a rip-off whichever way you look at it.

Went back to the hostel to charge camera batteries. Bought a two-scoop cone on the way; Ferrero Rocher and Raffaelo. Went out and spent quite a while at the internet cafe replying to job agencies that had called and mailed me in the last day or two. Found another cafe and drank a Pilsner. Felt a bit bad about not doing much today but I finished 'Grimus' and reading was one of my main priorities of holiday plans. Returned to hostel to get the next book! Sat and decided what to do tomorrow, checked cash flow and caught up on journal.

A new girl arrived in the room - Sonia, une francaise et voila pourquoi je n'ai pas ecrit mon journal depuis deux jours! We hung out together and decided to go to the beach together the next day.

(At this point my journal simply reads '*This was the evening of Luca & Francesco' and that is how I shall leave it!)