EP and MC were up early whilst JC's snores could be heard echoing down the vally. A local inquisitive Berber in shades and a long mac came and sat near us for a while. EP went to talk to him, discovering that there was another cave across the valley but quite a walk in.
After breaking camp we set off to the top of the road of the mine, but given the weather of the previous night and the condition of the road, we decided to walk down the track. Wemet the same man at the top of the road and he joined us for the walk down, collecting firewood along the way. Once at his house he disappeared and returned bearing delicicous small plums and invited us to eat a meal, although we declined having just had breakfast.
At the end of the track we were shown the mine below us which we later discovered to be a lead mine. Our aim was to descend below the mine to a gorge to a cave that the Professor had found but not surveyed. As our lack of local language got the better of us, we gave Ayoub a call and qsked him to speak to the local. The cave we were aiming for was full of water but we were told that the man knew of other caves and we should wait for his friend to join us. Two hours later and a cup of mint tea, his friend had not shown up so he drew a map. The cave was the one the man in the mac had pointed out and could be seen in a chunk of what looked like Sandstone partway down a cliff. Wedecided not to explore this one and headed on to Zaoulat Ahansal.
At the village we were guided to a gite for the night.
Monday 26 October 2009
Day 13 Tuesday 29/09/09
Left Beni Mellal and headed for the mountains, up twisting regional roads with the scenery changing dramatically. We eventually reached the dam of Bin El Ouidane where we were told by a soldier not to take photos (which we already had!). We drove to Ouaouizeght where we mistakenly drove into a Government/Military compound and were asked promptly to leave!
We headed for the hills and rough roads passing through Berber villages, waving and shouting "bonjour" to the locals. The majority were very friendly but on several occasions children would run up asking for money.
Our first aim was an old mine on the road between Ouaouizeght and Zaoulat Ahansal, which took us far longer to reach than anticipated. En route we passed the impressive "Cathedral Rock" which dominated the valley before we reached the worn-out yellow sign of a mine. JC shot off down the track to be met by locals who bombarded him with questions in French, but this was enough to convince us that this was the right place to start on one of our leads that the Professor had given us. Given the time, we decided to set up camp and set off earlt the next day. We found a good bivvy spot just before the rain started heavily once again.
We headed for the hills and rough roads passing through Berber villages, waving and shouting "bonjour" to the locals. The majority were very friendly but on several occasions children would run up asking for money.
Our first aim was an old mine on the road between Ouaouizeght and Zaoulat Ahansal, which took us far longer to reach than anticipated. En route we passed the impressive "Cathedral Rock" which dominated the valley before we reached the worn-out yellow sign of a mine. JC shot off down the track to be met by locals who bombarded him with questions in French, but this was enough to convince us that this was the right place to start on one of our leads that the Professor had given us. Given the time, we decided to set up camp and set off earlt the next day. We found a good bivvy spot just before the rain started heavily once again.
Day 12 Monday 28/09/09
Arranged to meet Ayoub Nehili ( a Moroccan caving contact EP had been in contact with via Facebook) in Cassablanca. Went via Rabat to buy some topo maps from one of the only places where you can buy maps in Morocco.
Met Ayoub at a cafe near the port of Cassablanca. Ayoub asked us to meet the president of the Moroccan Caving Association at the university, Prof. Amrani Marrakchi. As Ayoub had no transport, EP had to choose between driving in a Moroccan city or get on the back of JC's motorbike. City driving won, so MC got on the back of the bike. EP nervously xove her way through the city traffic mayhem until we reached the university. Ayoub led us through the campus to meet the professor. A very informative discussion took place gleaning lots of information from the local cavers and advice (many thanks for this, it was really appreciated.).
Spent 5 hours driving to Beni Mellal, in one of our selected caving areas, arriving at a hotel at 11pm.
Day 11 Sunday 27/09/09
Decided to have another day at Moulay to give JC chance to dry his kit from yesterday's soaking. The campsite was next to a large nature reserve, famous for its birdlife. EP and MC tooka two hour boat trip out onto the lagoon to watch the birds - Egtrets, Heron, Turnstones, Curlew, Redshank, Sandpipers and a possible Marsh Harrier.
Day 10 Saturday 26/09/09
Woke up in the night to thunder and lightning. Got up early and decided to drop the tents as we thought it may rain. Having just packed and had breakfast there was a massive storm with torrential rain. We started driving to Tetouan to find the route south. With only a large scale map and poor road signs navigating in Morocco was going to be fun. The rain was so heavy, the drains and sewers burst and we were driving (and riding for JC) through sewage! There were rats, mud and rocks all over the roads and some roads became impassable due to flooding.
Finally we navigated our way out of the chaos, leaving the devistation behind us. The rain stopped and so did we to allow JC to change his clothes and brew up to warm him. We drove on and finally made it to Moulay Bousselham and a campsite.
Finally we navigated our way out of the chaos, leaving the devistation behind us. The rain stopped and so did we to allow JC to change his clothes and brew up to warm him. We drove on and finally made it to Moulay Bousselham and a campsite.
Day 9 Friday 25/09/09
We all met up at the port of Algeciras at 12:30 and headed to a ticket office to buy our tickets to Morocco. It was 166 Euros for MC, EP and the Land Rover whilst JC got his ticket for 64.50 Euros. We booked for the 16:30 crossing and at 15:00 went to find the departures area. The signs were not the best and "helpful" people kept pointing us in different directions. We finally found the place to queue and waited to board. It was a smooth, one hour crossing to Ceuta;
At the Moroccan border it was chaos. We did not have a clue what was going on. There were vehicles and people everywhere. We were assisted by a couple of English speaking "officials" who gave us the paperwork and showed us where to go for passport stamps and the vehicle import forms. We were asked for the vehicle registration docs and green cards. JC handed over his green card and photocopy of the V5 and was told that both were no good. He explained that it was all he had and it was accepted. MC then handed over the paperwork for the Land Rover and realised that the V5 was in EP's name and she should have completed the paperwork. Showing EP's passport seemed to satisfy the official and we were in too.
With a suggested campsite in the Lonely Planet guidebook a short drive down the coast, we headed for Martil. After searching for an hour we found the campsite and pitched for our first night in Morocco.
At the Moroccan border it was chaos. We did not have a clue what was going on. There were vehicles and people everywhere. We were assisted by a couple of English speaking "officials" who gave us the paperwork and showed us where to go for passport stamps and the vehicle import forms. We were asked for the vehicle registration docs and green cards. JC handed over his green card and photocopy of the V5 and was told that both were no good. He explained that it was all he had and it was accepted. MC then handed over the paperwork for the Land Rover and realised that the V5 was in EP's name and she should have completed the paperwork. Showing EP's passport seemed to satisfy the official and we were in too.
With a suggested campsite in the Lonely Planet guidebook a short drive down the coast, we headed for Martil. After searching for an hour we found the campsite and pitched for our first night in Morocco.
Sunday 11 October 2009
Internet Access
Please bear with us. We cannot find Wifi access in Morocco. When back in Spain we will upload all our Moroccan adventures.
Wednesday 7 October 2009
Day 8 Thursday 24/09/09
MC and EP continued to drive to Algeciras to check out the ferry crossings to Morocco. Hot weather for a stunning drive through the mountains to the coast. Arrived at the port of Algeciras and asked at a couple of ticket offices for paperwork requirements for entering Morocco. We were told that only the green card was needed (no V5), so JC could get in on what docs. he had. A text was sent to JC to arrange to meet up the next day for a crossing to Morocco.
Heading back into Spain and San Roque there were no campsites to be found so we decided to try out the back of the Land Rover for the first time on this trip.
Whilst waiting for a reply we headed onto Gibraltar as it was so close, for a trip back to GB. The roads on Gib are narrow and the Land Rover is not the best "town car" for these roads. EP wanted to visit the show cave and Great Siege tunnel and see the apes and as it was 4:30 already, we headed straight for the top of the rock. St Michaels cave is very well decorated and you can wander round round on your own which made a refreshing change not to have the standard show cave guide commentary. It has a stage and auditorium in the cave which also was planned to be used as a field hospital in WW2, if needed (which it wasn't). We drove across to the Great Siege Tunnels which were mined out of the Limestone in the early 1700's for cannon placements. Outside the tunnels were plenty of apes with tourists photographing them. EP amost filled a memory card on the camera with monkey shots.
Day 7 Wednesday 23/09/09
JC left early on his bike to ride to "Crushers" house in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. JC forgot some bike documents (although we have photocopies) so these were being posted to Crushers village by Val.
MC and EP drove down to Andalucia after EP finished the final drawings and got the very important envelope in the post to the UK. We camped at Grazalema at an expensive campsite. It was 8pm, getting dark and we had not seen any campsites in the area,so beggars cannot be choosers. Unfortunatley, the mountains in these areas are off limits without a guide between July and mid October, everwhere we looked there were huge fences blocking access.
MC and EP drove down to Andalucia after EP finished the final drawings and got the very important envelope in the post to the UK. We camped at Grazalema at an expensive campsite. It was 8pm, getting dark and we had not seen any campsites in the area,so beggars cannot be choosers. Unfortunatley, the mountains in these areas are off limits without a guide between July and mid October, everwhere we looked there were huge fences blocking access.
Day 6 Tuesday 22/09/09
The day was spent at the campsite so that EP could (finally) finish the cave surveys from the previous China expedition to Yanhe in October 2008. These drawings had been expected to be completed before we left the UK but time overtook us. It was then planned to use the enforced free time on the ferry crossing but someone left the paperwork in the Land Rover and we were not allowed back to the vehicle once the ship set sail.
EP spent the day in the sun at the camp drawing up many kilometres of passageway whilst MC took the bike out for a test ride and then JC and MC went in search of a post office and envelope. The post office was found, but only open between 8:15 and 10:30.
EP spent the day in the sun at the camp drawing up many kilometres of passageway whilst MC took the bike out for a test ride and then JC and MC went in search of a post office and envelope. The post office was found, but only open between 8:15 and 10:30.
Day 5 Monday 21/09/09
Left Palencia at 11am and drove down across flat lands to the stunning scenery of the Sierra de Gredos in hot sunshine. We camped at Madrigal de la Vera campsite (La Mata). It is out of season so the place was amlost deserted. Good facilities and Wifi for free.
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