Morocco - Skoura

16-18th April 2015

Todra Gauge to Skoura 1 h 51 min (139.0 km)

It was only a two hour trip from the Todra Gauge to Skoura, the ‘oasis’ we were to spend the next two nights at. But as always the trip took longer on the very slow and scenic roads of Morocco.

I was surprised that we had not yet been stopped by one of the intimidating police checks which occurred at most towns.

I assume our obvious foreignness spared us, which was fortunate considering we did not have the correct ownership papers for our car.

Disappointingly the roadside to Skoura, like most, was almost a continuous rubbish tip, Morocco’s beauty lying beyond it.

A test of faith to keep following this unusual track into 'no-where'.

The detail of the instructions sent to me to navigate to ‘Sawadi’, our Kasbah-style lodgings, alerted me to the potential difficulty of the task.

 I had read some reviews stressing that you needed ‘faith’ to keep going and you would eventually find it.

We drove over the wide dried up river bed looking for the signpost labelled 'Sawadi', fortunately it was sighted.

I had wondered what the case would have been if this river bed wasn't so dry.  

From here we followed arrowed signs painted on anything possible, buildings, trees, rocks.

Slightly amused, we arrived to a warm welcome from the French owners, Phillipe and Christine.

http://www.sawadi.ma/en/

Our lodgings

Sawadi was a 4 hectare property situated in 'Skoura', one of the most beautiful palm groves of Morocco.

It was an organic farm supplying its restaurant with fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, honey, eggs, oil and jams.

It purposefully limited its number of guests to ensure only 20% of the terrain was utilised by houses. 

It did not use any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, controlling pests such as ants and aphids by using natural sprays such as 'black soap'. 

It employed local people with profit sharing, product distribution to staff, training programmes and accommodation provision.

Dinner was fantastic, a blend of French flair with Moroccan cuisine. Our first dinner consisted of:  Spiced fig flowers, vegetable soup, chicken vermicelli with vegetable gratin , individual parcels with broad beans etc. There was a choice of dessert, I opted for the fig and prune clafoutis. The Moroccan wine from Meknes was very good, probably tasting particularly good because we hadn’t had any for some time.   

Of course where there are French people there must be good wine.

After a good sleep it was time for more delicious food,  breakfast. Out on the shaded pool terrace my expectations weren't disappointed. Date and apricot juice, yogurt, berber pancakes, homemade scones, bread rolls with homemade prune and fig jams.

Breakfast time: Happiness is, Jarvis with a dog on his lap.

The new member of the Sawadi family.

After breakfast, 'Kaderi' took us for a guided visited through the farm. Walking through he noted the varying trees -  olives, palm trees, figs, pomegranates and apples. There were beehives too. We all got to see the newborn goat and the boys then enjoyed holding the kids.
A belgium guest joined us and gave me a memorable quote "We know the time, but they have the time." The pace of life in rural Morocco appears very slow. Shepherds sitting in fields, men endlessly drinking and playing in small town cafes, shopkeepers motionless in unfrequented souks and even the slow driving speed. Out of the centers the pace of life was refreshing slow, it was easy to just go with it.

Where bricks come from.

A hard day in the office again.

Quite suddenly we had come into a little burst of summer, fortunately just warm enough for the boys to use the pool.

Food again, this time lunch. Moroccan Salad, chicken kebabs, cheese and herb pastilla (or bastila) rolls, french fries, bread oil and spices and vegetables from the garden. And for our final dinner, 

spiced vegetable and broad bean soup, mutton tagine and spiced fish for me.

Nicholas, the owners' son in law had come to stay from France with his three children. He had also bought a Labrador puppy with him which was to become the newest member of the Sawadi family and Jarvis’s best mate during our stay.

Chris managed entire dialogs in French with Nicholas, I was impressed but a little disappointed I couldn't manage the same.

It wasn't often they had a family from New Zealand come to stay, he said.

We were photographed for their records.

Leaving photo taken by Nicholas.

River-bed signpost for 'Sawadi'.