Gorgeous sunsets are best enjoyed in a relaxed environment but for us we were stuck in the car trying to find the campsite called 'Camp d'Artise'. The information we had been given regarding the location of the campsite was third-hand so we ended up driving well into the dark trying to find the campsite and breaking our first rule of not driving in Africa at night.
Arriving at 9pm, having followed the local vet (who was concerned for our safety) to the campsite we were greeted with warm hospitality from the hosts.
We had all been waiting very patiently all morning for news from Debbie's brother-in-law Chris, to let us know how her sister, Cindy, had got on with her C-section. The message came at 12pm - at which stage we were all standing on Steve's landy to get a strong signal. Debbie welled up when speaking to Chris - everyone was delighted it was a little girl.
Gentle Walk?
The main suggestion for the day was to take a hike to the local waterfalls called 'Cascades Tintiziza' located near El Ksiba. We expected the walk to take about 3 hours but we had not banked on meeting Mustafa and being given a warm Moroccan embrace and tour of the village and his olive press.
Extracting oil from an olive takes about 2 hours and involves the pulping of the olive (flesh and pip) and then compressing the pulp. The fluid generated from the pulp is a mix of water and oil. This mixture then goes through a skimming process whereby the water sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top.
Payment for the oil is based on the purity of the oil - thus, when you buy
Extra Virgin Oil it means that the refinery process was refined.
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) The lonesome Olive tree |
) Cascades Tintiziza |
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Moroccan Hospitality
Debbie writes ... At the end of our grand tour (about 18kms), Mustafa invited us to his home to meet his wife and
have some mint tea. We accepted and welcomed a short break before our
final stretch home. What we did not expect was 5-star treatment at his
house. We were shown into a large lounge area, which had a very long table
with bench chairs & cushions all around it. It was really lovely! In
walked Mustafa and Fatima with plates of olives, nuts, bread, honey,
cheese and mint tea. Such a treat! Upon leaving we offered Mustafa some
money for spending the day and guiding us, but he refused to accept
anything ... we were very touched.
) Mustafa and Steve |
) Mustafa's wife Fatima |
) Tea time |
) The pouring of the mint tea |
