Asilah

Leaving the hustle and bustle of Tangiers behind, our next stop was the sleepy town of Asilah just 50km down the road with its mix of French, Spanish and Moroccan influences, made a refreshing change from the grimy port city we had come from.

We found a cheap and safe place to stay, parked up Harriot on the street and headed out into the town to spend the afternoon and most of the evening strolling around the markets and the Medina (old fortified city). As we weaved in and out of the alley ways of the beautifuly kept city, we spotted our first jedi night. Dissapearing around a corner, he was soon to appear behind us, then like a mystical being, vanished, only to appear watching us from around the next turn. Leaving us with only one choice...

..One day we shall return, masters of the jedi and play havoc with this being.

Taking in the rest of sights and sounds as well as some rather good artwork painted right onto the walls, we continued back to the hotel.










With exhausted limbs, the manager of the hotel pushed us towards a good restaurant, who's owner looked suspiciously like a certain Sunderland footballer (hopefully this one does not spit as much as the footballer does). Still the food was great and despite Bendigo getting pooed on by a bird and our table being surrounded by stray cats, it was a good day all round even if we could not manage to get a beer anywhere! We went to bed that night to the sounds of arabic music and for some strange reason 50 cent, this was however not the last music we would hear that night! As you may know we had arrived during Ramadan, a time at which the locals rise at around four to eat their fill for the day. In Asilah they do things a little differently, as they employ a young lad to do a job every morning, as you can tell from the video this was rather annoying and unexpected at 3:30am;



The next day we set off to paradise beach, which the ever inaccurate lonley planet suggested was 3km away, only to find it was more like 8km! Accross rough terrain, we strolled for 1 hour, up and down rolling cliff edges, through a building site and down a rocky path or two, watching the waves crash below. Still the walk was well worth it, as the prize at the end was a near deserted golden beach. The afternoon was spent soaking up the rays and strolling along the sands, reflecting on what we had done so far.



Feeling exhausted from the hike and the sun, we enjoyed some local Tagine. And with full stomachs, from a tasty meal, we hit the sack, ready for a day on the road.

In the morning we headed off south, down the western coast, towards Rabat. However we had lost our first fare, as Chris decided to stay on a bit longer in Asilah, but time or a black cab waits for no man.