Bushcamp nr Midelt
First bushcamp in Midelt in Atlas mountains in Morocco. We arrived around 6ish while it was still bright so plenty of time to pitch my tent and setup camp. The cook group did their magic and a tasty and healthy meal was conjured up. Rice noodles and a chicken medley. It was dark by the time the meal was ready so we ate in the darkness, illuminated by lights over the cooking area and our head lamps.
I was reminded of the bushcamp in Zimbabwe or Botswana during my last time in Africa. We were surrounded by a cloud of moths who homed in on any light source. So, we ate in complete darkness. Sometimes, we wondered if that bit of crunchy food we were chewing, the bit with the unusual pungent taste, was part of the curry or, gulp, one of the moths. Nobody really wanted to know the truth. Ignorance is bliss. Later, we saw the same moths attack and eat a spider.
There are about 2 dozen on the trip. I’ve exchanged names and Introductory pleasantries with most of them but haven’t really got to know them yet. This will take time and we’ve plenty of that. They’re a lovely group and no ‘quare hawks’ as we say in West Cork.
You know the story about how to boil a frog to death. I was reflecting on that earlier as I contemplated my solitary existence in Dublin. My life is ‘perfect’ , as I’m living in it. Over here in Africa and especially given the simplicity of camping, I’ve noticed that I’ve become a bit ossified or fossilised. Not sure if this is a me thing or an old guy thing. Worth reflecting on.
I slept well. I went to my tent around 9pm and got inside my sleeping bag and read my Kindle. My eyes got heavy at around 9.30ish but I fought it, thinking that I nod off now I’ll wake up in an hours time and won’t be able to get back to sleep again. But I couldn’t fight it and succumbed to the wiles of Hypnos. I slept like a log until 6am. I half woke up a few times die to barking dogs and once to have a wee.
We had breakfast at 7am; muesli, bananas and tea, my usual. There was a nice sunrise at around 7.30am. We broke down camp and stored everything on the truck and hit the road at 8am.
We’ve been on the road for about 4 hours now with a brief wee break.
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