Rubbish dump

Rob was much better. We were up for breakfast at 7am and ready to leave at 8am.

We drove to the nearby rubbish dump to see a thick billed lark. The rubbish is just scattered around meaning the lightweight plastics just get blown across the desert. There were plenty of rats and loads of flies. The flies were plastered around the front of the van and got inside the van too.

It was 0925 and getting very hot. We drove on for a while, stopped at a service station for a wee stop. I bought water and ice cream from the little supermarket. In the same town we stopped by a bank for Rob to clear out the money on the pre-paid card so we had enough cash.

The lunch stop had reserved our tables inside. It was a three course dinner plus drink for 100dirham. I had a Berber salad - tomato and onion with sliced olives to start. Rob had lentil soup. I had chicken in lemon with olives in a tagine - he had rice, chips and mixed veg - carrots and parsnips by the look of it. I had the Mille feuille - a bakewell look alike with fig paste in the middle. Rob had oranges and cinnamon. We both had lemon Schweppes.

John arranged a stop at a scarf shop as the following day the winds would be up and we would need to cover our faces. Even though I had packed two scarves we bought two. The ladies showed us how to tie them on.

A stop to look for the shrub warbler in the 32 deg heat was a bit hard going. Bonny, Maria and I headed back to the van and asked to have the air con turned on. The others went on but didn’t find it.

The hotel was amazing with almost a labyrinth of accommodation. I went for a swim with Bonnie. This time it wasn’t quite so cold - not that warm but I did about ten lengths.

Rob and I sat by the pool for a bit with a drink. He had beer I had lemon Schweppes. We went into the restaurant and got a gin and tonic from the bar. The meal was a buffet but at least it had tuna for Rob. He said it was the best he’d had so far on holiday. They all went to do the list but I was very tired and came to bed.