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Morocco & the Western Sahara, Two Hit the Desert
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<blockquote data-quote="Jos Stratford" data-source="post: 3250102" data-attributes="member: 12449"><p><strong><u>27 June. Cascades d'Ouzard.</u></strong></p><p></p><p>A picturesque ravine with a couple of waterfalls plunging over the cliffs, olive plantations flanking the one side and cedar forests on the higher slopes around. This was the Cascades d'Ouzard, the starting point for my last full day in Morocco, somewhere upon those cliffs could be found <strong>Barbary Macaques</strong>! A touch after dawn, walking a gentle path that flanked the eastern side of the ravine, the view was good - to a backdrop of limestone cliffs, <strong>Alpine Swifts </strong>hurtling through the ravine, <strong>European Rollers </strong>at nest on the cliff face, <strong>Golden Orioles </strong>calling in the olive trees.</p><p></p><p>The <strong>Barbary Macaques</strong> initially seemed to be absent however ...until about half an hour later when a single appeared on a faraway clifftop on the opposite side of the ravine. After watching it a while, it dropped down the cliffside and was lost to view, so we decided to hike round to see if we could relocate the animal. <strong>Grey Wagtails, Western Olivaceous Warbler </strong>and several <strong>Serins </strong>on the way ...but, predictably, no <strong>Barbary Macaque</strong> when we arrived! Presuming it had descended further into the ravine, we took a path that led down towards the base of the falls, past numerous little tourist cafes, all still closed and quiet. And there, not just a single <strong>Barbary Ape</strong>, but a whole troop of them! It was like Planet of the Apes, a whole bunch of them clambering down the cliff, jumping into trees and heading directly for human habitation, or the closed cafes to be exact. Minutes later, sitting rather carefully at a table in the open-air eating area, there were<strong> Barbary Macaques </strong>all around, knocking over chairs, forcing open containers and generally trashing the place. One even managed to open a refrigerated drinks display and empty its contents. Hmm, I guess some restaurant owner was not going to be happy an hour or so later! Two youngsters found some red cloth, a mad game of chase then following, the animals hurtling up and down trees, jumping from table to table and generally creating havoc. I had truly now seen the <strong>Barbary Macaques</strong> - some were plodding mere metres away, scowling and baring teeth if I ventured too close. </p><p></p><p>A half hour or so of action and the raid was over, the <strong>Barbary Macaques </strong>clambering back towards the cliff and venturing on. It was still shy of 10 a.m., but my last target of the trip had fallen. The temperature was already 36 C and time for us to depart, <strong>Lesser Kestrel</strong> and <strong>Black Kite</strong> seen on the way out.</p><p></p><p>With that, so ended the travels, we returned to Marrakesh and spent the rest of the day in the souks and squares of the Old City, mystical fragrances in the souks, snake-charmers and rising cobras in Djemaa el-Fna. Overhead, <strong>Pallid Swifts</strong> soared through the 43 C skies, one <strong>White Stork</strong> too. <strong>House Buntings</strong> and <strong>Common Bulbuls</strong> added to the spice.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong><u>28 June. Departure.</u></strong></p><p></p><p>6.30 a.m., Marrakesh Airport. <strong>Common Bulbuls</strong> singing in the car par, <strong>House Bunting </strong>again inside the terminal,<strong> Pallid Swifts</strong> nesting at the flight gates. Into the air we went, trip over ...and not bad at all it had been!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jos Stratford, post: 3250102, member: 12449"] [B][U]27 June. Cascades d'Ouzard.[/U][/B] A picturesque ravine with a couple of waterfalls plunging over the cliffs, olive plantations flanking the one side and cedar forests on the higher slopes around. This was the Cascades d'Ouzard, the starting point for my last full day in Morocco, somewhere upon those cliffs could be found [B]Barbary Macaques[/B]! A touch after dawn, walking a gentle path that flanked the eastern side of the ravine, the view was good - to a backdrop of limestone cliffs, [B]Alpine Swifts [/B]hurtling through the ravine, [B]European Rollers [/B]at nest on the cliff face, [B]Golden Orioles [/B]calling in the olive trees. The [B]Barbary Macaques[/B] initially seemed to be absent however ...until about half an hour later when a single appeared on a faraway clifftop on the opposite side of the ravine. After watching it a while, it dropped down the cliffside and was lost to view, so we decided to hike round to see if we could relocate the animal. [B]Grey Wagtails, Western Olivaceous Warbler [/B]and several [B]Serins [/B]on the way ...but, predictably, no [B]Barbary Macaque[/B] when we arrived! Presuming it had descended further into the ravine, we took a path that led down towards the base of the falls, past numerous little tourist cafes, all still closed and quiet. And there, not just a single [B]Barbary Ape[/B], but a whole troop of them! It was like Planet of the Apes, a whole bunch of them clambering down the cliff, jumping into trees and heading directly for human habitation, or the closed cafes to be exact. Minutes later, sitting rather carefully at a table in the open-air eating area, there were[B] Barbary Macaques [/B]all around, knocking over chairs, forcing open containers and generally trashing the place. One even managed to open a refrigerated drinks display and empty its contents. Hmm, I guess some restaurant owner was not going to be happy an hour or so later! Two youngsters found some red cloth, a mad game of chase then following, the animals hurtling up and down trees, jumping from table to table and generally creating havoc. I had truly now seen the [B]Barbary Macaques[/B] - some were plodding mere metres away, scowling and baring teeth if I ventured too close. A half hour or so of action and the raid was over, the [B]Barbary Macaques [/B]clambering back towards the cliff and venturing on. It was still shy of 10 a.m., but my last target of the trip had fallen. The temperature was already 36 C and time for us to depart, [B]Lesser Kestrel[/B] and [B]Black Kite[/B] seen on the way out. With that, so ended the travels, we returned to Marrakesh and spent the rest of the day in the souks and squares of the Old City, mystical fragrances in the souks, snake-charmers and rising cobras in Djemaa el-Fna. Overhead, [B]Pallid Swifts[/B] soared through the 43 C skies, one [B]White Stork[/B] too. [B]House Buntings[/B] and [B]Common Bulbuls[/B] added to the spice. [B][U]28 June. Departure.[/U][/B] 6.30 a.m., Marrakesh Airport. [B]Common Bulbuls[/B] singing in the car par, [B]House Bunting [/B]again inside the terminal,[B] Pallid Swifts[/B] nesting at the flight gates. Into the air we went, trip over ...and not bad at all it had been! [/QUOTE]
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