Coming home to Tan Tan

I left the soldiers in Laayoune, Mathir had to get back to his family near Marrakesh, another one of them had to get to Ouijda near the Algerian border, a 3 day journey from Dahkla. Arriving into Laayoune at 6pm I realised I didn't have any more dirhams on me so changed some on the black market at the grand taxi rank, something I don't like doing in Morocco as it usually leads to problems but I didn't encounter any this time!

Finding a taxi to Tan Tan which was another 5hrs away I jumped in, at least I would get that far north tonight and knew the town. It was a long journey, the driver was very polite and as the only female in the taxi again I was well looked after during our rest at a clifftop town that had a fantastic fish restaurant. Yet again the police wanted my passport once, the other times I kept my head covered with my shiffa and in the dark I might have passed as a Moroccan woman when they shone the torch in.

The journey up to Tan Tan wasn't that easy for the driver, the roads had been closed from Laayoune to Tan Tan for the previous three days due to heaving flooding & landslides on the road. It made me realise that Julian must have flown up as I had seen he had been online with his website from Agadir, at least I knew he was safe and going the right direction. The roads were tricky, covered in mud with trucks and a bus all over the place having skidded off the road, I was glad to see the lights of Tan Tan in the distance, I felt like I was going home!

We got in to Tan Tan at 12.30am, I was exhausted having left Dahkla at 9.30am that morning in a grand taxi. I got out and looked across at the cafe, Anaj Mat. At the same time my friends husband was outside cleaning tables, he saw me, waved and called me over. I said I'd be right back as I wanted to check into the Hotel Dakar (a filty mistake, the Tafoukt was much better). I arrived back at the cafe and we sat around talking until 3am about my trip south, his family and Christmas over lots of cafe au laits; it was great to be back! He had a friend there, Tariq, who lived in Sidi Ifni, he was aiming to get the 4am bus home; I told him that I'd follow him there and hopefully see him the following day when I'd had a bit of sleep