The Road to Ifrane

Driving up to Ifrane was a momentous day for us. We actually visited during July but did not move until August 5. Come along as we make the trip!

When leaving Meknes, you pass a huge vineyard - one of which makes Meknes the wine-making capital of Morocco. "Wine in Morocco???" you say. Yes, and lots of it. Though some of it is exported, most of it stays right here. Morocco constantly sways between being a Muslim country and being so close to Europe... and to the French!

On the side of the road you see laborers picking crops from the parched land. It is the dry season here and the difficulty of their lives is striking compared to the cars flying by them. They sell their produce on the side of the road in little baskets facing traffic - melons, cactus fruit, pomegranates, onions, etc. Then there are are others who sell a few Kleenex boxes stacked one on on top of the other. Donkeys walk parallel to the road carrying heavy loads or their owner. A few traditional black Berber (nomadic) tents dot the hillside. Flocks of sheep and goats are ushered along by their shepehers and sheep dogs.

Next you pass through a few little towns with their hyper-vigilant policemen and then barren landscape as you gradually go up in elevation all the while. Towards Ifrane you drive through three small lovely cedar forests between which there is more barren land. In the cedar forests are men selling honey. They stack up a rather wobbly looking bunch of rocks and perch their jar of honey on top. Then they go rest in the forest waiting for a customer. Katrina starts feeling a little woozy with the curves and the heat. She is not so sure about moving an hour away from her cousins.

After another barren stretch, you crest a hill and below you is a beautiful tree-filled valley dotted with red-roofed buildings. This is Ifrane. Finally. After years of hoping, dreaming, searching and praying - we have arrived. The time that has brought us here has been like the road - sometimes filled with beauty and sometimes barren. But always going up and aware that God was with us every step of the way. We are thankful!