Tizi.N.Test, Marrakech

What a funny name for a mountain pass! Mr Test was a French engineer who was the first one to go through the pass, with 2 meters snow legend says. No snow this time because dryness is strong: it has  not rained at all for a year and plantations are dead. 
Just before the pass, I stopped at the village of Tafinegult and Omar invited me for the night. He was a Moroccan soldier for the French Army during 6 years of Indochina War. He was born in 1924 for his country and … in 1933 for France. He is quite in a good shape so far. He is receiving a 2834 euro annual pension from France and thus he can have the most beautiful house of the village. His wife Fatima is going to receive some money as well and I’ve helped them to fill in some forms since they have not spoken French for a long time. 

The village has also provided miners to work in North of France because workers here have always been small and strong. Mr Daurat (old memories of the village still remember his name) used to come to do the selection. It reminds me the story of the small island nearby Dakar… But here it was a « chosen » slavery, so is morality safe? Meeting all these people who love so much France and who have given it so much is giving another idea of immigration. 7km before reaching Marrakech, I was still in deep countryside, with this time a super wind in the back which pushed me at more than 35km/h without pedaling. Marrakech is not as charming brand-new MBK ones with no change for 50 years. It gives a bit of retro touch to the atmosphere of the city. If you add donkeys and horses with their carriages, you are really coming back to good old times!