It’s quite an amazing thing coming back to Loubar to get the build restarted. For some reason it feels filled with memories, ghosts of last year, most great, some less so, and yet they all seemed to be there when I eventually got back just before Ramadan.

Where we are…..

Perhaps it’s because it felt so good being up here before, a sanctuary from so much else. I remember feeling such happiness, something that had been so absent for so long….up in Loubar, every morning I woke to watch the mist rise in the valleys, each time a flock of birds flew past, whenever I saw pin sized Berber women taking care of her crops below, or as that cool evening wind breezed through just as the sun set….whenever any of these things happened, I felt happiness..

But returning this year, it initially felt “scary”…would it be the same….was that something of a dream….would I be disappointed….would I actually get the project finished?

The answer is I don’t know. But I do know that as soon as I arrived I was made welcome by my neighbours and as soon as I got on the land, I felt a sense of calm that often feels absent in Fez…or many other places for that matter.

But infact there was a lot to do before I could get on with the build. This year I’ll be putting up quite a sizeable construction, even if there are times when I think it’s not going to be big enough…..I’m thinking of expanding from the original 5 rooms to 7 or 8!!! Money and time will tell.

But because of that, and to ensure that I get a Roxa for a hotel, I needed to go to Bab Taza and make an application…OK I also need to get a final set of plans from the architect, who seems suspiciously absent and so far, despite saying he’ll be in Xaouen…hasn’t been! Umm!

But the process seems fairly straight forward….you can quote me on that!

Back in Bab Taza, further in to kiff country, and amongst the mayhem of the last significant souk before Ramadan..something akin to the last shopping day before Xmas, I returned to offices who had seen me last year and warmly greeted me this…back came this odd Gaurie, with his speckled Deriga and odd plans for an eco hotel in Loubar.

And yet of course they couldn’t have been nicer, though I hope, like last year, they won’t bother coming up to the land (Ramadan must be a good time to put in for permissions….noone wants to go anywhere strenuous!)…if they do they’ll find the shower blocks and Mission control….not exactly reflections of tinkering around with the old ruins roof, which is what I had authorization to do.

Mwalem Mohammed Mason.

Mohammed mason came up with me to Bab Taza, a mix of shopping opportunity with the Gaurymobile and an offer to help with officialdom. Later that evening as I sat with waafi and him I explained that I needed to move all my stuff up from waaf’s place and asked to use his newly purchased horses. It being the start of Ramadan the next day, we negotiated a late, 09.30 am ish start.

Setting up Camp with a little help from My Loubari Friends

I returned at 10.00 am ish to find the two of them nearly completing the task of removals and then continuing to help me clear the camp site and  set up camp.

I’d been staying in Xaouen for a few days, but it felt wonderful to finally get back up on the land, back to the camp and back to the build.

It feels great to be back in Loubar.

I’d stopped off at the farm of Moustapha

and Morad, Waafi and Ghalli’s brothers, both of whom were at the build last year and they’d agreed to come and work on the Saturday. In town I’d met Yussef, the hunter who’d said he was interested and on my way up to Loubar had bumped into X and Y…it seemed that the team was about ready to restart….I even bumped in to one of the other masons, who came up to see how and when he should be expected…

Renewing last years team…and a sizeable new challenge.

One of the first things to deal with is the sizeable boulder tht’s fallen out of the ground and on to the site. We’d managed to clear most of the others from last year when we brought up the digger…this one wll take a bit more attention…nothing like a challenge.

On a slightly sadder note, Waafi old me that one of the dogs had gone missing. Initially I thought it was Flynn…what the hell would I explain to Finn? But no, it was the brown dog with no name…which is a shame, sorry to see you go.

Flynn is still around

But Flynn is still around and of course looking the worst for wear, tick ridden and thin after another litter. This year sould see her able to stay up on our farm for good now, thus better food and living conditions…I think even she finds Waafi’s place slightly rough and ready…Farm Finn is hardly more comfortable…but I think the food might be better.

Black dog with no name

Black dog with no name, is also back. Bigger and more bounding than before……Yes, it’s good to have them back, guarding the camp and keeping me up at night.

I think we’ve got a build…another page…let’s see where this years story takes us.