Jane and Rog take Jones to Morocco

I have to say that the Moroccan wines we've tried during our travels there are a little harsh ( this is being kind :ROFLMAO: ). So much so that we tend to stock up with 5 litre boxes as we go through France. The beer - Tabard?? is equally dreadful, I imagine quality control is hampered by the tasting limitations.
 
Rog NotJane said:
Before we go much further, I must bring an important matter before the committee. Reader discretion is advised.

The birthday wine we had Le Palais Oumensour was Les Deux Domaines Eclipse.

View attachment 1159554

As you can no doubt see, it was imperative that I bring this to the attention of the MHF Physics Committee. The Committee have considered at length and decided that although the depiction of the corona is not to scale this is acceptable on aesthetic grounds. However we cannot accept the depiction of a crescent moon in an eclipse. A crescent moon is caused by the light incident on the moon from the sun forming a lune when viewed from earth. In the case of an eclipse the incident light on the moon is by definition facing away from the earth and the two circles of the lune are entirely non-coincident and hence fully dark.

For this reason, the MHF Physics committee have voted unanimously (history of physics branch are not permitted to vote) to ban drinking of further bottles of Les Deux Domaines Eclipse until Les Deux Domains redesign their logo to be accurate or, make the moon partially transparent to render their current logo accurate.
Click to expand...
But you are in Morocco, what did you expect?
 
Rog NotJane said:
Before we go much further, I must bring an important matter before the committee. Reader discretion is advised.

The birthday wine we had Le Palais Oumensour was Les Deux Domaines Eclipse.

View attachment 1159554

As you can no doubt see, it was imperative that I bring this to the attention of the MHF Physics Committee. The Committee have considered at length and decided that although the depiction of the corona is not to scale this is acceptable on aesthetic grounds. However we cannot accept the depiction of a crescent moon in an eclipse. A crescent moon is caused by the light incident on the moon from the sun forming a lune when viewed from earth. In the case of an eclipse the incident light on the moon is by definition facing away from the earth and the two circles of the lune are entirely non-coincident and hence fully dark.

For this reason, the MHF Physics committee have voted unanimously (history of physics branch are not permitted to vote) to ban drinking of further bottles of Les Deux Domaines Eclipse until Les Deux Domains redesign their logo to be accurate or, make the moon partially transparent to render their current logo accurate.
Click to expand...
But you are in Morocco, what did you expect
jongood said:
I have to say that the Moroccan wines we've tried during our travels there are a little harsh ( this is being kind :ROFLMAO: ). So much so that we tend to stock up with 5 litre boxes as we go through France. The beer - Tabard?? is equally dreadful, I imagine quality control is hampered by the tasting limitations.
Click to expand...
And the total lack of sanitary controls.
 
jongood said:
I have to say that the Moroccan wines we've tried during our travels there are a little harsh ( this is being kind :ROFLMAO: ). So much so that we tend to stock up with 5 litre boxes as we go through France. The beer - Tabard?? is equally dreadful, I imagine quality control is hampered by the tasting limitations.
Click to expand...

Mostly we’ve been paying a bit more for our wines (£8-12) to try some good ones and they’ve been great. Last night the £3.70 cheapie came out and it was fine. (We bought it as it has a screw cap, and we managed to leave our cork thingy to reseal the bottle at home. Now we’ll be able to reuse the screwtop bottle.)
 
BTW, I was quite pleased with the risotto last night - it was aubergine & lemon, and went really well with fish. Here’s the recipe - I only used one aubergine so didn’t bother with the char-grilled one.

Aubergine & lemon risotto

* Camper Hob, Italy
Servings: Serves 4

Description:
Smoky aubergine and the strong freshness of lemon and basil are used here to offset the stodgy tendency of some risottos.

Ingredients:
2 medium aubergines
130ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g risotto rice
120ml white wine
750ml hot vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
1 lemon, zest grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
20g butter
50g parmesan, grated
10g basil leaves, shredded

Directions:
1 Start by burning one of the aubergines on a gas hob. Line the area around the hob head with foil, and put the aubergine directly on to a moderate flame and roast for 12-15 minutes, turning frequently with metal tongs until the flesh is soft and smoky and the skin is burnt all over. Keep an eye on them the whole time so they don't catch fire. The aubergine needs to deflate completely and the skin should burn and break.
2 Remove from the heat and make a long cut through the aubergine. Scoop out the soft flesh while avoiding the skin. Discard the skin, roughly chop the flesh then set aside.
3 Cut the other aubergine into 1.5cm dice. Heat 80ml of the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the aubergine dice in batches until golden and crisp. Transfer to a colander and sprinkle with salt. Leave to cool.
4 To make the risotto, put the onion and rest of the oil in a heavy-based pan and fry slowly until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Turn up the heat and add the rice, stirring to coat it in the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine (it should hiss) and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until nearly evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium.
5 Now start adding the hot stock to the rice, a ladle at a time, waiting until each addition has been fully absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the time. When all the stock has been added, remove the pan from the heat. Add half the lemon zest, the lemon juice, chopped aubergine flesh, butter, most of the parmesan and ¾ tsp salt. Stir well, then cover and leave aside for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if you like, plus some black pepper.
5 To serve, spoon the risotto into shallow bowls and sprinkle with the diced aubergine, the remaining parmesan, the basil and the rest of the lemon zest.
Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury)

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/19/10-best-aubergine-recipes

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Barriesimpson said:
But you are in Morocco, what did you expect?
Click to expand...
The MHF Physics Committee is not a partisan organisation.

DBK said:
It depends which star the moon is eclipsing. If it's our local one you are of course right but you could get the illustrated alignment on the label if it was another star. Although a degree of artistic embellishment and probably a supernova is required.
Click to expand...
This is correct! Eclipse wine is hereby removed from the MHF Physics Committee banned list, all members and associates are free to consume Eclipse as they see fit. The current candidates for chair have all resigned and the election process will restart in 2027. In recognition of his services, DBK is appointed to the MHF Physics Committee Grand order of Sommeliers. I’m afraid that does incur a modest increase in membership fees but I’m sure the honour will be worth it.

We have also written to the winery requesting details of the planetary bodies involved in their logo and the timing of this momentous event.
 
Wanders from Glos said:
Following on from the earlier comments on feral dogs, there’s an interesting article in The Conversation. It’s about India rather than Morocco but worths read.

https://theconversation.com/indias-60-million-street-dogs-are-turning-from-village-scavengers-to-city-territory-defenders-272751?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest from The Conversation for January 9 2026 - 3638737169&utm_content=Latest from The Conversation for January 9 2026 - 3638737169+CID_e2f8a2815b78be9f6c7613567dd3eca0&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=future of street dogs
Click to expand...
Interesting article. I was trying to think how this might inform Morocco’s similar problem. The quran is generally positive on dogs but there’s nothing like Hinduism’s sacred dogs. I don’t think there are any figures for dogs in Morocco either but it may be 3 million. That’s one dog to every ten people! There are a few dogs in cities with ear tags now.


On the whole we’ve found Moroccan street dogs fairly well integrated into society. They mainly look well fed and more or less happy. But, I suspect we get a skewed view of them. We just saw a french couple get quite scared by a dog out on the hillside. When we got to the same dog, Flynn was ahead of us. The dog came running to him growling and snarling. He stood his ground, they sniffed each other then the wild dog retreated as Flynn has a piss on his patch.

Obviously there’s no way of knowing what’s going on but we think Flynn understands this is fear not aggression and can defuse it by not being aggressive back.
 
Rog NotJane said:
Interesting article. I was trying to think how this might inform Morocco’s similar problem. The quran is generally positive on dogs but there’s nothing like Hinduism’s sacred dogs. I don’t think there are any figures for dogs in Morocco either but it may be 3 million. That’s one dog to every ten people! There are a few dogs in cities with ear tags now.


On the whole we’ve found Moroccan street dogs fairly well integrated into society. They mainly look well fed and more or less happy. But, I suspect we get a skewed view of them. We just saw a french couple get quite scared by a dog out on the hillside. When we got to the same dog, Flynn was ahead of us. The dog came running to him growling and snarling. He stood his ground, they sniffed each other then the wild dog retreated as Flynn has a piss on his patch.

Obviously there’s no way of knowing what’s going on but we think Flynn understands this is fear not aggression and can defuse it by not being aggressive back.
Click to expand...
Yes I'm not sure how the piece informed the situation in Morocco, but perhaps interesting.

You should consider becoming a dog whisperer.
 
We liked the Auberge Toubkal campsite, and especially our evening view with drinks, so it was an easy decision to stay another night and do a proper hike.

Our route led south into the mountains, towards Agadir n’Tarikt, where we hoped to poke around the ruins.

IMG_0205.webp


Our walking app, Footpath, had a very hazy idea of the paths, whichever map we chose, so our route was somewhat precipitous at times. Although I’m not scared of heights so much, I am still nervous of breaking an ankle, so parts of the climb were not so much fun.

IMG_5068.webp


We did get great views with lunch though!

IMG_5076.webp


IMG_5075.webp



Finally we got to the little hamlet at the top of the hill, after an ascent of 300 metres. There are no roads to this settlement at all - just a dirt track leading off towards the road to the east.

IMG_5083.webp


IMG_5079.webp


We poked around the ruins we’d seen on the horizon, which turned out to be an abandoned village, before making our way down what was supposed to be a better route, but ended up with quite a steep descent. My new boots stood up to the walk well - no blisters, lots of support - but by golly I was glad to taken them off when we got back to Jones.

IMG_7030.webp


After a lazy afternoon, and a game of Imposter Kings, we went over to the restaurant for our pre-booked chicken tagine. It was all a bit bleak, and the tagine wasn’t the best but we were very hungry after our hike and that is, as the saying goes, the best sauce.

IMG_5091.webp
 
Jane NotRog said:
Mostly we’ve been paying a bit more for our wines (£8-12) to try some good ones and they’ve been great. Last night the £3.70 cheapie came out and it was fine. (We bought it as it has a screw cap, and we managed to leave our cork thingy to reseal the bottle at home. Now we’ll be able to reuse the screwtop bottle.)
Click to expand...
Is that on the second bottle?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
CaptainPaul said:
Looks amazing 👏
I would love to do a hike like that but firstly not fit enough and 2nd broke my ankle a couple of weeks before Christmas so I'm a bit of a hop along Cassidy at the minute 🤣
Click to expand...

Oh no! Are you in plaster? My ankle has been a literal pain, first a bad sprain in the lakes ans then a break in Germany. I’m now 18 months into waiting for a DEXA scan - maybe time to pay for a private one.
 
Jane NotRog said:
Oh no! Are you in plaster? My ankle has been a literal pain, first a bad sprain in the lakes ans then a break in Germany. I’m now 18 months into waiting for a DEXA scan - maybe time to pay for a private one.
Click to expand...
1764002115521 (1) (1).webp

No told them no boots or plaster as I was driving to Gambia after Christmas! 🤣
But yeah its still bloody sore....
Hopefully it'll go away soon
 
Rog NotJane said:
@DBK is appointed to the MHF Physics Committee Grand order of Sommeliers.
Click to expand...
An unexpected elevation! Are there ceremonial robes?

I do have this bottle of wine which claims to have been made at high altitude. However, I'm not sure the Committee will agree to fund the hypobaric chamber which is presumably needed when drinking it. 🤔
PXL_20260112_191453772.MACRO_FOCUS.webp
PXL_20260112_191444338.MACRO_FOCUS.webp
 
Jane NotRog said:
Oh no! Are you in plaster? My ankle has been a literal pain, first a bad sprain in the lakes ans then a break in Germany. I’m now 18 months into waiting for a DEXA scan - maybe time to pay for a private one.
Click to expand...
Mrs loopyxlou broke her ankle on the Isles of Scilly before covid. In the yard waiting to go trekking, the horse in front bucked and kicked out, hitting her square on the bottom of the leg/ foot. Broken ankle. We all learnt some new words that day.
The hospital on St. Mary’s told her it was her lucky day - the x-ray technician was visiting from mainland, so no need to be evacuated by helicopter to Truro!

3 operations later she’s ok, but still bothers her occasionally.
 
Grianan said:
It’s likely to be Al Fassia also recommended by Alice Morrison, Scottish adventurer and resident of Morocco, of podcast fame.
Click to expand...
We went there last April. Bit pricy but excellent food and the whole place run by an amazing female team - except for the burly doorman 😂. We booked from the UK after seeing it on an Andi Oliver programme.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
DBK said:
An unexpected elevation! Are there ceremonial robes?
Click to expand...

There are now. We’ll leave it to you to design them then all members of the MHFPCGOoS will wear them. Be sure to avoid mystical symbols.

DBK said:
I do have this bottle of wine which claims to have been made at high altitude. However, I'm not sure the Committee will agree to fund the hypobaric chamber which is presumably needed when drinking it. 🤔View attachment 1159903View attachment 1159904
Click to expand...
Another possible explanation for the zingyness is the reduced gravity at such altitude - or even increased time dilation due to the longer path of the grapes as the earth turns. So possibly better enjoyed on one of Mr Bezos’s pleasure flights.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Forum posts reflect the views of individual users and not MotorhomeFun.
MotorhomeFun does not endorse or verify user-generated content.

Back
Top