And so it begins… Confinement. We left our secure home to travel, experience new places and meet new people with their own way of living. Whether we make it to South Africa or not was unsure form the beginning, but trying it and exploring this unknown was all the appeal.
And now? Corona threw us in the other extreme. I can’t remember a week in the past 10 years where we travelled less distance, where we were more restricted in our movement. While interesting to talk to, our fellow campers (French, English and a few other Europeans) are nice people, but not the exotic adventure we saved money for years and longed for in the past months.

But true to every explorer’s mindset, we’re trying to do the best out of it. We succumbed to the sedentary life, set up our tarps and established our routines in a mind-boggling speed. In the morning when we enter the restaurant we just order “comme d’habitude – the usual”, while I fall asleep Carole finishes her reading and when it’s time to cook, it’s clear that I am the one who stirs whatever is in the pot.
And still, there were no moments, where we were bored. On the contrary, we go to bed and remember, oh tomorrow we need to do X. So what did we do over the last seven days?

SHOPPING

After all the restrictions being implemented over the weekend and rumours of all sorts (like people getting yelled at by Moroccans for being white) spreading in the campground, we decided to go shopping on Monday. Some of our supplies were running low, but we could have waited another 1-2 days, however, we were curious to see ourselves what to expect for the next weeks. Will we be eating pasta and drink water non-stop or can we still stock up on a more interesting diet?
With an Arab document filled out we left the campground and did not know what to expect.
A strong wind was howling and the sky was overcast with dark clouds. This scenery made the drive to the Carrefour somewhat sombre. We passed the small village and narrow roads close by but it felt different. When the sun was out and Corona a thing in Europe this drive was exciting and new. We felt like driving through the real agglomeration of a big Moroccan city. Not dressed up for tourism but even more appealing. Now it felt constricting, the narrow streets were less a gate to the unknown and more a trap.
Once again we were forced to appreciate how the context, both weather as well as what’s going on in our mind, shapes the way we see places and people. We think of ourselves as quite well educated and reflective, allowing us to catch ourselves in our way of thinking. But yet it shows how powerful the mind can be and how susceptible for manipulation it is.
At Carrefour, we arrived at a well functioning supermarket. The only difference to the other days was the number of people wearing facemasks and gloves. In front of the part selling alcohol, security was ensuring that only a certain amount of people were in the store at any given time and lines on the floor indicated the appropriate distance when queuing at the cashier.
We stocked up so that we have at least a week’s worth of food so that we contribute to the social distancing measures.

Early last week, the restrictions for moving around were further enforced. The variety of forms allowing for travel on the street were replaced by one official form. Everybody had to fill it out on Monday, as on Tuesday the government official came by with his powerful stamp. Other campers report being stopped by the police on their way, but waving the form has ensured passing without any issues.

GAMING

We have our laptop with us to backup pictures and edit videos. Before leaving we opted for a gaming laptop as this was the only one with the necessary graphic power without paying a fortune. Right now, we are using the laptop actually more for gaming than for its original intended use. But we will also get to the video editing in a few days. A continuous change between Tomb Raider, Civilization and Planet Zoo allowed for a good change of scenery and we’re not yet bored with it.

READING

In situations like this, the digital library, as well as eBooks in general, reveal how amazing they are. We even have some “real” books with us, but I haven’t touched them yet. Somehow I feel like I need to save the experience for later.
Our backlog with books to read is already loaded, but if you would like to share a recommendation please do so, we’re very grateful for any tip!
Since I left my job, my reading has adapted a bit. Most of the work-related books are for now on hold. Not because they suddenly are less interesting, but because I lack the context in which I can reflect on the things I read, which makes a big difference in my reading experience. The weirdest book in my reading list is probably an educational book about physics. I have not used any of the physics since high school and so I decided to revisit the topic. So for now from time to time, you can see a swiss guy on a Moroccan camping sporting evergrowing hair doing some entry-level physics equations which he most likely won’t use for another 10 years until the next virus or quarantine is happening 🙂 Carole in the meantime has refound a joy in drawing and you’ll spot her sketching palm trees and all kinds of stuff in the late afternoon.

DUOLINGO

We shelled out some big bucks and got Duolingo Plus on a year-long subscription. So we better use it. Carole is busy doing the French exercises while I try to decipher Arabic signs. By now I got used to reading from the wrong side but other than that progress is slow. It’s just so far away from any syntax and words I know that everything takes longer than usual. As my Arabic is not even sufficient for a basic conversation yet, I have not been able to practice in real life. And the waiters on the campground speak exceptionally good French so it’s not useful either. I might need to try the nightguard sometime. Will be a funny scene: Me approaching him at 4 am with the sentence “My name is Thierry” and then being stuck at “My mother is a good Jordanian accountant” 🙂 Strange how this far in, neither “yes” or “no” and no numbers have appeared in the lessons. But let’s see if the immersive technique also works for Arabic.
By the way, if anybody is wondering about Duolingo. Yes, I believe the free version is fun and helps. The paid one would have the advantage of offline downloads but they only work sometimes. In all truth, I just forgot cancelling the free trial.

CONCLUSION

So to summarize: Yes, we’re fine. We keep busy and try to not just watch Netflix all day long. So far there’s nothing except our freedom to explore we direly miss. Healthwise we’re having our ups and downs but not close to any medical emergencies anymore. And yes, don’t be afraid to write on WhatsApp, we’re happy to chat and compare the situation.

FACTS & FIGURES

• Kilometers: less than 50
• Beer in storage: more than 50
• Success in gaming: 1 (won in Civilization)