By Gabri Mtnez
Like in the last years, I got time to make a fast trip to Morocco in spring.
Last time that I crossed to Morocco in my own car was in 2019. I don´t know what happened then, but when I made a trip to Morocco in plane, before taking the flight back to Spain the police had to make me a special authorization because they thought that in 2019 I left my car in Morocco.
So the Tuesday 30 of april in the evening I crossed to Africa. I arrived at 22.00h aprox. to Tanger Med Port but needed over 3 hours to get that police revised their problem with my car and cancel the alarm. Now I arrived from Spain in my car, the definitive proof that I didn´t leave my car there in 2019.
WEDNESDAY 1 MAY
Being very late in the night when I got to enter in Morocco, I just searched for a calm place for sleeping.
I woke up and drove directly to Guercif. It´s a large trip in highway so I made several stops.
First was in la Mamora Forest. Like in my last visits, all was completely destroyed. Few water spots without Pelobates varaldii tadpoles. Nothing flipping under things, except adult Sclerophrys mauritanica.
Second stop was in a “Chalcides ebneri” possible spot. Apart of the extreme difficult to find this possible extint species / phenotype of Chalcides colosii, the area was very wet and cold. I didn´t find nothing apart of two Pelophylax saharicus, some Tarentola mauritanica and a Psammodromus algirus.
Finally, I reached Guercif. Before the hotel I stopped in some places around Guercif. Lot of water everywhere. No reptiles dead or alive on road. Just 5 small Hemorrhois hippocrepis dead on human constructions and 2 juvenile Testudo graeca under a flat concrete piece. It looked more February than May, so I went for sleeping soon, and next day I would go to the Rif mountains to try to be more lucky there.
THURSDAY 2 MAY
I began the trip to Tanger Med thorough the Rif Mountains. In the first stop I saw a large Hemorrhois hippocrepis. After a bad beginning of trip I was happy, because that specimen in particular was maybe the nicest Hemorrhois hippocrepis I had ever seen (and it is the species that I have seen more in my whole life).
When the arid habitat disappears, begins the Mediterranean habitat. I made a stop in a lagoon and found some Hyla meridionalis and lots of tadpoles. In a rocky habitat around (almost 1900 masl) I found a juvenile Malpolon monspessulanus basking and an Agama bibronii that disappeared fast between rocks and a few Salamandra algira larvae in a deep fountain.
After some kms I made another stop and found a Sclerophys mauritanica, some Podarcis vaucheri and a couple of Coronella girondica. The temperature was under 15 degrees so I went directly for sleeping to a hotel.
FRIDAY 3 MAY
The night in the Rif was extremely cold. Much more that I expected for May. I woke up, take a «Moroccan omelette» with a tea and drive to the next spot. With my car I could drive well in trails and visited some cool rocky areas. Although the habitat was extremely nice and looked amazing for snakes (including Vipera monticola saintgironsi), I just saw some lizards.
With the low activity of snakes in the mountains I drove a while to check some irrigation ponds. The only alive animals inside that I found were several Pelophylax saharicus. There were some toads drowned (probably Bufo spinosus and Sclerophrys mauritanica). Flipping rocks around a small lagoon could see a Natrix maura and a extremely thin Natrix astreptophora.
After eating a bit, I moved to another lagoon. As always there, some Emys orbicularis made my Rif experience amazing.
Very tired, I went to take a good Moroccan dinner and slept soon.
SATURDAY 4 MAY
I woke up and visit another spot.
Later I drove to Tanger Med to cross again to Spain. I arrived to the Port the Saturday at 20.00h. Well, I got the ferry at 5:30h after more than 9 hours waiting. The Moroccan Government made a control for the cars since many years ago, and a machine had to scan cars from 6 cars to 6 cars to try to find hidden people or other illegal things. And every scan needs about 10 minutes. So If for example there are 300 cars in the Port to cross to Europe, 300/6 are 50 scans=500 minutes. Incredible… I didn´t remember that was so slow… I think for 3-4 days trip is much better to get a flight than to cross in your car.