Sheltering from the blazing July sun in the shade of a large oleander bush near the entrance to Algeciras port in southern Spain, Mohammed Fectoul and his family are resting. They need it, having just driven around 1,500 miles in under three days to reach the ferry which will take them to Morocco. They are typical of an awe-inspiring annual transhumance to Spanish ports by nearly 800,000 Moroccans coming to visit their homeland from all over Europe where they live and work.
Mohammed (23) lives in Belgium the majority make the journey from France and the remainder come from countries such as the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. Mohammed was born in Belgium and has only known his own country during these annual holidays.
"Thirty years ago my parents lived in very crowded conditions. There was no work and they felt there was no future for them in Morocco. So they left. We are proud to be Moroccan but we have a better life in Belgium," explains Mohammed.
He has travelled in a van from Antwerp with this three older sisters, his parents and a young niece and nephew. The rear and side windows are draped in fabric of various types and colours, to keep out the sun and prying eyes and also to provide some sort of sleeping area. Like most others on this "pilgrimage", they have driven night and day to save money but also to have more time with the relatives they have left behind.
Their vehicle is quite new, others in this extraordinary convoy are luxury models and some are rusted and sunk low on their chassis. But whatever the type or state of the vehicle, each and every one is topped by a roof-rack piled high and wide. the contents lashed and taped into extraordinary shapes. Balanced precariously on top of these packages there are inevitably two or three children's bicycles - and this year the new popular addition is of tables and chairs. All gifts for those back home.
Mohammed's family had quite a modest load: Belgian chocolates, shoes, clothes and coffee. Curiously shoes are also among the items they like to bring back, along with perfumes, tea and the traditional ornate Moroccan tea-pot with its long curved spout.
His sister, Miriam, admits the reception in their home town is mixed: "People are pleased to see us but there is also some envy. They see our new car and our Western-style clothes and they think we live in a place where the streets are paved with gold. They don't believe it's hard to find work and they can't imagine how much racism there is."
But the drawbacks don't prevent others trying to realise their dream of a new life. Ironically, as the flood of home-bound Moroccans continues, there is also a steady counter-flow of others attempting to enter Europe illegally by crossing the Strait of Gibraltar in small wooden boats. Only last month, 14 died when their vessel overturned in rough seas.
Over in Algeciras port, the vast pre-embarkation area at times resembles a souk on wheels, as those waiting to board ferries jostle their array of laden vehicles close together and erect temporary shade cloths. Old women sit gossiping, elderly men in the long-hooded jellaba glide about in the chaos, young girls who've swappped their traditional headscarves for baseball hats look on shyly and small children in Mickey Mouse T-shirts play with their new toys.
Nearby, among a long line of Portacabins, is the Ilassan II Foundation for Moroccans living abroad. Inside is a help centre disguised as a home-from-home with typical Moroccan furnishings. A couple and their two children sit wearily on the sofa. They are waiting for new papers, having been robbed near Madrid. Others have lost their passports, run out of money, bought fraudulent ferry tickets, or fallen ill. The foundation try to sort out their problems.
The co-ordinating of the motorised transhumance through Spain is known as "Operation Pasco delo Estrecho" ("Operation Cross the Strait"). It officially lasts for three months from June 15th but most of the flow is concentrated around the beginning of July and the return a month later. In one day alone last August, nearly 35,000 Moroccans crossed the Strait to start their journey back through Europe, this time laden down with momentos from a culture and country which becomes increasingly alien with the passing years.
