2014 - MOROCCO .. All posts here now please..

[Arnica]

Painted Rocks Co-ord's

Ken, Graham, Steve and any others in Tafraout,

Through Tafraout centre to

N29.66362deg W008.97211deg

Turn in and find your spot on the ridge.

Further on, 1,5km approx past the co-ords is another run off to the right that will take you on to the plateau.

Happy Wilding :Cool:

 

[tony_g]

Back at Taghazoute Beach tonight courtesy of the R105 down from Tafraoute this morning. Great scenic drive but road widening on the way added to the interest!
Nice to meet Malcolm Bolt and Catherine plus Marjohn down here and then Hilldweller and Chrisboyo up at Tafraoute. Good few days up at the festival and a great circuit round the Gorge De Ait Mansour. Guardian parking at the Palmeraie 20 dirham. Ask for directions to complete the circuit there. The roads are a bit narrow for a while after the crossing over the top from near the Painted Rocks and down to the Gorge.Good run, though but start with a fullish tank. The Berber House at Oumesnat outside Tafraoute is worth seeing, too.
Hoping for a continuation of the hot weather now we're back at the coast while we plan the next foray. Paradise Valley, Taroudant, Tan Tan, Sidi Ifni....everywhere?

 

[SUGGY]

Hi

canopus n us are on the plateau just near the painted rocks at Tafroute ,

it is beautiful as many already know , last year Rosie and i only walked part of it with Andrew n Carol (mr motorhome ) and we promised ourselves that we would return and wild camp here , and here we are :thumb:

We have collected some wood and tonight we are going to wild camp, with a log fire under the stars , :Cool:

This is what motorhoming and Morocco is all about ,

Tomorrow we are heading for the Gorges of ait-mansour:thumb:

 

[canopus]

Well I had a cracking birthday in Tafraoute yesterday. Six of us, Graham, Rosie, Steve, Sue and me and Lynda wet out for lunch to the famous Chicken Rotisserie restaurant or Chciken Shack as we fondly named it. We had a wonderful meal with fresh fruit juice, salads, 1/2 a roast chicken each with fries and the house special lentils and the bill was just over £9 per couple.

Off then to the patisserie for cakes and bikkies. Coffee at the very impressive Hotel Tifaouine http://www.hotel-tifaouine.com on the way back to the vans.

Then after a short cat nap eight Funsters and four non Funsters gathered for a late afternoon sesh. Cakes, champagne, beer, cider gin plus anything else we could muster were consumed. Suggy on twelve string accompanied by three ukes and a flute played and sang on until around 9:30pm, yes the nights and days are getting much warmer phew.

At midday today we upped sticks and moved to the Blue Rocks for a night or two of total wilding. Have collected enough kindling to keep us snug out here some 7kM from Tafraoute.
Some of the others may be following on tomorrow - inshallah

 

[tony_g]

I wish we'd stayed on a bit at Tafraout, the weather with you lot up there is certainly better than here in Taghazoute......chilly sea mist. Still, we've had Rashid do us a painting and got a load of washing done. Plus, I have successfully christened the cast aluminium tagine and Tafraout 'special' windshield. (Thanks Malcolm for the steer) Wildcamping up at the Painted Rocks sounds fun.

Not sure what to do next. We fancy the sound of Aglou Plage and Sidi Ifni but wonder about the weather. Don't know whether Tan Tan and El Ouatia are worth the run except to say we've been there.

Would still be interested in what people have to say about going over the Tizi n Test after Taroudant. Any info on this or anywhere else I've mentioned gratefully received.

For those of you up there, watch out for the very narrow stretch of road after the guardian parking at Tiourri in the Gorge de Ait Mansour.....perfectly doable but, as with sections of the R105, I was sorely tempted to gag and blindfold Mrs tony_g!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Boredrider]

Don't know whether Tan Tan and El Ouatia are worth the run except to say we've been there.

Just my opinion - Tan Tan (and Tan Tan Plage) is exactly that - only worth it to say you've been there. OTOH Fort Bou Jerif is very much worth the effort, and one of, if not the, best sites in Morocco. When you leave FBJ then I would also suggest that a night or two wild camping at Plage Blanche is also worth the effort. YMMV.

 

[tony_g]

Just my opinion - Tan Tan (and Tan Tan Plage) is exactly that - only worth it to say you've been there. OTOH Fort Bou Jerif is very much worth the effort, and one of, if not the, best sites in Morocco. When you leave FBJ then I would also suggest that a night or two wild camping at Plage Blanche is also worth the effort. YMMV.

Pretty much my thoughts. Fort Bou firmly on the agenda, though.
Thanks for the info.

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Tan Tan (and Tan Tan Plage) is exactly that - only worth it to say you've been there.

Much better to say you have driven to the Tropic of Cancer and beyond. We did it a few years ago and found just a long pile of rocks which according to three GPS's was a meter out. The poor lad with his tape measure got it wrong.

But the bonus is that the fuel halves again when you enter Western Sahara so the thousand miles drive is not quite so expensive, unless you are hit by a coach that will not either yield road or slow down. Cowardice is the cheaper part of Valour.

Worth doing just to say you have done it, unfortunately I now need to drive to the Article Circle which is a bit colder than Moroccp and the Traumer is playing up at the moment.
Steve

 

[hilldweller]

Agdz

What a privilege, we were taken round the restored Kasbar by the grandson of the current owner.

So we got a 2 hour detailed history of the ancient mud castle and how Morocco was governed. Brilliant experience.

Another gem of a site.

 

[makems]

Today we thought we would forsake the souks and do some sightseeing. We walked to the saadian tombs where you end up queuing to take pictures of the main mans tomb because there is only room for two people at a time to take pictures. When you get a budding David Bailey at the front it can really slow things down.
While it's cheap to get in I'm not really sure I can recommend it as an experience. The Real experience was sitting outside an adjacent cafe enjoying a leisurely coffee and watching the world go by including the taxi driver who ran after a motorbike rider going the opposite way who scratched his (already battered) petit taxi. The Moroccans do an impressive job of shouting and arm waving. Also passing by were numerous horse drawn caleches, the ubiquitous donkey carts, hundreds of motorbikes etc.
our cafe was right next to a gate in the city wall which is one way and has a very clearly marked no entry sign which is totally ignored by the motorbikes, donkey carts, bicycles and even a dump truck.
We then walked round to the Badii Palace which is enormous but again rather uninspiring. It's currently somewhat spoiled by the presence throughout of modern art "installations" which in my humble opinion are a load of shite.
For example the pile of red mud with a large mirror tied to it with a length of plastic strapping entitled "red, red, red" WTF? Or the installation that consisted of a load of bits of wood, doors, door frames etc nailed together. Call me a philistine but this sort of shit gets art a bad name.
Anyway after an over priced lunch at a local fish restaurant we walked back to the van for a cup of tea as we were knackered.
It's totally rammed here tonight behind the mosque.
It's been over cast all day but still 29 degrees and muggy.
Off tomorrow to Cascades D'Ouzoud after a stop at Marjane for desperately needed supplies. Kiwi is down to his last litre of beer so the situation is desperate!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[canopus]

We were at the Painted Rocks last night and we woke this morning to wind and overcast skies. We've been told its raining in Agadir so we will have another night at the Rocks - now three Funsters and a new recruit.

We had a trip over the tops (over 5000 feet) to the Ait Mansour Gorge. It was very narrow through the palms and the scenery was breathtaking. We got back to Tafraoute and stocked up and four vans are now at the Rocks.

However its now a bit black over Bill's mother's wonder if we will get rain!

 

[Malcolm Bolt]

guardian Parking Meknes

We spent a night in Meknes and enjoyed it very much. In the evening, entertainers are active in the square and there are restaurants around the perimeter. Nothing like as hectic or commercialised as Marrakech but all the more enjoyable. It is also worth a stroll through the market streets. Unlike everywhere else we were not hassled in any way. No one even invited us to look at their goods for sale.

We had intended to stay at Camping Agdal in our book but it has been closed for several years. We were directed by police to Gardian parking a short distance away.

I could not get the co-ordinates but if you follow the directions in the guide and go through the arch in picture 1 then immediately turn right and follow the road through the first two arches in my photos you will get to the guardian parking we stayed at.
If that is full turn right and go through the next arch then turn left and go through the last arch. Turn left again and drive down the hill with the square on your right.

There is more guardian parking at the bottom of hill on left. (not as nice as first place).

 

[Malcolm Bolt]

Moulay Bousselham

For the last three nights we stayed at Camping Caravanning International. I don't know how but we drove straight in to the front row and parked up looking out across the bay. The weather was fabulous. Last year we stayed on the other site which was ok but not as good as this one. Mind you the weather then was terrible. Rain and wind versus the sunshine this time round.

Last year we only stayed the one night so had not realised what a pretty place it is.

Being pitched next to the water we were invited to buy more fish and huge crabs than others further back and out of earshot and a trip by boat into the lagoon to see the flamingos will have to wait for our next visit.

 

[Malcolm Bolt]

Well we were up earlier than usual this morning for our last run in Morocco. We fuelled up at Assilah and noted a distinct change in the weather. The wind was up and we were battered as we came north. There are signs warning of high cross winds at many points and I really had to fight the steering. On two occasions I was blown into the next lane even though I had kept the speed down.

Getting through the port was easy peasy. A couple of people wearing clothing bearing the insignias of ferry companies asked to see the ticket/vouchers then simply directed me. I parked up and went oover to the ferry company's office, in my case FRS. They wanted to see passports, vouchers and to check we had the 'fiche' we had filled in on arrival. They had plenty available for those who had mislaid them. Following this we were sent on to eventually park up on the dock. On the way we presented the documents requested at the booths we passed. Since last year there as many more areas working as intended and apart from that first visit to the ticket office I did not have to leave the Van.

Saw 160 Fiat Pandas about to leave the port on a 3000 km race arround Morocco.

The duty free shop and restaurant rival airport facilities. They are better than many. Loos 10 out of 10. Food good not ultra cheap but we had chicken tagine with vegetables, rice and chips, bread and two fizzies for about ten quid. Portions not huge but a good lunch. Oh yeah and the WIFI is free and quick.

 

[JockandRita]

Well we were up earlier than usual this morning for our last run in Morocco. We fuelled up at Assilah and noted a distinct change in the weather. The wind was up and we were battered as we came north. There are signs warning of high cross winds at many points and I really had to fight the steering. On two occasions I was blown into the next lane even though I had kept the speed down.

Getting through the port was easy peasy. A couple of people wearing clothing bearing the insignias of ferry companies asked to see the ticket/vouchers then simply directed me. I parked up and went oover to the ferry company's office, in my case FRS. They wanted to see passports, vouchers and to check we had the 'fiche' we had filled in on arrival. They had plenty available for those who had mislaid them. Following this we were sent on to eventually park up the dock. On the way we presented the documents requested at the booths we passed. Since last year there as many more areas working as intended and apart from that first visit to the ticket office I did not have to leave the Van.

Saw 160 Fiat Pandas about to leave the port on a 3000 km race arround Morocco.

The duty free shop and restaurant rival airport facilities. They are better than many. Loos 10 out of 10.

Have a safe journey back Malcolm & Cathryn. :thumb:

Cheers for now,

Jock.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[canopus]

We'll the wild bunch had a blustery evening. We sat out round the fire chewing the fat till gone 11:30pm. The wind strengthened once we'd gone to bed and it chucked it down. We were all wondering in our respective vans whether we should up sticks as we were parked on gravelly sand and getting off could have been problematic if the rain continued.

Thank God it stopped raining and the wind dropped and we awoke to a sunny morning albeit hazy.

Said our goodbyes to Mike & Sue (possible new Funsters) and left Steve and the other Sue at the painted rocks. Then we had a hair raising drive to Agadir across the Atlas on the R105. Fifteen foot wide max and 42 seater coaches coming towards us plus numptie French drivers in camping cars who think they own the road as well as Maroc. Further along we encountered two massive Doosan excavators repairing/widening the cliff face to enable vehicles to pass without having a brown trouser moment. Glad it was Sunday morning and not a weekday

Now on the seafront at Agadir at Baz's car park. The coordinates provided by Barry (suebaz). Might indulge in some junk food tonight Maccy D's just over the road

 

[SueBaz]

Back From Morocco

Morning Funsters

Well our visa ran out, the Moroccan part of our adventure is over and we're now back in Europe. Not sure whose left there now (other than the Suggy Squad, Makems ,Kiwi Cos and ....er ... about 40,000 French camping cars ....)

It was most definitely fun, sometimes challenging and quite quite different to motor homing in Europe. Haven't had enough time to reflect on it all yet but our summary in five words reads:
Sun, Scenery, People, Rubbish and Driving.

The first three are reasons to go. :thumb: The last two are facts of Moroccan life that one has to live with. Which brings us to the big big Thank You :thanks: we owe to everybody, all the 'old hands' who've been going for years and all those from last years expeditionary force, who posted information and advice. Without it all our adventure would have been that bit trickier, the culture a little harder to fathom and we would most certainly have missed some of the highlights of our visit.

Talking of which here's a few of our best bits (in no particular order), hope this gives some who haven't been a flavour....

Sitting in the desert somewhere south of Doura whilst staying at Camp Bedoin in the Western Sahara and listening to ........... complete silence.

Driving north over the top of the Middle Atlas approaching Afourer and suddenly seeing the plains stretching way way into the distance (from I think about 1500 metres up)

Taghazout Beach, such a hoot - surfing, parties, best burger bar in Morocco (cafe Sunshine) vendors for everything....we couldn't drag ourselves away. 20 dirham a night and we were better served than at a lot of 'proper' Moroccan campsites!

Laguna de Kenifas near Akhfennir , we stayed twice on our way to and from the Western Sahara - a wild camp that's free - no facilities but beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.....until the sand storm started!

ALL of the drives we did over and around the four major mountain ranges, as RayV8 so eloquently put it; "I drive along and watch the movie unfold in front of my windscreen"!

Camping De Cala Iris at the end of a rough piste on a very undeveloped piece of Mediterranean coast west of Al Hoceima. In the sunshine, looking out to sea over the islands of a beautiful bay as a few odd fishing boats went about their business it was one of the very best places we visited. Close to the end of our visa one night turned into three and a 'dash' for the ferry

Tafroute, a very very nice place indeed

Camping Hamada Du Draa in M'Hamid. Literally at the end of the road, after this it's desert and 4x4s (or camels)- we went to see the big dunes at Erg Chigaga some 60 Kms further on. But this camp had some of the best facilities of any site we visited in Morocco including a clean swimming pool, excellent showers and a very very good restaurant

Similarly 'Slumming' for 5 days at Manzil du Tortue Campsite just outside Marrakech (at the end of a rough piste but excellent facilities, large individual bays in a garden, wonderful showers, 16 amp electrics, infinity pool, bar and restaurant..... European standard of facilities albeit at European prices!).

And of course any list of highlights must include Suggy's efforts at improving 'Entente Cordial' in Tata.........


Will we go again? Yes but next time with a better idea of where to go. Whilst a big reason for going is for winter sun next time we would like to be there later in the spring and spend more time in the Atlas & Rif mountains and on parts of the Mediterranean coast. And then again we didn't get as far down as Dakhla this time and...........

Have Fun. :thumb:

Barry and Sue.

 

[Arnica]

Tizi-n-Test Pass

I wish we'd stayed on a bit at Tafraout, the weather with you lot up there is certainly better than here in Taghazoute......chilly sea mist. Still, we've had Rashid do us a painting and got a load of washing done. Plus, I have successfully christened the cast aluminium tagine and Tafraout 'special' windshield. (Thanks Malcolm for the steer) Wildcamping up at the Painted Rocks sounds fun.

Not sure what to do next. We fancy the sound of Aglou Plage and Sidi Ifni but wonder about the weather. Don't know whether Tan Tan and El Ouatia are worth the run except to say we've been there.

Would still be interested in what people have to say about going over the Tizi n Test after Taroudant. Any info on this or anywhere else I've mentioned gratefully received.

For those of you up there, watch out for the very narrow stretch of road after the guardian parking at Tiourri in the Gorge de Ait Mansour.....perfectly doable but, as with sections of the R105, I was sorely tempted to gag and blindfold Mrs tony_g!

Successfully passed the Tizi-n-Test yesterday & Arnold now got his AMD-udc certificate in (Advanced Mountain Driving under dire circumstances). Not much has changed since the French built it in the late 1920's (what does Morocco owe the French -include this Pass) or our old Rough Guide was pub ..'extremely narrow with almost continuous hairpin bends & blind corners'...add steep drops with exposure ++. Not for the faint-hearted However they are doing a lot of road widening (hence dust & more dust) the views are awesome, almond blossom at 2100m & people utilising every metre of land to grow something on - impressive. Reckon could be a good road in a couple of years. Found an acceptable wild camping area (free) near Barrage Ouirgane(also spelled Wirgane) before Asni -useful place to stay before out of mountains (pm for co-ordinates).Now at Ocean Blue (Mohammedia)recuperating. V little space available here, 1 Brit (us) 1 German, ! Italien, rest French. Bring back the old days with the Suggy-Makems band under the palms :thumb: Next year - Inshalla

May all your goat tagines be tender

 

[canopus]

Suggs

Message for Suggy. Heading for Le Relais Marrakech on the motorway. See you there if you are going.

 

[SUGGY]

Message for Suggy. Heading for Le Relais Marrakech on the motorway. See you there if you are going.

ok thanks see you there .:Cool:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Well its finaly over we are at tanger med waiting for 2pm ferry that will not be in till after 5pm
If any one is interested the final toll from assila to med port was 65dm
And the last fuel is on motorway about 20 klicks south of port
Will we be back you bet bring it on 2016
As this will be our last post from maroc I would like to thank all the people we have met and gained valuable info from and hopefully made some good freinds
You know who you are
Thanks to all for the posts that you have out up that have had elaine and I in stitches at times and so full of advice

Keep on posting cos next years mob will look on this for ideas as we did

Elaine and peter

 

[hilldweller]

incha'Allah

So we arrive at Souce Bleue de Meski remembering it as one of the spectacular sites, alas time has not been kind to it, run down and infested with local kids. We did have a wonderful tagine though.

Ok set off for Luxury. The Emirates site near Afroud. Battled through snow. What a disappointment. It on a steep slope, windswept and no good pitches left anyway.

So next plan, Meknes. Thank you Allah, parked just down from main square, walked into souk and BIG GRIN is back. Life bursts out of the place. Great.

 

[canopus]

Canopus now at Le Relais in Marrakech. Guess who we see as we drive in - Bob and Ellie. Had a few wets and caught up on the gossip. Going to have a longer natter in the bar.
TTFN

 

[AlanVal]

We are also on route to Ferry at Moulay Boussilham .. Lovely village .heading to Asilah tomorrw then Ferry on Wed afternoon ..... Hopefully 5 pm ... Nice meeting everyone. See you next year hopefully ..loved Morocco .. Xx

 

[marjohn]

Left taghazoute

Hello everybody left taghazoute Saturday for a place called qualidia (loualida )on the west coast very nice and modern 25dirh a night also I got caught speeding 69klm in a 60 he give me a fine of300dirhams and charge me only 100dirh so take care we are in kenitra charia El Riyadh it's okay for apit stop on the way back tan med 60dirh with ehu taghazoute it was raining and sand storm
Marjohn10-3-14

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hilldweller]

What a place. We just walked into the main square, I wondered how to get to the terrace cafe overlooking the square so dived into the old medina, pitch black, flickering lights, men propping walls up. Did we feel at risk, no. In the end a man asked if he could help and he guided us to it.

Would I do that in central Manchester - not on your nelly.

 

[makems]

What a day yesterday....
We upped sticks from the mosque in Marrakesh headed for Cascades D'Ouzoud. On the way we planned to stop at Marjane to fill up on essentials.
I thought I could remember my way there but got a little lost so we stopped and asked a policeman who kindly directed us to the wrong Marjane - THE ONE THAT DOESNT SELL ALCOHOL. oh:oh:oh:

Kiwi Colin was gutted as he is just about out of beer and we had sunk a couple the night before in anticipation of replenishment.

Well by the time we had done all the unnecessary shopping and started out again we found ourselves virtually back where started with three hours elapsed!

It's a faintly long but fairly dull drive to the Cascades so time for nothing more than making dinner when we arrived at Camping Zebra. It's a nice site and the facilities are excellent and totally spotless (as they should be for 105 dh per night).

Today Colin and I walked flown to the waterfalls leaving our better halves to relax on the site. It's quite a steep hill down to the falls and then we chose to take the "scenic"route on the right down as we reckoned we would be passing the restaurants on the other side on our way up when we would be ready for lunch. This route down is a very rough track and is a bit of a scramble in places. DO NOT WEAR CROCS if you are planning to take this route.

The falls themselves are quite impressive although not on the scale of Niagara, Victoria or Angel Falls. Interestingly I had read conflicting reviews about people being pestered by guides, cafe and stall holders etc but when we were there it seemed as if a lot of places were closed and nothing much was happening. There were no tour buses there and yet we must have passed at least a dozen yesterday on our way here. Perhaps Sunday is a big day for the tours from Marrakech and Monday is a day off?
If coming here I recommend you visit on a Monday!
We started our climb up the 720 steps and stopped at a little cafe where we ordered omelette and fries. The young lad had to run up to the top to get the eggs and then cooked the omelette in a tajine.
He brought us the best omelette I've even tasted. There must have been a dozen eggs with chopped tomatoes and it was just bloody delicious and very filling. All for 60dh for two of us (£5) including the obligatory Moroccan bread.
After enjoying the sun a little we Carried on the climb stopping to take photos of some of the. Monkeys and then the long walk back up the hill to Camping Zebra.
A really nice day.
Tomorrow we are off to Azrou and not looking forward to the drive because the satnav says it's 300km and neither of the books show a site anywhere in between. Well, there is one but it warns against trying the access road with a long or low van (that's us excluded on both counts!)

 

[Daiboy]

Hello everybody left taghazoute Saturday for a place called qualidia (loualida )on the west coast very nice and modern 25dirh a night also I got caught speeding 69klm in a 60 he give me a fine of300dirhams and charge me only 100dirh so take care we are in kenitra charia El Riyadh it's okay for apit stop on the way back tan med 60dirh with ehu taghazoute it was raining and sand storm
Marjohn10-3-14

Hello you two, obviously still in Morocco and both looking well. I've been back in UK 3 weeks now. It's nice to be home and luckily the weather is good too at the moment but nothing like the temperature showing in your photo. Enjoy.

Dai. Xx

 

[Peter & Elaine]

Here we are at lidl stealing wifi
Finally left port at 6.30 pm after 7 hours waiting
Crossing was a bit chopy so elaine was not best pleased she nearly chucked her lunch
Getting out of port was a nightmare 3 boats all disembarking at once and only 2 police lines open but thats life
Now a steady 16 day run home
And who said it was over
Choice to make spain or portugal
Any ideas anyone ?

 

[SUGGY]

Mike

Bin El Ouidane N32*05,214 W6*27,807 vic book 144 wild camp near reservoir

camping du maroc book
Camping de lla ancienne base nautique N32*05,22 W6*27,82
also
Eau Vive N32*06,37 W6*28,70

We havent been to either as we came up the windy back road through the gorge into ozoud (6 hours none stop from Azrou 185 miles )

Have you asked Paul or Renarta for places to park up on route to Azrou ? .

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}