A new adventure to Africa

[Jimbohorlicks]

Might be of interest to you.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Might be of interest to you.

How funny I just watched that as Google suggested it to me! I've saved the restaurant where they ate the rabbit tagine as they showed the name of the restaurant. Getting very excited about our trip to Marrakech now thanks.

 

[ChrisL]

I have mixed feelings about Essaouira, admittedly it was a long time ago, 1976, my friend and I were back packing, we loved that the people were so friendly, much nicer then further north but we had a sad experience that i've never forgotten, we were eating grilled sardines by the dock side and there were a bunch of kids hovering around, when someone finished their meal the kids would run in and eat whatever was left before the table could be cleared, heads, tails everything, very sad indeed, we said to the guy feed the kids as much as they want and we payed for it, hopefully there's a lot less poverty now.

 

[Helen Ariel]

I have mixed feelings about Essaouira, admittedly it was a long time ago, 1976, my friend and I were back packing, we loved that the people were so friendly, much nicer then further north but we had a sad experience that i've never forgotten, we were eating grilled sardines by the dock side and there were a bunch of kids hovering around, when someone finished their meal the kids would run in and eat whatever was left before the table could be cleared, heads, tails everything, very sad indeed, we said to the guy feed the kids as much as they want and we payed for it, hopefully there's a lot less poverty now.

Yes it's a pretty large cosmopolitan seaside resort now.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Not seen that anywhere in Morocco and certainly no kids asking for money except for a few well dressed schoolboy chancers .( egging each other on)
Yes there are beggars as in every country and even then some are not destitute but more chancers.

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[ChrisL]

Not seen that anywhere in Morocco and certainly no kids asking for money except for a few well dressed schoolboy chancers .( egging each other on)
Yes there are beggars as in every country and even then some are not destitute but more chancers.

I'm glad to hear that, these kids were bare foot and just had shorts on, no shirts and were clearly hungry, they didn't ask for money or try and sell us anything, we were used to people trying to sell us stuff and begging when we were around Casablanca and Marrakesh.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Glorious hot weather today so we decided to get the ebikes out for the 1st time and cycled out to a point of interest that Google maps had marked, Cascade de Sidi M'Barek. We were on a decent tarmac road most of the way with stunning sea views and then a fun rocky, loose track dropping down to the 'river'

There was a bonus suprise of our 1st sand dune to photograph but unfortunately there was very little water in the falls.

Still an idilic spot and our 1st adventure away from built up areas in Morocco.

 

[Helen Ariel]

So we left Sidi Kaouki today as the weather was more overcast & breezy so not ideal for chilling out, plus the surf had dropped right off and the wind was onshore so our planned paddle was not going to happen.
The campsite served it’s purpose for a bit of R&R but it was a little tired with not great showers or electric. We did meet some nice people and got some fun socialising in the sun though.

Back to Essouaira for some supplies which consisted of a fabulous monkfish and some big local shrimps for £15. Luxury thai green curry for tea tonight!

Once that was sorted we cruised towards Marrakesh avoiding any speeding tickets but did see 2 speed traps en route.
We‘d planned a pit stop at a P4N spot which was behind a petrol station but once we got there it was a definite no. Luckily I had a contingency plan arranged and we are currently parked up in a beautiful gated compound approximately 12 miles out from the guardian parking at La Koutoubia so that’s an easy drive for tomorrow morning. Greeted with delicious mint tea & biscuits which was nice. They’re all really friendly again.

Only 2 other vans here and they’re out playing pétanque with some of the family. They could probably get another van in at a push
100Dhm per night incl EHU & WiFi. Bit fresh to be getting in the pool as it’s now only 19c but forecast to be sunny and 25c for our visit to Marrakesh. Lovely.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Helen Ariel]

Couple more pics from Sidi Kaouki

Father & son hunting octopus on the reef at low tide.

Sunset on the campsite. Our van is on the left.

Camels grazing from our bike ride to the cascade.

Tagine meal out at a rustic local restaurant last night with our campsite friends.

Hilltop village closest to the cascade which was 7.5 miles south of the campsite.

Monkfish & red shrimp Thai green curry with fresh local courgette & green peppers. Helen is a whizz in the small motorhome kitchen! I’m very lucky.

Paul

 

[Helen Ariel]

Made it to Marrakech and it's a beautiful scorcher of a day. 27 no wind and very clear. Making most of WiFi in our friends place of work for a few photos. Will be a tonne more I think as we'll definitely be staying at least 2 days.

Our 1st Moroccan mint tea to welcome us at our accommodation last night.

Drive in to the city. Hectic for a while

Our friend is working at this bike repair and hire shop.

It also has a really lovely cafe with rooftop terrace

Heading into the Medina madness shortly

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[Helen Ariel]

Wow Marrakech did not disappoint.

The day flew by and we covered at least 10 miles walking all over the place. We did lots of wandering around the souks and I got a lovely soft goat leather bag and a simple platted leather belt. Really pleased with the bag for about £20.

I visited Marrakech (by plane) about 12 years ago with my Mum and we found it pretty overwhelming and a lot of hassle. I'm not sure if things have toned down, it was a quiet day or we've just had more time to adjust slowly to Moroccan life being here in the van but it was a pretty relaxed experience. There is a lot going on visually and sound wise but the sellers were not overly pushy and no-one tried to guide us anywhere.

We found one of the restaurants from the u tube video of the foodie tour that Jimbohorlicks posted.

This one in particular had stood out as they do a traditional rabbit tagine which you wouldn't get anymore in most places. It was the best tagine we've had. Full of flavour, really slow cooked and quite spicy which is unusual.

We had the roof top terrace to ourselves and it was really quirky and rustic. There's no health and safety in Morocco and the access to the roof was up a wobbly metal spiral staircase with no handrails, just a hole in the ceiling above.

Not sure how they get all the food up there in one piece as I was holding on with both hands.

After lunch we went to visit the secret garden which is a walled garden/ riad that has been restored from dereliction over the last 10 years.

A really tranquil space to take some time out.

We got back to the van pretty shattered about 5pm for a rest and then our friend Oscar finished work and came over to the van for a drink at 6. He's travelled from Brighton by bicycle to here and is volunteering for bed and board so he was super chuffed that we had beer and gin and tonics on board as he can't afford alcohol in Morocco very often.

After a couple of liveners we walked about a mile to Oscar's riad so he could change clothes and show off the amazing accommodation he's in.

Down a scruffy narrow alleyway and through a heavy metal door you are greated by a courtyard full of plants with rooms off each side. It goes up 3 stories and has several bedrooms, 2 kitchens and two bathrooms and rooftop garden.
Pics were a bit hard to get the impression across as it was dark.

A hidden oasis as Marrakech is well known for, we just didn't expect that standard of accommodation for a volunteer.

We went for dinner along with 2 other housemates and got a great spot over looking the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa.

What an amazing sight! At night it just comes alive. Oscar said on the weekend it would be much busier but the buzz was intoxicating. A beautiful starry, moonlight sultry night really added to it.

Back to the van about 10.30 completely knackered and so glad the parking is so close to the action. I really can't believe we can stay in the centre of Marrakech for a tenner. Here's a photo out of the roof light to show our location in relation to the Koutoubia tower.

View of what's behind the van. Makes for a surprisingly quiet location.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Edited

 

[Helen Ariel]

Going to edit as clicked thumbnails by mistake

 

[Helen Ariel]

Ok, hopefully this works!

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Wow Marrakech did not disappoint.

The day flew by and we covered at least 10 miles walking all over the place. We did lots of wandering around the souks and I got a lovely soft goat leather bag and a simple platted leather belt. Really pleased with the bag for about £20.
View attachment 855995
View attachment 856001
I visited Marrakech (by plane) about 12 years ago with my Mum and we found it pretty overwhelming and a lot of hassle. I'm not sure if things have toned down, it was a quiet day or we've just had more time to adjust slowly to Moroccan life being here in the van but it was a pretty relaxed experience. There is a lot going on visually and sound wise but the sellers were not overly pushy and no-one tried to guide us anywhere.

We found one of the restaurants from the u tube video of the foodie tour that Jimbohorlicks posted.
View attachment 855998
This one in particular had stood out as they do a traditional rabbit tagine which you wouldn't get anymore in most places. It was the best tagine we've had. Full of flavour, really slow cooked and quite spicy which is unusual.
View attachment 855996
View attachment 855999
We had the roof top terrace to ourselves and it was really quirky and rustic. There's no health and safety in Morocco and the access to the roof was up a wobbly metal spiral staircase with no handrails, just a hole in the ceiling above.
View attachment 856000
Not sure how they get all the food up there in one piece as I was holding on with both hands.

After lunch we went to visit the secret garden which is a walled garden/ riad that has been restored from dereliction over the last 10 years.

A really tranquil space to take some time out.
View attachment 856003View attachment 856004View attachment 856005View attachment 856007View attachment 856008
View attachment 856068
We got back to the van pretty shattered about 5pm for a rest and then our friend Oscar finished work and came over to the van for a drink at 6. He's travelled from Brighton by bicycle to here and is volunteering for bed and board so he was super chuffed that we had beer and gin and tonics on board as he can't afford alcohol in Morocco very often.

After a couple of liveners we walked about a mile to Oscar's riad so he could change clothes and show off the amazing accommodation he's in.

Down a scruffy narrow alleyway and through a heavy metal door you are greated by a courtyard full of plants with rooms off each side. It goes up 3 stories and has several bedrooms, 2 kitchens and two bathrooms and rooftop garden.
Pics were a bit hard to get the impression across as it was dark.
View attachment 856016View attachment 856018View attachment 856019
A hidden oasis as Marrakech is well known for, we just didn't expect that standard of accommodation for a volunteer.

We went for dinner along with 2 other housemates and got a great spot over looking the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa.

What an amazing sight! At night it just comes alive. Oscar said on the weekend it would be much busier but the buzz was intoxicating. A beautiful starry, moonlight sultry night really added to it.

View attachment 856021View attachment 856022View attachment 856024View attachment 856025View attachment 856026View attachment 856027
Back to the van about 10.30 completely knackered and so glad the parking is so close to the action. I really can't believe we can stay in the centre of Marrakech for a tenner. Here's a photo out of the roof light to show our location in relation to the Koutoubia tower.
View attachment 856028
View of what's behind the van. Makes for a surprisingly quiet location.
View attachment 856029

View attachment 855997

Impressive accommodation for a volunteer, can I ask what he does? Understand if you’d rather not say.

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[Helen Ariel]

Impressive accommodation for a volunteer, can I ask what he does? Understand if you’d rather not say.

Ex colleague of mine who is a bike mechanic volunteering for a Dutch run cycle charity. He cycled that bike from Brighton to Marrakesh!

Paul

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Ex colleague of mine who is a bike mechanic volunteering for a Dutch run cycle charity. He cycled that bike from Brighton to Marrakesh!

Paul

Wow respect…. Chapeau

The furthest I have ever cycled is Paris and back, and mist if kit was in a car!

 

[Helen Ariel]

Wow respect…. Chapeau

He did say the hills were a bit tough…

 

[Gina M]

Wow Marrakech did not disappoint.

The day flew by and we covered at least 10 miles walking all over the place. We did lots of wandering around the souks and I got a lovely soft goat leather bag and a simple platted leather belt. Really pleased with the bag for about £20.
View attachment 855995
View attachment 856001
I visited Marrakech (by plane) about 12 years ago with my Mum and we found it pretty overwhelming and a lot of hassle. I'm not sure if things have toned down, it was a quiet day or we've just had more time to adjust slowly to Moroccan life being here in the van but it was a pretty relaxed experience. There is a lot going on visually and sound wise but the sellers were not overly pushy and no-one tried to guide us anywhere.

We found one of the restaurants from the u tube video of the foodie tour that Jimbohorlicks posted.
View attachment 855998
This one in particular had stood out as they do a traditional rabbit tagine which you wouldn't get anymore in most places. It was the best tagine we've had. Full of flavour, really slow cooked and quite spicy which is unusual.
View attachment 855996
View attachment 855999
We had the roof top terrace to ourselves and it was really quirky and rustic. There's no health and safety in Morocco and the access to the roof was up a wobbly metal spiral staircase with no handrails, just a hole in the ceiling above.
View attachment 856000
Not sure how they get all the food up there in one piece as I was holding on with both hands.

After lunch we went to visit the secret garden which is a walled garden/ riad that has been restored from dereliction over the last 10 years.

A really tranquil space to take some time out.
View attachment 856003View attachment 856004View attachment 856005View attachment 856007View attachment 856008
View attachment 856068
We got back to the van pretty shattered about 5pm for a rest and then our friend Oscar finished work and came over to the van for a drink at 6. He's travelled from Brighton by bicycle to here and is volunteering for bed and board so he was super chuffed that we had beer and gin and tonics on board as he can't afford alcohol in Morocco very often.

After a couple of liveners we walked about a mile to Oscar's riad so he could change clothes and show off the amazing accommodation he's in.

Down a scruffy narrow alleyway and through a heavy metal door you are greated by a courtyard full of plants with rooms off each side. It goes up 3 stories and has several bedrooms, 2 kitchens and two bathrooms and rooftop garden.
Pics were a bit hard to get the impression across as it was dark.
View attachment 856016View attachment 856018View attachment 856019
A hidden oasis as Marrakech is well known for, we just didn't expect that standard of accommodation for a volunteer.

We went for dinner along with 2 other housemates and got a great spot over looking the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa.

What an amazing sight! At night it just comes alive. Oscar said on the weekend it would be much busier but the buzz was intoxicating. A beautiful starry, moonlight sultry night really added to it.

View attachment 856021View attachment 856022View attachment 856024View attachment 856025View attachment 856026View attachment 856027
Back to the van about 10.30 completely knackered and so glad the parking is so close to the action. I really can't believe we can stay in the centre of Marrakech for a tenner. Here's a photo out of the roof light to show our location in relation to the Koutoubia tower.
View attachment 856028
View of what's behind the van. Makes for a surprisingly quiet location.
View attachment 856029

View attachment 855997

Lovely photos what an adventure you two are on. Love the fruit stall set up on the market.

 

[Helen Ariel]

Lovely photos what an adventure you two are on. Love the fruit stall set up on the market.

It definitely feels like more of a full on travel adventure than the Europe ones though we've loved all of those trips too. The fruit stalls are everywhere and they make fresh juices for a couple of euros. I hardly eat fruit at home so have been enjoying having it here.

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[Helen Ariel]

Rain forecast for today and a high of only 17c in Marrakesh for the next couple of days.
It’s been amazing here. The park up is so central and 150MAD for the night with EHU. The fact it’s just a scruffy car park with smelly drains is a small price to pay for the convenience of the location. It’s safe and you can empty the grey & the cassette. The electric has been consistent too, especially after Sidi Kaouki. Glad Lenny HB helped me to fit the AVS30 as I’m paranoid about damaging the fridge or other electrics!

Driving back to the coast as the forecast is sunny and 25c for the next few days. Probably spend a few days chilling as we’re mentally exhausted after Marrakesh and Helen has a bit of a cold coming on.

Looking forward to a scenic drive over the mountains that we saw from the rooftop terrace that we had lunch in yesterday.

Thanks, Paul

 

[Helen Ariel]

My photos from yesterday:

We walked over towards Bahia palace in the morning but decided not to pay in as we will definitely come back to Marrakech so don't feel we need to do all the sights on this visit. Instead we sat and had a mint tea and watched some street life.

On the walk from the main square to there we realised that there are loads of the same things for sale as in the narrow alleys of the souk but less hassle and less tourists so actually preferable for buying certain things and locals were buying them too. For example loose almonds that were quoted at 70dh for a hundred grams were only 10dh.

We had been wanting to get a couple of cushions for the sofa at home as ours have gone flat and hadn't seen anything quite right yesterday in the souks so when we spotted all the fabric shops we inquired about having some made in a nice fabric they had outside. Quoted £12 a pair and collect them at 4pm! What a service!

We wandered around a big spice market near the palace area and then found a large patterned plate we liked that was made in Safi. £9. Definitely cheaper out that end of town it seems.

After a disappointing meal the night before on the main square we decided to try a restaurant I had booked marked (when back in England and doing research on the best restaurants in Marrakech)

It was right in amongst the souks and you certainly needed Google maps to find the unassuming entrance. No touts here trying to drag you off the street!

Once inside it was suddenly all calm and smart restaurant. We asked the reception about the roof terrace and once we'd said we were eating she pointed us up the stairs. 2 flights up and the place was buzzing. We had to wait a few minutes for a table and then got shown to a great table right on the corner, looking out across the roofs.

Really nice menu of modern Moroccan fusion and all the plates of food going to other people looked amazing and colourful. We had courgette and goats cheese fritters with mint and yoghurt dip to start and then rather unadventurous but we both fancied a burger which was gorgeous with caramelised onions and the meat was seasoned kofta style.

It got hot in the sun but they had hats you could borrow!

After lunch I started to feel a bit under the weather. I thought it was the afternoon heat but spent the rest of the day sneezing and have woken up this morning with a cold. Oh well glad I got to enjoy the city before it took hold.

 

[scousebird]

I hope the cold clears soon.

Great photos.

 

[125BEER]

Great thread again...
Just wondered how the beer/wine situation is considering it a Muslim country.If I'm on a non drive day I like a beer or 2...3...with meal etc.

Cheers

 

[Mikey RV]

Looks a great place for a meal. Get well soon or Paul might send you home.

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[Helen Ariel]

Great thread again...
Just wondered how the beer/wine situation is considering it a Muslim country.If I'm on a non drive day I like a beer or 2...3...with meal etc.

Cheers

We stocked up in Spain so haven’t really looked for any here. My friend told me a pint in the jazz bar in Marrakesh was £9 but could be either 40% head or no head at all!
Though lots of restaurants do sell beer and wine for between 5 to 7 pounds.
Booze available in Carrefour in Essouaira and Agadir plus other shops. Supposed to be twice the price of Spain.
Will update when we run out!

 

[Helen Ariel]

Great thread again...
Just wondered how the beer/wine situation is considering it a Muslim country.If I'm on a non drive day I like a beer or 2...3...with meal etc.

Cheers

Username checks out!

 

[Go_buddy_go_]

Helen Ariel … just found your thread… it’s fab and some wonderful photographs!! Safe travels and looking forward to reading and seeing more of your trip!

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Great thread again...
Just wondered how the beer/wine situation is considering it a Muslim country.If I'm on a non drive day I like a beer or 2...3...with meal etc.

Cheers

As said you can buy beer and alcohol in Some carrafour shops and in the majority cities there are alcohol outlets.
Most restaraunts sell beer but its usualy non alcohol. You have to ask.
The cheapest wine we bought was a Moroccan Rosada at 36.6D roughly £3. Made in Meknes . Just to try it. It was .We shared it with some French motohomers we met up with comparing it to their "Spanish wine ( cheaper than French wine)

 

[Helen Ariel]

Big drive today. Unfortunately missed some of the mountain views as shrouded in low cloud. Had a small amount of rain and rather depressing drive through endless plastic strewn, desolate looking landscape with dead looking trees.

It did get better eventually and there were some much nicer views of very red, hilly formations that reminded us of some parts of Spain.

Interesting way of transporting cows out here!

We got some shopping in at Carrefour in Agadir then headed onwards to look for somewhere nice to stay on a beach.

Camping Atlantica Immourane was full and actually after having a look wasn't really for us anyway. Very regimented and rather prison like on a main road.

Drove on to Tagazoute to a small guardian carpark. Thought no chance of fitting in as the place was hooching with surfers but there was a perfect space for us half way in.

I think we've found paradise. The beach is gorgeous and I love the look of the little town from above. Shame we don't have much water on board as there's no facilities here.

Lots of dogs and 'oh no!' puppies gamboling about

Watched the sunset and surfers from the warm rocks and then got chatting to a British neighbour. We mentioned we were going to Imsuoane next and he said 'only if you want to see people crying!'

We asked 'why?' and he'd just left there because apparently it's literally being bull dozed with only 24 hrs notice to the residents. Apparently it's being cleared to become a resort and this has just started happening in a few places up and down the coast.

Explains the new road in. Very sad and unfortunately it looks like Morocco is going to see a lot of changes over the coming years.

Did a bit of googling and found this very recent article about it. Google can automatically translate it.

Broken Link Removed

Anyway I've been feeding a couple of dogs here from the bag of dog food we brought. They were pretty chunky so only gave them a couple of handfuls.

We’re parked bottom right of the pic

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