Jane & Rog’s retirement tour, Morocco 2023

[Jane And Rog]

It was low tide when we got up, and the beach was in the shade of the cliffs, so we did a 6km walk north. Many people were out at the water’s edge collecting seafood.

We also saw a couple of these makeshift dwellings in the rocks. Must be a bit scary at high tide - the water comes right up to the cliffs.

We used to have a dog that ate mussels off the rocks at Hastings beach. This one just drinks oceans.

On our return, Rog started repair work, and I headed into town to buy bread and cheese.

I walked slowly through the Spanish part of town. There were some beautiful doorways and windows.

And this gate where children had been practising their arithmetic.

I wonder what this building was. And more importantly, is it on Rightmove?

(I looked it up when I got home, and it was the Spanish consulate.)

The cylinder on the roof of this house is an easy-install water heater for showers. There’s a solar panel, heating the cylindrical water tank.

I walked down to a balcony with an amazing sea view.

I passed the Art Deco cinema - now only used occasionally.

I called into the market again for bread, and found the butcher was very popular this morning. These camel heads and feet must be in high demand. (Warning, the next photo is not suitable for vegans or those of a nervous disposition.)

Heading back down the main shopping street, I found that the town was well supplied with shops, banks and other necessities. There’s even a small supermarket (unfailing.swapped.factoring) where I found goat’s cheese and other essentials such as chocolate with almonds.

I spotted this relic of Spanish occupation- Spanish street names.

I came back via the P1901, and turned the corner to get this view of the campsite. Spot Denby’s prime position!

I’d recommend Gran Canaria, especially if you can park at the edge and avoid the ranks of vans in the middle. The people running it are very friendly and the showers are large and immaculate.

I got back to find Rog had push-fitted the push fit connectors, so we were leak-free until the next P road, and had disconnected the battery long enough to reset the heating. Something more is obviously wrong with it though. We had lunch, and then Rog managed to borrow a hot air gun from someone working on a French van, and got rid of the water from our gas jets.

The rest of the afternoon was lazed away, deservedly in Rog’s case.

We ate back at Ait Baamrane, for its terrace with sea views, and wine. We had a bottle of vin gris. This is a colour of wine you’ll only get in Morocco - a slightly pinkish-tinted white wine made from red grapes.

It was just after high tide and people were sea fishing.

We ate an octopus salad and a Moroccan salad (tomatoes) to start, and then both had a kofte pizza. The food was again a long, long time coming - over an hour for the starters. The waiter told me it was because the restaurant had other orders - can this really be so unusual, in a place with other tables, you know, ordering food? The sunset was fantastic though, and made up for the wait.

 

[Neilh]

we’re really enjoying your informative, amusing narration of your adventures, through Morocco. Hope you resolve the problems with your van, great to see how you both take these in your stride.


Sidi Ifni, back memories of a long road trip we did 10 years ago, in a Toyota Corolla!

N

 

[chaser]

You really need a YouTube channel, you would make a fortune, brilliant.

 

[Jane And Rog]

You really need a YouTube channel, you would make a fortune, brilliant.

Thank you for that undeserved compliment! Video is so much more work than just a few words & photos though. And don’t you need to be twenty-something and pleasing to the eye?

 

[makems]

Keep an eye on the weather forecast!
a few years ago there were dreadful floods and the campsite where you are parked was completely washed into the sea. The floods started in the mountains and by the time they got to Sidi Ifni were a complete raging torrent in what will currently look like a dry river bed. The bridge was washed away.
there are pictures somewhere here on Fun of the devastation.
We loved Sidi Ifni. The market is particularly good.

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[Littlewheels]

You didn’t spot the Eagle then? Possibly a Golden Eagle from the colouring and markings or a Sea Eagle,definitely not Griffon Vulture which are common.

 

[Jane And Rog]

You didn’t spot the Eagle then? Possibly a Golden Eagle from the colouring and markings or a Sea Eagle,definitely not Griffon Vulture which are common.

View attachment 709509

I spotted a bird Not much of a twitcher although I have looked for Morocco wildlife books (Kindle) and not found anything.

Did spot sea lavender today…

 

[Jane And Rog]

Keep an eye on the weather forecast!
a few years ago there were dreadful floods and the campsite where you are parked was completely washed into the sea. The floods started in the mountains and by the time they got to Sidi Ifni were a complete raging torrent in what will currently look like a dry river bed. The bridge was washed away.
there are pictures somewhere here on Fun of the devastation.
We loved Sidi Ifni. The market is particularly good.

Glerp. We are moving on tomorrow.

 

[tufty]

Glerp. We are moving on tomorrow.

What a lovely account of your travels. I'm just a little bit in love with Flynn. How anyone could throw stones at him is beyond me, glad you gave them a piece of your mind.

 

[billym]

Keep an eye on the weather forecast!
a few years ago there were dreadful floods and the campsite where you are parked was completely washed into the sea. The floods started in the mountains and by the time they got to Sidi Ifni were a complete raging torrent in what will currently look like a dry river bed. The bridge was washed away.
there are pictures somewhere here on Fun of the devastation.
We loved Sidi Ifni. The market is particularly good.

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[Grianan]

Really enjoying your updates - always check at breakfast and when I get in from work to see what you’ve added.

 

[Jane And Rog]

We walked the opposite way on the beach today, south to the port and the remains of the cable car.

This was built in the 1960s, towards the end of the Spanish occupation of Sidi Ifni. It was one of the few sea cable cars in existence. Because the water was too shallow for a harbour, this crane and pulley system was constructed to ferry passengers and cargo between the land and the ships at sea. The concrete block in the sea to the right of the photo was once a dock, where ships coming into port would load and unload their cargo. These goods and people were then carried to land by cable cars, the line supported by giant pylons - one of which you can see to the left of the photo.

The cable cars ended up here, at this end station at the top of the cliffs.

We were taking these photos when a man appeared and shouted at us to go away. No way was I going back down the steep cliff path, so we shouted back something about yes, we were leaving, and took the exit past him, towards the road back to town.

Back on the main shopping street, we bought ourselves one of the plastic mats every other camper van seems to have in the dust outside their door. 3m x2m, after a little light bargaining, it cost us 110 dirhams, under a tenner.

It was a 9km walk, by the time we got back to Denby. Flynn was tired out, but luckily he approves of the new mat, and fell asleep on it straight away, so we have no need to return it!

Later on, we lunched out at a restaurant called Nomad. Rog started with prawns in garlic, and I had octopus with a spicy sauce.

After that I had seafood tagine, which was fantastic, and Rog had a kofta, cheese, honey and fruit pastilla, which was a bit weird. Personally, I think you could have guessed that from the description.

We were surprised to find that wine was available, so had a bottle of white, which was good too. The whole meal was not cheap for Morocco at £33, but you’d be calling it a real bargain at home!

What was left of the afternoon was spent playing games and lazing about. Well, we are retired old people now.

Dad continues the same. It never usually takes this long when he gets one of his episodes. We think we need to start moving in the direction of home, rather than increasing our drive time by heading south or east behind the High Atlas.

 

[Mikey RV]

Great update and pics as usual. Those Moroccan mats are great and a bargain in morroco but over here cost a fortune now. Sorry to hear your dads not getting over his episode as quickly as he normally does. If you start heading home just remember he is in a good place with experts to care for him so you don’t need to rush. Drive carefully.

 

[TerryL]

We found if we didn't lay our mat out we'd be pestered to buy one so good call there!
Know what you are worried about re sudden recall, similar reason we've decided to give Morocco a miss this year. Hope all turns out okay.

 

[Jane And Rog]

The day started with a shorter beach walk for Flynn. He set himself the task of excavating a stick, since we kept “forgetting” to bring his ball. He failed the task, but tried most diligently.

We left Sidi Ifni at 10am, after paying 80 dirhams per night, with electricity - about £6. The very friendly owners waved us off, saying they’d see us next time. Definitely- we loved the site and the town.

Our main use for electrons is to run the aircon when we leave Flynn in Denby and the sun is beating down. Otherwise, in a country like Morocco, our solar easily generates enough power to run the fridge and freezer. Our only use for gas is to heat the van’s water (broken, so not doing that) and run the hob, mostly to boil the kettle and make coffee in the moka pot. Our heating is diesel, which I love as we always have plenty - the energy cost of heating air is minimal compared to that of moving Denby at 80 km/h. Another time, we think we’d bring fewer food staples from home (you can get almost anything here) and maybe use the space to take an electric kettle to spare the gas a bit. And perhaps something like a Remoska - it’s still winter, so the evenings are dark and colder: you don’t always want to barbecue every night, but nor do you want to burn through the gas.

Mirleft looked as though it would supply us vegetables for dinner, so we parked up in the shade and had a wander round. First impressions, that it was a very local town for local people, proved to be almost entirely wrong when we bumped into numerous tie-dyed people with blonde dreadlocks, and a café serving avocado toast. We stopped at the latter, where I had a coffee with nut milk, and toast with soft goat’s cheese, honey and thyme. Rog indulged in kofta with eggs and olives, and a mint tea. We are both now pouring the latter from a great height, like natives.

If it hadn’t been such a short run, I think we would have tried to get on the campsite at Mirleft. It sounded good - only a few vans, and a dedicated communal space for cooking and eating. One for next time.

Our actual stop for the night was Camping Takat, not far south of Agadir. If you are French, and pining for La Belle France, complete with white-stone edged bays, white-stone edged pétanque pitches, and white-stone edged sanitary block, complete with grumpy notices in French telling you what not to do, then this is the place for you. If you are British, and feel more in common with the happy, rules-swerving, get-things-done Moroccans, then not so much. not so much.

My first brush with the site was when I reported to reception (as ordered by the first of the signs, which had never heard of the phrase “s’il vous plaît”f).

I greeted the French owner in her native language and asked if she had a place for us.
“We’re full,” she replied in English.

I must have looked a little stunned at this, mouth doing the goldfish thing, because she carried on “You are British?”
“Yes,” I said. “Was my accent so bad?”

Madame did not even think it was worth expending the calories answering this, let alone cracking a smile: “I can squeeze you in on the entrance drive. Passports.”

Slightly out of options for the night, I went along with the rigorous check-in process, and paid in advance as required. I have a receipt!

Schadenfreude was mine though, when Madame asked for my vehicle reg, but couldn’t handle letters and numbers in English, and I had to switch back to French.

We managed to arrange ourselves so that we could BBQ behind the van, and after a shortish Flynn walk, and some jobs, that’s what we did.

I had been rather tetchy all day, worrying about my father, and was our pace northwards too slow. The latter especially as we’d found out last night that my brother was leaving the country on a 10 day recruitment drive to India. But then I read an email from my sister-in-law saying the doctor had said Dad was showing great improvement, and she & my brother would visit him the next day (today). Fingers crossed that this improvement continues and he can leave hospital soon!

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[makems]

We stopped at a guardian spot right on the beach at Mirleft. The flag belongs to our Kiwi friend Colin @kiwicoss

 

[Grianan]

Hope your Dad keeps making good progress. I’d always fancied Agadir … not so sure now …

 

[TerryL]

Our actual stop for the night was Camping Takat, not far south of Agadir.

We've stayed there a couple of times and agree, it is very French, but Madame was fine with us and in fact when they organised a Valentine ox roast we were made very welcome - although the sign on our table dis read "Les Anglais"! Stayed for around a week and thought it an excellent place as long as you take the French for what they are. Our only criticism is that it's miles from anywhere and if you don't have alternative transport, as most on that site did, you're stuck unless you move your van - we had to one day to get gas.

 

[Jane And Rog]

I think your sign proves my point! Agree that it was a very well run site, but also agree it was in the middle of nowhere. I think I’d try something else next time.

 

[The Boofles]

We are so loving your thread … so informative, inspiring and encouraging as we prepare for what will be our first visit to Morocco at the end of February all being well

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[Jane And Rog]

We stopped soon after leaving the site to walk Flynn in the National Park of Souss Massa. We parked up in a wide open area filled with 4x4 tracks, and had a good 5k walk among the argan trees.

Flynn got very excited about something up a tree, but when we rushed over in excitement to investigate, it turned out to be a pigeon.

At the far part of the walk we came across the gates to the inner part of the reserve (whalebone.rumpled.months) - which we could visit on foot or in a vehicle. The former meant leaving Flynn tied to in inadequate looking post in the sun, so we walked back to Denby and returned.

Our English-speaking guide hopped into Denby and I gave him my seat, and shuffled up next to Flynn on the bench seat again.

The park is massive, covering 330 sq km between ti two wadis Souss and Massa, which are important for birds. The part we were touring was fenced off as a refuge for larger animals, and three large pools are kept full of water in summer - which makes viewing easier.

We saw many ostriches. Our guide told us that the male ostriches had up to three wives. “A bit like Muslims,” I said. Luckily he found it amusing. Unlike lady Muslims, the female ostriches compete to get their own eggs in the centre of the shared nest - ones at the edge are more likely to be stolen / not hatch.

There were also herds of gazelles in the distance, but we did get a close up view an addax (white antelope) and her calf / puppy / whatever a baby antelope is.

I’d definitely recommend it - the 150 dirhams each for vehicle access is steep for Morocco but goes to a good cause. The walking tour is no doubt cheaper.

After a very late lunch (well, breakfast) outside Carrefour, we shopped and then drove over the High Atlas to Marrakech. Luckily this was on the motorway, so relaxing for me, and there were some amazing views, which I didn’t manage to photograph, and this tunnel, which I did.

We got into Le Relais de Marrakech campsite about 6pm - a long day for Rog who had got a headache from a minor cold stopping his ears equalise over the pass, and his dodgy knees were playing up.

Flynn’s habit of getting massively squeaky as the engine slows at the end of the journey does little to make campsite arrivals more relaxing. I don’t know who it was who said that dogs are zen and live in the moment. They don’t, they live in the immediate future, but they want it NOW! NOW THIS MINUTE I TELL YOU!!

Dinner was at the campsite restaurant, where the special was seffa, a dish of vermicelli, chicken, and icing sugar. Of course we both had to order it, and it was delicious! Very medieval.

 

[Jeffr3y]

I thought that's the same campsite I'm on!
Nice to meet in person enjoyed our little chat, Jeff.

 

[Tony50]

Lovely Photos, looks like you are really enjoying yourselves, but, don't want you to feel guilty , Jeremy Hunt the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has said in his Economic statement today, he wants you ( and other Retirees) back at work to help his plan to help the country improve the economy !!!
ps. I'm too old

 

[chrispenrallt]

So enjoying your wonderful posts !

 

[Jane And Rog]

Lovely Photos, looks like you are really enjoying yourselves, but, don't want you to feel guilty , Jeremy Hunt the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has said in his Economic statement today, he wants you ( and other Retirees) back at work to help his plan to help the country improve the economy !!!
ps. I'm too old

I think we’ll need to, to pay for repairs to the van! Still no water heater, the air heater is definitely not firing on all cylinders and we need to replace that air intake. And see if we can do anything about the pushfit connectors, which come apart after every drive and will give Rog an apoplexy before he gets chance to go back to work!

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[Jane And Rog]

And today the heating isn’t working at all

 

[Jane And Rog]

This morning something amazing happened. The sky stopped being bright blue, turned grey, and water fell from it. It’s been so long, we can’t remember what this is called. R something? Yes, rain, that’s it.

We’d already decided on a rest day, so got our washing done regardless of wet stuff falling from sky. It was a service wash for 60 dirhams - just hand a bin-bag over to the nice lady and call back 2 hours later.

While we were waiting, we took Flynn on a short walk to the bank to obtain more dirhams. (Our account, his are permanently overdrawn.) Everything is cash-only here, even the diesel yesterday, so ATMs are a frequent requirement. (Fuel - we think Afriquia is the brand that never takes cards, so we’ll be avoiding them in future.)

After lunch, Rog spotted another leak, and so the next few hours were given over to the anger and frustration that only push-fit connectors can engender. In the midst of this process, Allen and Jean came over to say hello - our first ever Motorhome Funsters we’ve met in the actual flesh! It was lovely to chat to them.

Clothes were retrieved from the wash, and every single stain was still in place. I got out the dry clean wash-let things and scrubbed away.

I tried twice to call my father, but the ward had lost the portable phone they use in these cases. Let’s hope they have better stock control over the medication and machines that go beep.

While I was fighting with Margate hospital, Jeff3ry from MHF popped his head around the corner, and he and Rog had a good catch-up. Funsters are like busses - once you meet one, more arrive all at once! If we don’t bump into you again, A,J & J3 - enjoy the rest of your trip!

The work continued with a dog bath for Flynn. He is, for the next 10 minutes, clean and silky.

It had been a chore-filled day, and Rog’s anger levels had been high all afternoon at those stupid push-fit connectors, so we ate out again. Beef tagine for Rog, and a beef couscous for me, the day’s special, washed down with a bottle of local red.

 

[sparky_speedy]

Thanks for your informative and interesting posts.

 

[Ralph-n-Bev]

Ralph says can you get hold of any Collet clips for your push fits ?

There’s something obviously not compatible to be coming loose all the time. He fitted them to ours , just incase.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Ralph says can you get hold of any Collet clips for your push fits ?
View attachment 710801
There’s something obviously not compatible to be coming loose all the time. He fitted them to ours , just incase.

Thanks - will mention to Rog. We’ve had these leaks since the van was new.

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