Day 12-21
12th - 21st December 2006, Morroco	previous entry next entry

Day Twelve 12/12. Camping Azilan, Chefchouan, Morroco

35°10.55'N 05°15.96'W. Miles today 88, Total Miles 1484

Having memorised the border procedure as per the Sahara Overland bible by Christ Scott, it made absolutely no difference once we got there. For a start, the road to Morocco is marked as Marraceus. No one told me that! This took my little blonde map reading brain more than a few moments to figure out. As advised, we had tried to get our white immigration papers on the ferry to speed the process at the border up a bit but alas, they didn't have any. Arriving at the frontiere, we drove into absolute mayhem. It's all very chaotic and we seemingly got ushered into a separate queue and cornered by a helper. Nothing we could do now, no escape. Anyway, he was actually very helpful. The whole process took less than an hour. You basically have to register yourself, then buy insurance for the car and then register the car. It all seems so simple now but they love to complicate things on purpose and looking back, it is exactly as the Sahara bible says it would be. Naturally, our helper demanded a tip from us and was not impressed with the measly 6 euros I offered him. After several more pointless checkpoints we were free to enter Africa. We both took a very deep breath….this was all a bit overwhelming! Such a culture shock…loads of men wondering around in hooded frocks, old Mercedes taxis, cars piled high with fridges and cheap purchases from Spain and donkeys everywhere. After changing some money, we headed for the tranquil village of Chefchaouen at the base of the Rif mountains. Camping Azilan is well signposted and at a lovely spot at the top of the hill. Wandering down the very steep hill through the medina, we went in search of a celebratory drink. No such luck….so we thought we might treat ourselves on our first night in Africa to a nice meal and hoped we would get a drink with that….no such luck, only water. But we had the most amazing tajine, couscous and mint tea in the restaurant Tissalem with a roaring fire.

Day Thirteen 13/12. Camping Azilan, Chefchouan, Morroco

35°10.55'N 05°15.96'W. Miles today 0, Total Miles 1484

Bloody roosters again! But we were also treated to the most melodic calls for prayers at 5am echoing through the Rif valley. I wonder when this starts losing it's appeal as with the roosters. Spent the morning wandering around the enchanting medina taking photos and drinking mint tea. Donkeys and Berbers everywhere. Such a beautiful place, mostly painted in cornflower blue. Amazingly, not a tourist in sight, just us. Made a braai in the evening with yummy baked potatoes from the market and the dodgy Spanish sausages, which were surprisingly nice.

Day Fourteen 14/12. Camping & Caravaning International, Moulay Bousselham, Morroco

32°42.50'N 06°17.31'W. Miles today 116, Total Miles 1600

Deciding to avoid the bandit route, we drove through miles of farmlands, more donkeys, Berbers (where are all these people going?) and olives to the lagoon at Moulay Bousselham, famous for it's bird life. Drove through several busy market towns, pushing and wading through masses of people and donkeys, goats and carts. We reached the lagoon via a very bad road, where it was better to drive on the tracks on the side. Any side. No road rules here. Just play dodge the oncoming car. Robs getting good at this aggressive driving thing. Am feeling invincible in this landrover. Would be a different story in a Fiat Panda, I guess. The lagoon was very peaceful, apart from the hordes of people "my friend, my friend, I take you in my boat to see the flamingos." Camping International has an idyllic location right on the lagoon but the loos are awful. Had a stunning walk on the huge empty beach and after wandering through the fish market, decided to buy a few things in the one horse town for dinner to boost the local economy. The result…scrambled eggs and polony for dinner. Hmmmm mmm.

Day Fifteen 15/12. Camping International de la Plage, Sale, Morroco

34°02.13'N 06°49.73'W. Miles today 90, Total Miles 1690

No wailing or roosters this morning. Just a wailing cow. Realised we have run outta beer for sundowners, so headed for Rabat, as word was there was a huge supermarket there called Marjane. Huge, it certainly was, as were the prices but not a drop of alcohol in sight. Gutted, we wandered around the medina looking for anything with a percentage on it but with no luck. Back inside the Marjane (to at least just buy some Coke and some non-alcoholic beer), Rob suddenly noticed a life-size Carlsberg bottle peering out behind a massive closed screen. On closer inspection, it was a room sectioned off with more beer than you could poke a stick at. Why was it closed? Suddenly realised it was Friday! We were laughing so much, the cashier told us they lifted the screen at 16h00. Yay….it was now 15h00 so decided to wait. Dead on 16h00, hundreds of supposedly tee totallers rushed out of the mosques and all streamed into the Marjane to buy alcohol. Quite an impressive sight actually. It was now quite late so decided to stay at the Camping de la Plage in Sale across the river. Quite a dive really.

Day Sixteen 16/12. Camping de L'Oasis, Casablanca, Morroco

33°33.98'N 07°38.74'W. Miles today 79, Total Miles 1769

Woke early and very excited as Natty, my sister, is arriving today from Cape Town to join us for 3 weeks. Drove down to Casablanca and set up camp at Camping de la Oasis, which is also very conveniently around the corner form the Mauritania consulate. Being Saturday, we have to wait here until Monday to get our visa for Mauritania, which is our next country. Had a quick scout of the town and then all piled into the "support vehicle" to fetch Natty from the airport. Wow, she looks amazing and can't believe she's here with us in North Africa. Sat up for ages chatting and opening gifts from home….biltong, magazines etc. Dad has also sent some money for us all to go out for a lavish meal in Marrakech. Fab, love you Dad!

Day Seventeen 17/12. Camping de L'Oasis, Casablanca, Morroco

33°33.98'N 07°38.74'W. Miles today 0, Total Miles 1769

Slept in late, despite being woken by very loud wailing. Man, that mosque really is close. We have gained a friend, a rather skanky looking kitty. Spent the morning doing laundry, chatting with Natty and taking advantage of the fantastic hot showers (10 dirhams) they have. Our first one since Malaga…now who are the skanky ones? This really is a fab campsite as there is a row of shops, bakeries and market stalls outside selling anything you might ever need. Even a stringy chicken or two. Bad news is, this is their last year here. They are moving to the coast. Such a pity, as it so convenient for the Mauritania consulate. Met some cool Dutch overlanders called Martin and Majorie who are travelling with their dog, Pooky to Mauritania. They are having radiator problems, so have stopped to sort it out as well as get their visas. Wondered around the enormous Hassan II mosque in the afternoon. It is the world's third largest built as a 60th birthday present for the former king. Far more impressive in real life than in photos I have seen. Got a little lost in the medina followed by some delicious mint tea and very morish Moroccan crepes in a funky restaurant called Le Squala. I really enjoy getting lost and find it fascinating as you see and experience so much more. The two Bass sisters have absolutely no worries in asking anyone for directions in our most shocking French/Spanish/Arabic. Caught a petit taxis home, which is only legally allowed to carry 3 people. They took all 4 of us but covered his taxi sign with a cloth and then nailed us for 50dirhams! Hence…it's much cheaper to take separate taxis. Early to bed, as have to get up early to get to consulate in the morning. Lots of people arriving in the campsite for this purpose. Found Skanky curled up asleep on Natty's sleeping bag!

Day Eighteen 18/12. Camping de L'Oasis, Casablanca, Morroco

33°33.98'N 07°38.74'W. Miles today 0, Total Miles 1769

Up early to beat the hordes to the consulate. Be prepared to wait hours. We were first in the queue but when they handed out the application forms (in french) it appeared that those who spoke French and could write quickly (we only had one pen…rob not impressed with me….note to self!) got in first. Turns out, the visa they issue is valid from the day they print it, so our only option was to get a 3 month one for double the price. Annoying but nothing we could do about it. Met some really cool overlanding grandparents who had been travelling to Africa for 30 years. They have the greatest double cab Landy and we enjoyed a drink with them while they gave us heaps of advice. Have decided to only get our visas for Mali in Noukchott, Mauritania, so we can head off into the mountains now. Got our visas back at 4pm as promised. No hassles, no waiting. Natty had treated herself to a hamman (Turkish bath type thing where they scrub you to death) Amazing, she said…all squeaky clean. Chilled out in the evening, as last night with Skanky. He's looking heaps better already. Contemplating sneaking him into the landy. Had nasty tuna pasta for dinner. Needless to say, Skanks loved it.

Day Nineteen 19/12. Camping International d'Agdal, Meknes, Morroco

33°52.89'N 05°33.39'W. Miles today 154, Total Miles 1923

Had a very expensive day as headed for the Marjane to stock up and had to fill up with fuel. Can't believe how expensive food is here. Sneaked in one last Macdonalds burger for breakfast on the run and headed for the imperial city of Meknes. This has to be our last city before Marrakech as we are getting a little tired of them. Spent ages trying to find the campsite as the GPS way point was suggesting it was right in the middle of the medina, which my little blonde map reading brain struggling from lack of iron as no sausages, said it can't be. Well, it is! Doh! Quite a nice place actually. Nats and I headed in to the very hectic bustling souqs in search of warmer clothes for her. Poor girl is freezing. This is not like the Africa she knows. The medina was the busiest I have ever seen. Great fun though, had a refreshing mint tea in the main square and caught a taxi back and coaxed the guys into making a fire to keep warm. Half a Eucalyptus tree later, we were enjoying yummy turkey kebabs and couscous. Natty is seriously wearing all her clothes plus hot water bottle!

Day Twenty 20/12. Camping Timnay, Midelt, Morroco

32°45.11'N 04°55.16'W. Miles today 124, Total Miles 2047

Michael has decided he doesn't want to risk taking his campervan over the mountains (due to dodgy overheating problem still reoccurring) so we have decided to split and meet up in a week or so in Agadir. Natty and I headed back into the medina for more warm clothes shopping. After much bartering, she has bought a jellaba (the infamous hooded frock) and some very unattractive fleece leggings. We had a great laugh in the food market. The stench was overpowering, cow heads with the brains dug out and tongues hanging out, halved and whole sheep heads and goat heads, live chickens screeching before being killed and chameleons. The Moroccans believe that if they have been cursed, they should take a chameleon and throw it into the fire and walk around it 3 times. If it bursts, your curse is gone….if it melts, you're still stuck with the curse. Nice! But there is also a super veg market and the most delicious handmade biscuits, sweets and chocolates. Tried to find the famous camel butcher so we could get some meatballs but we got lost (yay, fascinating journey) so settled for some unidentified meat sandwiches. I lost my cool here as they charged us 140 dirhams for 4 sandwiches. I argued 'til I was blue and in the end just threw 100 dirhams at him and stormed off. Just to put things into perspective…..we paid 15 dirhams for a meat sandwich double the size in Chefchaoaun. Anyway, rushed back to the campsite to find Rob had decked Dino out in his Christmas tinsel and had geared the car up for taking three people. Packed to the brim, we headed off for the Atlas Mountains. Amazing scenery, snow amidst barren rocks and mountains dotted with wild dogs and donkeys. Awesome. Stopped for the night just at the foothills of the High Atlas near the town of Midelt at Camping Timnay. Geeshterday, it is cold here. Couldn't face camping, or rather couldn't face telling Natty she would have to camp here in these temperatures so bargained down a price for bungalow for us all to share. Oh my word, heating, flush loo and hot shower….all for less than 8 euros each. Worth every penny. Whipped up a quick Thai turkey curry. (what's with all the turkey you may ask…just getting in the Christmas spirit….actually it was on special at the Marjane!) As I write this, Natty is still wearing all her clothes plus jellaba and snoring away….warm as toast. Off over the mountains tomorrow and into the Erg Chebbi dunes and the dessert.

Day Twenty One 21/12. Kasbar Tombouctou, Merzuga, Morroco

31°07.64'N 04°00.94'W. Miles today 187, Total Miles 2234

After a very snug night, we drove on south to Merzouga through valleys, gorges, palm groves and earth coloured kasbahs. Just the Morocco we had always imagined. Stopped in the tiny village of Rich for a scrummy egg and curry potato sandwich made lovingly by a street vendor who desperately wanted a photo of us. We have his address (in Arabic!) so will post it to him. We drove onto Hassi Labied and stopped at the Kasbah Tomboktou recommended by a Berber along the way. Wow, it was let's just say….opulent. " How much to camp here?" we asked apprehensively. "Welcome, my friend" was the reply "We have no price for camping, you just pay what you want" Whoa, we just had to take up this offer purely for the sake of curiosity. If it was a scam, then at least we could warn other travellers. By no means, is this a scam at all. You camp right at the foot of the Dunes, near the camels. The loos and showers are exquisite, 5 star, super clean with huge hot free showers, loo paper, flushing loos….just a stunning place really. The restaurant is pricey though but you don't have to eat there, although we couldn't resist the smell of the tagines wafting through the place all day. So good, we stayed 2 nights and gave a donation of 50dh. Natty stayed in one of their Berber tents. So beautiful….and warm and adorned with lanterns, rugs and a short walk to the infinity pool. I know….stunning. Off to drive on the desert pistes for Christmas.

Day 12-21

12th - 21st December 2006, Morroco