Ans a couple of pictures from the campsite called Camping Zerhoune Belle Vue. Details should be on the Stopover section.

Has anybody any info as to taking a dog to Morocco and any problems coming back into Spain. Have heard that a certificate from a spanish vet might be useful?

[attachment:1]20131123_101335.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment:2]20131123_102448.jpg[/attachment]
A couple of photos from the Roman Site(not camping)at Volubilis.

Keith,

Your attachments can't be viewed unfortunately.

Regards,

Jock.

We're in Fes now. Staying at Camping International, details should be on the Stopover database. Cost is 110Dirhams, about £8.46 for motorhome, 2 persons and electricity. Yesterday we had a tour arranged for us by the campsite. It lasted from 9.30am to 4.30pm and we had a minibus and driver as well as a tour guide. Cost was 70 Dirhams per person (£5.40), very good value. Today 7 of us took petit taxis to the medina (20 dirhams -£1.55 per taxi) and followed the directions in the Rough Guide and walked from Bab Boujeloud in the west of the medina downhill to Bab er R'cif in the east. The whole route is signposted and there are helpful posters in English outside the major sights. We were offered a lift back to the campsite by an old man in a Suzuki microvan - what a laugh!

A few more shots of our journey.
A couple of views of the Roman ruins at Volubilis, the largest site in Africa.
















Then some shots of the Chouwa Tanneries inside the Medina and some of the members on the balcony above the tanning pools.

First day of decent sunshine was on the day of our guide tour into the Medina.

Inside the alleys of the Medina can be very narrow.

It's all looking very interesting...........as well as very appealing.

Thanks for the photos and updates Elspeth :thumbs: and Norman.:thumbs:

Cheers,

Jock & Rita.

Forgot the photo of Fes campsite from my earlier post.

No at Azrou, staying at Euro Camping (already on the stopover database. Lovely campsite with all the amenities you could wish for. Yesterday was market day and it was very interesting to explore. In the evening we had a get together in the sites own Berber tent.

It's those ex-BR boots that give it away.

A few pictures from the unfinished hotel complex that the Euro Campings site is part of. You can just see some of the vans in the first one.

All looking good - and some blue skies appearing!

Just a couple of pictures of some of the old fossils they mine from the rocks round here. A before and After20131202_133152.jpg[/attachment]

Have a great trip. Very interested to read all about it I see someone has a dog. Was that easy to organize?

28 November saw us at Midelt, in a high valley between the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas. Stayed at the Municipal Campsite – see database. We all (12) went out for dinner at the Atlas restaurant in a family run pension. We filled the room. Dinner was delicious and was livened up by the police who arrived to tell the patron that we should not be drinking alcohol on her premises as she did not have a licence. The wine bottles were swiftly moved to under the tables. The ladies of the group visited the local convent where the franciscan nuns teach embroidery and weaving
to the local women.

Next stop was Source Bleu De Meski, see database which was bargain at 40 Dirhams (£3.07) all in. The sun shone and washing was done. We have 3 birthdays all within days of each other, Traveller HA53DOM and SilverF1 and his wife Liz so that evening we headed to the local restaurant for a slap up meal and a group of local musicians.

Now in the desert proper camped at the base of the dunes, all achieved using tarmac roads. We are now spending our sixth night here and leave tomorrow. We have all enjoyed a 4x4 trip into the desert and some chose a camel ride to see the sunset from the top of the dunes.

Homeward Bound

One more from last night's sunset.

Thanks Elspeth and Keith, for the photos and updates.

It really is great to be able to follow the big adventure.

Rita and I wish everyone all the best, and hope that the weather continues to be kind to you all.

Cheers for now,

Jock & Rita.

P.S. Sue & Alan, Steve & Jo, Keith & Pauline, I look forward to sampling a Moroccan "real ale" when we next meet up.
Jock. :thumbs:

This is great reading and viewing. I'm thinking of Morocco. Probably being an old fuddy duddy, Is htere a supply of safe drinking water or do you have to use bottles?

Elspeth, descending the dune we had all been sat on.

Some pictures from inside the Todra Gorge.

Pretty spectacular scenery - glad its going well :thumbs:

This is great reading and viewing. I'm thinking of Morocco. Probably being an old fuddy duddy, Is htere a supply of safe drinking water or do you have to use bottles?

We have a General Ecology filter fitted but the rest of the group are buying bottled water at about 77 pence per 5 litre bottle.

Great photo's, Thanks.

Great photo's, Thanks.

Yep, the same from me. Smashing piccies.

Stay safe. :thumbs:

Jock.

Looks like youre all having a fab time, we hope to be there by February, how long are you all staying for.
Pat

Looks like youre all having a fab time, we hope to be there by February, how long are you all staying for.
Pat

Most are leaving towards the end of January but we may stay on for a wee bit more sunshine. What route are you taking in Morocco?

Hi,
We dont know just yet, it does depend on timings.
But we will probably just head south then go inland, we have done morroco before, but this time we want to test the truck out. We are at a meet in Spain in March so wont give us much time, maybe just a month, instead of the three we had planned.

will post when we know timings.

Have a great time all
Pat

Hi Pat4 Neil
Nice to hear from you. As Elspeth says we are leaving 26th Jan so unfortunately will miss you. We are having an absolute fantastic time under Elspeth's guidance and are looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us next.

If you have not done the Todra Gorge then you must as it is not to be missed.

Safe travels
Steve & Jo

Hi Steve and Jo

Yes we did the todra gorge it was great, we might even be able to go over the top this time, but the road was washed away when we were there last time, loved it though.

I saw the pictures of you all in the desert.

Glad you have a good tour leader there.

Sorry to miss you, but just dont think we are going to be ready, its a shame as we know about 50 people at least in morocco this year.

Stay safe and enjoy

Great drive today through the mountains to Agdz and shown all round the Kasbah by the owner.

Great drive today through the mountains to Agdz and shown all round the Kasbah by the owner.

Hi Folks.
Cadd246 here thank you for a great blog its a wonerfull trip iwould love to be there with you do you have a guide on your trip its great to be in good weather this time of year
regards tom

Great posts and photos - continue having a great time :thumbs:

At "52 Days to Timbuktu" sign in Zagora


Early morning on a roof terrace admiring the view of the old Ait Benhaddou kasbah, used as a backdrop for some well known films.


Part of the winding road down from the Tizi 'n Tichka pass in the High Atlas, toward Marrakech.


Looking back at the High Atlas mountains.

Some stunning scenery, glad you're having a great experience - keep the reports and photos coming......

Sorry for the long delay in more route details. As you will have seen from posts we left the desert and headed to the Todra Gorge where we spent the night at Tamtatouchte at about 7000 feet (campsite review to follow). We stayed in the grounds of an auberge where some of us had an evening meal of Goat Tajine whilst dressed in local rugs beside an open fire.

The following day we made our way to Ouarzazate where we stayed at the Municipal Campsite before heading down to Agdz. The night was spent at a Kasbah undergoing renovation. It is owned by a French/Moroccan couple and Gail does a wonderfully detailed tour of the Kasbah and grounds.

Then it was on to Zagora and the famous 52 days to Timbuctou sign. We spent 4 days at the Jadins de Zagora campsite - review to follow.

After that it was back up the Draa valley, past Ouarzazate to Ait Benhaddou, a medieval village on a hillside which has appeared in many films. We spent the night in the grounds of a hotel next to the village entrance which was handy for the early morning walkers.

Marrakech was our next destination which involved a spectacular drive over the Tizi-n-Tchka pass (i hope someone will come along and post photos as I have none).

We are now on the coast at Essaouira where we are spending Christmas.

Photos hopefully.

Thanks for the update and photos Elspeth. :thumbs:

Merry Christmas to you all, and continued safe travels.

Jock & Rita.

Thanks for the update, and have a good Christmas - what's left of it.

Tizi 'n Tichka Pass


The road below i in the distance and note the snow poles.


The coach , on it's way down, passed the last of us going into a blind left-hand bend and lurched ominously. The car is on it's way up.


The road weaves below us and eventually passes the trees in the distance, below.


Another view of the coach a little later on full magnification.


A view through the windscreen of the vans in front and again the road below.

There are various places where it's clear that vehicles have gone over the edge. Definitely need your brakes and pads to be in good order for the run down from the pass. Low gears essential.

Thank you.
For your wonderfull pics and travel story Iam sitting here in Ireland in a terrible storm saying to my self why am Ihere when Icould be enjoying my self you all are doing good for you make it last as long as possible regards tom alias cadd246

This is better than The Archers! Following your travels with great interest as we are thinking of going to Morocco in February. I see someone has thaken their pet and am interested to know hoe to go about this. We have a Pet Passport fot the EU but can't find any info on entry into Morocco. Also have you used toll roads and if so what sort of cost are they.
Many thanks for for all the pics.
Happy new Year.

I can't help on the dogs front but I'll ask Chris to post info on her dog.

For tolls, there is a calculator here http://www.adm.co.ma/Preparez-votre-voyage/Pages/Tarifs.aspx

It is in french but fairly easy to use. Basically, it seems to equate to 2km for 1 Dirham, which is about 26Km for a pound. We have used the motorway but I didn't keep a note of the distance.

We are now at Taghazoute, camped on the beach with a large number of other vans. We (1 van) were here last year and there were only about 15 vans parked right down on the beach. This year they have cleared the scrub land above the beach and put in bins and an emptying point and are charging 20 dirhams a night (about £1.50). I will post photos tomorrow when I have taken some.

Thanks for that info. Trying to gather as much info as poss. as to costs, ease of crossing/travel, where to stop. A great deal info on the web is quite dated so it is good to here from you guys who are there at the moment. What's the weather like?
Look forward to seeing the pics.

Here are a few pictures of the camping at the beach at Taghazout. Will take some more of the beach and the village when we head out tomorrow.

Men at work!!







Can you tell which sand protector is home made and which is custom made?

View from Taghazout beach 08.00 this morning.
Happy New year to all
Steve & Jo

Happy New Year to you too Steve & Jo - also to the rest of the intrepid travellers :thumbs:

You pictures have been great!

Over a month into the trip now so how's it all going, everyone enjoying it? Certainly looks to be a trip to remember.

Happy New Year. A few more photos of Taghazoute.



Taghazoute is known as a surfing spot!



The view of Taghazoute from the beach below the vans.



View from the van roof.

View of camping area from cafe terrace.

Well. these pics have certainly cheered me up. It's pouring with rain again here in the UK. Look's like you have good weather, hope it's as good in February.

I gather you are going to Morocco February.
We are looking to go end Jan begining Feb,no set date, but as a newbie wouldn't mind teaming up with someone for the first few days

Left the group in Tiznet and heading back towards home. Big thank you to Elspeth and Ian for their efforts to share their knowledge of Morocco with us and to the others for their friendship throughout the trip.
Stopovers are now twice as full as when we first came and wave after wave of motorhomers traveling south. Our garage and all available nooks and crannies in the van are full of Moroccan stuff, we will just need to fit it all in the house when we get home.

We left Taghazoute Beach and headed inland, up in the hills, southeast of Agadit to Tafraoute. The road was very interesting, just over one vehicle wide. If you met something coming the other way you both had to move over and put one set of wheels on to the gravel at the edge, very disconcerting when there was a sheer drop and little if no crash barrier. Luckily we didn’t meet too much traffic. The drive was worth it though for the views during and at Tafraoute. The campsite, Les Trois Palmiers has one of the best views I have seen from washing up sinks!

A view to wash up to


rock carvings



coffee stop on hike to see rock carvings

Sorry for the lost photo off the last post, it's the internet here!




Coffee stop on trek to see rock paintings

The road to Tiznit, although exciting in places, for me was not as interesting or as scenic as the road from Agadir. At Tiznit Traveller_HA53DOM left to head north and ultimately home and the rest of us continued to our campsite. Unfortunately Camping Municipal just outside the old town walls was full so we headed to Camping Riad Aslaff. This campsite is situated on the outskirts of town and although petit taxis are plentiful in town to return you to the site, there are not many passing the site itself to hail for the journey inwards. Although we did not walk it, it was felt that it would be a 45 minute walk to town.

Whilst at Tiznit the forecast winds arrived and we were glad of some protection from the campsite walls.

From Tiznit we headed to Abaynou where there are thermal baths. There are separate baths for men and women and a mixed bathing session takes place in the Mens baths in the evening. None of the men were brave enough for the rustic conditions but four of us ladies took a dip, 38 degrees C and a lovely shade of green. The water is constantly replenished though with fresh coming from a grate on the bottom and the overflow draining away. Mind you we all took a shower in our vans afterwards.

We stayed at the camping outside the mens baths in a walled compound which we were glad off because of the wind.

The following day the wind had abated and we set off for our wild campings pot at Cap Draa at the mouth of the river of the same name. It was a lovely spot on the headland with greg views and fine walking along the beach.

Evening visitors

Thanks Elspeth, for all the photos and updates.

It looks very exciting, and helps to make it appealing to those of us, whom wouldn't normally venture that far. :thumbs:

Safe travels to you all continuing the journey, and to Pauline & Keith who are now heading their way back home. :thumbs:

Cheers for now,

Jock & Rita.

A few more views of our travels.



Liz and Sue sat in the sun overlooking the estuary of the river at Cap Draa.



Camels on the roundabout, entering Tan Tan.



Sunset at Camping Oasis, Ait Bekkou, Tighmert


[attachment:.1]P1130675 (1024x768).jpg[/attachment]
In the oasis, Ait Bekkou

AlanandSue, with Dreammobil in front, crossing the bridge on the road to Sidi Ifni.



Overlooking the beach and El barco campsite from Sidi Ifni. We're on Camping Solymar, out of sight.



Shopping in Sidi Ifni market. Note, we've just had a shower of rain.

So just an update. After Cap Draa we headed to Tantan Plage, also known as El Outia, the furthest south we were going to go, but almost opposite the Canaries. The weather was pleasant if a little overcast. Then it was northwards again stopping at a lovely little site at Ait Bakkou, Camping l'Oasis near Tighmert. The owner Hassan is a lovely man who entertained us over sups of moroccan mint tea. He is quite a character and his site is well worth a visit. The weather was so nice and the village so quiet and peaceful that we extended our stay here by a day. Then it was on to Sidi Ifni back on the coast. Unfortunately our stay here was cut short due to my having a tooth abscess and finding the a dentist in Agadir who could see me the same day. Unfortunately the campsite in Agadir, Camping International was full so plans were made to return to the beach at Taghazoute. By the time I arrived at the beach after the dentist it was raining and I made the decision to head up to the town in the van to collect the prescription for antibiotics. However I had not anticipated the deluge and while parked up there were landslides in front and behind us, marooning us until the diggers arrived. A small amount of space was cleared enabling one vehicle to pass the landslide at a time; one of the first vehicles to try passing went too close to the edge of the road and slid about 10 feet down the embankment on a sea of mud! The digger was called back and about 2 dozen people shouted at him how to do his job. By this time Zoro (Steve & Jo) had waded out from the site to see what was keeping us. Then we were waved forward by the police and inched our way round the mud and boulders and past all the vehicles parked on the other side and slowly, slowly made our way back to the beach camping. Interesting stuff. We ventured in to the village/town yesterday to see the damage and it was heartbreaking to see people piling their possessions outside their houses, all covered in mud.



Digger clearing the landslide





The road the following day

No roads in Ait Bakkou oasis, just well worn tracks




growing food for the animals




the goats are kept in enclosures so they can feed only as much as the villagers have

washing drying in the oasis

the campsite




a few hundred feet on packed earth from the tarmac

Sunset at Sidi Ifni, note the campsite is rather full

As Elspeth is staying on in Agadir and we head north, we'd just like to say a big thank you and Ian for the planning, the variety of places we've been guided to, all the advice, help and friendship received. It's been a delight.

Thank You.

And Ian and I should say a big thank you to our fellow travellers, SilverF1, TravelsRus, AlanandSue, Zoro and TravellerHA53DOM for their company, kindness, toilet rolls, gin etc etc. It would not have been the same without you.

Currently on Camping International in Agadir and it is so jam packed that it makes Sidi Ifni look spacious! Leaving tomorrow for a bit more peace and quiet just south of Agadir.




The last supper - not quite the same without TravellerHA53DOM




The last taxi ride - where would we have put Pauline!

Well, three vans left Morocco, Thursday 23rd January, after a wet night a Moulay Bosselham. Looked very nice in the morning sun. We finished as we started, with a meal at the Indian restaurant in la Linea on Friday night.

Zoro and AlanandSue left Saturday morning for the trek back to Calais. We stayed on so we could do the minbus tour of the Rock, which the others had done before we left for Morocco in November. We also have more time to wend our way back north.

Couple of things to note about our exit. TomTom took us past the entry roundabout to the next one to the Gare Maritim. We returned to the first roundabout, sign with a picture of a boat and indicating Automobile access in English. Met the touts and got our boarding passes from the offices directly in front of the parking area and opposite the change booths.

The yellow forms from Carlos for exit are acceptable and there are four checks and a scan before boarding. The long drive through takes you past the Gare Maritim. You have to exit the van before scanning takes place, 3/4 vehicles at a time.

The ferry times on your tickets are Spanish time, not Morocco time! There are also extra boats running.

The exit was really smooth. Entry to Algeciras was chaotic and very, very slow. The Spanish authorities made the Moroccans look slick. We were first off and took twenty minutes to exit. Zoro and AlanandSue last off. We waited outside the port for twenty minutes for them, on the exit road. Spanish police then ordered us to move. We eventually met up at Lidl, on the way to La Linea.

Lastly, the water at the La Linea wildcamping place has been switched off. You can only empty your waste in the drain. About 40 vans here last night and tonight. Weather currently similar to Taghazout beach.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the splendid pictures and tales of your tour. It has brightened up these past few miserable weeks in the UK. All your comments on Morocco have been positive (unlike some of the things one reads on the internet). This has spurned us on in our plans to go to Morocco in March. I guess the sites will be a little busier but we should hopefully have some good weather. We are trying to sort out travel arrangements for our cat into/out of Morocco at the moment. Can anyone give me an idea of the ferry cost from Algeciras to Tanger Med and if the ferry can take a motorhome 3.25m high. Once again thank you so much for sharing your journey with us.

Thank you for your kind words.

We paid €200 for an open return. Our heights were not taken by the agent and we were loaded with the lorries.

March should be quieter on the coastal campsites because the long term overwintering French tend to have headed back by then. Inland there is much less motorhome traffic at all times.

Looking at Sky and coats weather looks much the same as here,but being here, but it must be a far better feeling than stuck in UK.Looked forward to more reports and seeing the sunshine ,enjoy.

Should be being there .

Glad to hear that you all made it safely. :thumbs:
A big hello from Rita and I, to all that know us, (just about everyone on the tour. :laugh: )

Enjoy yourselves, and stay safe. Looking forward to more piccies.

Have a great time everyone,

Jock & Rita.

Tonight we are at Moulay Idriss at a lovely campsite set in olive groves. Nice and handy for the roman ruins at Voloubilis tomorrow. N 34.01527 W5.56238.

They have a lovely covered terrace overlooking the (empty) pool which is ideal for a get together in the rain (still warm though!).

sorry forgot to mention the price for motorhome, 2 persons and electricity is 90 dirhams, about £6.90.

Glad to see that you all met up and got underway safely

I'm sure (hope) that sky gets bluer as you progress and look forward to reading of your adventures.

Keep the pictures coming (and the stopover details ) :thumbs:

[attachment:1]20131123_101335.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment:2]20131123_102448.jpg[/attachment]
A couple of photos from the Roman Site(not camping)at Volubilis.