Day 39 – Tafraoute

The morning started cold and quite hazy and overcast. There was quite a lot of cloud. I made a decision that we really needed to get all of the solar panels back working to their fullest extent so the carpets strapped to the roof bars needed to be moved.

After breakfast the clouds started to get burned off and the temperatures climbed. Terry climbed onto the roof through the central skylight and released the mats. One mat was obscuring about 12 cells of the 180W panel and the other was stopping the other panel from rotating. Everything was now ready to go. I was getting 5amps going into the batteries. Success!!

Next I emptied out the garage, folded the mats and stored them under the false floor. There they will stay until we get home. At least I won’t have to concern myself about them again. Everything packed back in which included a crate full of Tina’s winter clothes. Why we bring the amount of clothes I really not sure. If we venture here again next year we will have to be a little more ruthless about the amount we carry.

We took a leisurely stroll down to the town and decided to have a meal. The place we had chosen already had Phillip and Mena sat eating their meal so we joined them. Chicken and chips together with freshly squeezed orange juice all round. It was accompanied with bread and sauces. All this for less than £4 per head. The food was very agreeable.

A wander around the market stalls for fresh vegetables and fruit and we set off back to the van. The temperature in the main square was reading 27°C. When we got back we were tired so we both had a siesta. Not something I normally do but felt better for the rest.

Sun has gone down and so has the temperatures. The panels have put back around 30-40 amps today and hopefully we will be fully charged tomorrow. However, Tina has a plan that might scupper this …. Washing day. Our washing machine takes a lot of power and water. But we will be able to get the panels into action early morning.