2015 Morocco

The morning started well when I read our power input from the solar panels. It was reading over 5 amps before 9am and the sun was just coming up. We must have been successful with the change of regulator yesterday. Hoorah!!

Leisurely breakfast followed by sitting around with the others until just after noon when we wandered down to town for some shopping and lunch. We eat in the ‘transport cafe’ as Lynne, one of our fellow FUNsters, calls the place. Last year coaches and lorries were parked in close proximity whereas this year they are a little further down the road.

The walk back from town was tiring for us both and we needed to sit once back at the vans. On arrival we were greeted by the FUNsters that had arrived in the afternoon.  These included Simon & Margaret, Dave, Sue and Martin & Susan. More drinks and banter was shared and the session that started with Darren, Lynne, Phillip & Mena hadn’t stopped and continued. Checked our batteries…. fully charged. Hoorah Hoorah.

When the sun went down everyone started to retire to their vans as the temperature dropped and the wind was biting. Susan asked if I could get her MIFI working. It was still unlocked and no-one was able to work out how to use the unlock code that had purchased. The unlocking was simple but the adding the APN settings was a little more challenging but after a while I did get it working. Each Internet device is different and the interface needs a little working out.

We had already decided to move on earlier in the work and now the day has come it looks like we are leaving because the others have arrived and more expected over the next couple of days. This indeed is not the case but we are looking forward to the next part of our adventure ….

After a restless night trying to work out what we should do about our solar regulator sods law came into action this morning. After breakfast our neighbours, a German couple, started to pull off site but then almost immediately returned followed by a white van….. the same guys who had fitted our regulator and solar panel at Taghazout. How strange is that. I took a wonder over and he immediately recognised me. He was fitting a panel to the germans van. We would be visited after to see if he could diagnose our problems.

We had planned to go into town and have lunch but sadly we now have to wait for the solar guy. Terry & Brenda went on without us and we agreed to meet in town around 1pm. Sadly our visit didn’t start until around this time and by then Terry & Brenda had walked back.

After much explanation he could not see that he was measuring the output of the good panel not the faulty regulator (in my opinion) but eventually after around an hour or so fitted a new type of regulator which I felt much happier with. Still not sure if he has fixed the issue but I have concluded that we will need the whole installation checked out in the UK anyway.

Our visit to town was aborted and we sat out in the afternoon heat and sun. Lovely. Mid afternoon we were joined by the german couple, Robert and Lisa who hail from Ulm. Darren, Lynne, Phillip and Mena also joined our little group and we enjoyed the conversation.

We have agreed that the town visit will take place tomorrow and we will leave Tafraoute on Friday and hope to get to Tata. Hopefully we will be on electric hookup and we will be able to takle our mound of washing. Another couple on the forum posted how they had to retire inside this afternoon due to the heat whilst they were parked up at Tata. Bring it on is what I say.

Better start today. Decided that we would leave the washing until we next get on a commercial site which will probably be at Tata. Our morning was spent sitting outside in the sunshine drinking tea and chatting. We had a good laugh watching Phillip do his washing with a sink plunger.

Our batteries were around 65 amps down on fully charged and we were only charging at the rate of 4-5 amps so something had to be wrong as we have about 280 watts of solar power. Decided that after lunch we would test if one of the panels was working by placing a blanket over them in turn. Well it turned out that indeed one panel… the rotating panel made no difference to the charging rate. Well after some investigation by Terry it was deduced that the regulator that we had replaced was not giving any output. Therefore we are working on only half power. Might need to see if it can replaced her but I think that when we get back to the UK we will have a new MPPT regulator fitted that will charge both the leisure and engine batteries. That way we will not get a flat battery whilst the vehicle is stood outside of the flat at home.

Listened to the AFCB top of the table clash with Derby and I have to say it was good that we did not lose as it was a 2-2 draw. Now currently second in the table.

We had decided to move on tomorrow but it looks like another day here as there is a big souk on in town tomorrow. Lets hope it is as sunny as today.

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.

Another relaxing day of doing not alot. I was disappointed yesterday that the doughnut man was not in town like he was last year. I was looking forward to eating our doughnuts at the cafe opposite but it was nothing like last year.

The weather today was hazy but still warm as the wind had dropped. However there was not the sunshine like yesterday so our battery bank was not full as the sun went down. It looks like we might have to move the carpet so that the rotating solar panel can be deployed properly tomorrow. A job for tomorrow.

This evening we have decided to walk down to the town for some basic shopping essentials and maybe have a lunch.

Brenda had made an ‘appointment’ with Tina to have her her done at noon. Just before this Tina tidied Lyne’s haircut she had recently had done. The photo today is Tina cutting Brenda’s hair. Even whilst wild camping we must keep up appearances !!

as it cold last night!!… when the sun went down so did the temperatures.

I awoke at 7:15am and decided to update this site. The van was freezing. We later found out that the kitchen window was left partially open over night. At around 8am I was so cold I decided to go back to bed… most unusual for me. In the UK I probably would have put the heating on but we need to conserve our gas as there are extremely limited opportunities for refilling our bottles. It was 9am when we both finally decided to leave our bed.

It soon warmed up on the sunny side of the van. I tried putting our solar panel up but since the last time we used it (we have been on electric more recently) I have had 2 of our 3 mats strapped to the roof bars. It transpires that the mat was now stopping the panel from rotating so I quickly lowered the panel for fear that I would burn out the motor. Luckily the batteries were fully charged by early afternoon otherwise I would need to find an alternative arrangement for storing the mat.

Around late morning we strolled slowly down to the town. We both bought some shoes. Mine were similar to those I bought last year and wore them constantly throughout the year…. they are so comfortable. Tina bought a similar pair but in a ladies style. £7 each pair …. what a bargain. We also bought an electric coffee grinder which cost around £10. It was fun trying to explain with very limited french what we wanter to buy.

We had some coffee at a cafe and paid the extortonate amount of 24 dirhams (around £1.80) for 4 cafe au lait. It just shows how we get ripped off in Europe.

The afternoon saw me trying to listen to the AFCB commentary but the internet speed was slow to stop consequently I missed at least two goals whilst waiting for the computer to catch up. It was frustrating.

As the sun went down the temperatures plummeted and it became bitter with the cold wind. Irrespective we love it here and will probably stay a few days longer. Lots of space, good company and the dogs have room to run around. If only it would get warmer at night but we can’t have everything.

We didn’t have to far to travel today so we had a leisurely start. We left the site at around 11am and drove the 6km into Tiznit where we filled with diesel. We have around 100km to drive to Tafraoute.

The scenery was stunning and the roads were just as bad as I remember them from last year. When a vehicle approached, especially and lorries or buses, we slowed right down and moved over thus ensuring that we did not have a repair bill for a replacement wing mirror unlike Ron who had hit someone a few days earlier.

Just before the town we were looking for the turn off for the painted rocks. After one aborted attempt to find the place we did eventually find it 7km before the town. It was as disappointing as last year.

We were soon driving through the town and onto our parking area finding Phillip & Mena who had arrived a few days earlier. We are now formed up on three sides of a rectangle with the sun hopefully with us most of the day. It was very pleasant sitting out with them but as the sun dropped in the sky it soon got quite chilly. Phillip said that this morning he had a few icicles on his van formed during the night. I think that we will have to wrap up tonight. Still the day time will make up for it.

The site here seems to have fewer vans than last year but the location is as stunning as ever. Hopefully we will keep the sun longer and it stays warm. Tomorrow we will have to go and explore the town and hopefully get some more fresh doughnuts if the guy still does them this year.

Sat with Phillip this evening and tried watching the Wales v England 6 Nations Rugby match but gave up with video and just had the audio. The internet speed meant that we were only able to see a minute or so before more buffering. At least we won on Welsh soil.

Phillip, who has been taking some stunning photos, is featured in my image for tonight.

Today was a day of relaxation and recuperation. No chores today in fact very little happened other than deciding where we are going tomorrow.

After consulting the weather forecasts it was Tafraoute and then perhaps on to Tata which is the only place with decent weather in the next 10 days. It has got decidedly chilly her today… I even had to put a hoodie on to keep warm. Not want we have come to expect.

Leaving early (for us) at about 11pm tomorrow.

Today we decided that we would catch up on everything…. first our sleep. We got up later than usual after the early start of yesterday. Leisurely breakfast and then our next chores. Washing.

I dragged out the machine from the depths of the garage and started to fill it with the hot water we had from the electric water heater on the van. We are no where near a tap so I had to walk 10 litres of water from the toilet block at a time. First to fill the machine and then for rinsing the clothes in the spinner. The van also needed toping up as we are likely to be here for three nights.

Whilst I had the machine out I took the opportunity to consolidate the crates to make some space for the spare winter clothes Tina had brought. I am sure that she has left nothing at home because it seems to be all here. The winter clothes alone filled one crate. I now have two of the crates originally filled with food from England filled with clothes and beer. We have equally made use of this space !!!

We also made use of the water and electric by having showers and Tina cut my beard and hair. The locals have been calling me Alibaba. Its the same name as last year… not sure how they were told…. ha ha. I shall have to have a word with this character.

Tina and I had a siesta in the afternoon after the exertions of the morning.

Well we were up bright and early because the rumours about closing the wild camping at Taghazout were evidently true. Vans were leaving during the evening last night and early this morning. Some of our band of FUNsters left around 6am. I was up then but it was still dark.

We left the site around 8am and made our way to Mustafa at the garage where we had to exchange the borrowed quilt for our newly laundered duvet. It cost about £1.50. I also asked him to strap our extra mats on to the roof bars of the van. The remaining matt was folded and put in the van garage and therefore we have nothing now on the towbar….  much better.

Once completed we made our way to meet Terry & Brenda at the Marjane supermarket where we bought some basic essentials. We met them in the shop and were soon on our way again south towards Tiznit.

Our destination was a campsite we stayed at last year called Camping Tazerzite which is just 6km south of the town. Surprisingly the site was only about 50% full. However throughout the afternoon there has been a steady stream of vans arriving.. mainly french.

The forum discussion has mixed opinions as to whether the wild camping will start again. I have to say I feel that as there is now a fence around the site (new for 2015) it is most likely that the development of the site will start…. No more Wild Camping.

The weather today was hot on the way down but not quite so warm once we got here. A couple of days chilling is now called for. Catch up with laundry perhaps and clean the van of the sand before we venture east to Tafraout. I learnt that the Almond Blossom Festival was on 6 – 7th March. This means we will miss it once again as we need to be crossing back into Spain around that time if we are to get back for Baylee’s christening.