2024 Morocco

When I retired to bed last night I discovered a large wet patch on the Duvalay bed covers that I use. It seems that the water bottle we carry with us when we take Tucker with us on the scooter etc had tipped over and released its contents. I spent the night wearing my Jalaba which is like a blanket head to foot clothing however it doesn’t keep your feet warm as I found out.

We spent the day trying to get the quilt, sheet covers and the foam mattress dry before we went to bed today.

We had planned to move on today but this was postponed until tomorrow. I spent sometime filling the water tank with my Colapz watering can in readiness for departure in the morning.

We didn’t do a lot else other than read and play some games on the tablets.

Another day of doing not a lot.

Tina was invited to coffee at the cafe just outside of the entrance with one of the Brits we have got chatting to. She cane back with a few items from the shop which included cake that will last us 2 days.

We both read our books and I finished the fifth book in the William Warwick series. I have read more books on this holiday than I ever have before. Tina tends to read short stories about victorian characters often children made good.

I( watched YouTube again when Tina retired to bed. We heard that Tina’s auntie has passed away and her brother in law has had a heart attack. We are awaiting an update on his condition.

The photo is Tina relaxing.

Free and easy day today. Late start as we are in no rush. Tina went up the shop and got bread and a few more supplies.

Because the mobile INWI signal is so good and I am on a time package with unlimited data I watched the early Premier League match that saw Man City only draw with Chelsea. I later watched my own team Bournemouth play away at Newcastle. We took the lead twice but conceded a last minute equaliser to finish 2-2. Disappointing because we deserved the 3 points but 1 point away from home is still a good point.

Another Brit came and asked me to help him with his Firestick. I have suggested he install the app that I have and he will get better functionality. We also got chatting to some other brits who will be staying on this site for 30 days so that they can get their visas extended to allow them to stay in the country for an extra 90 days. They full time in the PVC whilst they rent out their home which provides the income they live on.

I watched some more Youtube videos in the evening after Tina had retired to bed. Tina has been invited to coffee tomorrow by the brits we met today.

The photo is our view out of the front window.

Moving day….

We packed the van and made our way into town. First I used my Caxton card to withdraw some local currency at the Post Office. Next we went in search of the dress Tina had seen earlier in the week. She wasn’t quite sure where she saw it so we eventually stopped and found something similar. The dresses she tried on were all too large so eventually the shop assistant went off and retrieved some smaller sizes. Tina finally decided on a lovely light blue dress. It was priced at 320 MAD but after a lot of haggling we agreed on a price of 260 MAD (approximately £22).

I took the opportunity to replenish our meat stocks and bought more steak and chicken. Walked back to the van and we were soon heading to Tiznit.

I wanted to visit the INWI shop (telecoms provider) to extend the unlimited data deal we have been enjoying but also to give notice to terminate the arrangement. It took a couple of attempts to find the shop but I managed to get another months extension.

We then travelled on towards the coast and got ourselves booked into the campsite we used last year. Later in the afternoon we visited the shop situated just out of the gates and bought a few more essential items.

This evening I am streaming the football using the INWI site card data we extended earlier today.

The plan today was maybe take another trip down to town. Tina had spotted a dress she rather liked and had regretted not telling me. I also wanted to get some more money from the cashpoint at the post office. However we didn’t eventually get there as it was so hot during the day we thought we would wait until later in the day….. we never did make the effort. Instead we relaxed in the coolness of the shade we had created in the van and read our books.

I finished one and bought another one on Kindle and I am now 40% through it.

We are moving off tomorrow so we will drive the van into town before we finally get on our journey to Tiznit. The photo is the shop where I bought 2 pairs of shoes.

Not sure how much fresh water remains in the tank as we are now Wednesday and I tried to fill the tank last on Sunday albeit I never completely topped it off. We therefore used the services of one of the two pickups that come around the parking area in the morning and late afternoon with water. He pumped in and fully filled our water for 30MAD (£2.50)

Today had been hot and we spent most of the day inside in the shaded trying to keep cool. Surprisingly the solar batteries are not topping off the batteries. I suspect it is due to our fridge having to work overtime to try and keep things cold.

I purchased another book first thing and had read around 80% by the time I retired to bed. It won’t take me long in the morning to finish it.

Today we needed to restock our provisions as we had virtually nothing left in the fridge or cupboards. However, my first jog was to empty the black waste at the borne which is on the way into town. I unloaded the mobility scooter and was soon on my way past the campsite we tried to get into when we arrived in town and onto the borne. There were several Motorhomes queuing to use the facility. I was soon on my way back to the van.

After breakfast I attached the buggy board and Tina and I with Tucker on the foot plate travelled down the road and into town. Our first stop was to buy some more Moroccan shoes because over recent months Tucker has chewed the leather, broken pieces of and I feel sure swallowed a few pieces. Tina suggested I buy 2 pairs at 140MAD each pair (£12)

We then went in search of meat and vegetables and Tina purchased some Milk, Yoghurts, breakfast cereal and a few other things. We stopped in a local cafe and had coffee and bought water for Tucker.

On returning to the van we rolled out the awning and enjoyed the warm sunshine in the early afternoon and then read our books on the kindle apps on the tablets. We also enjoyed watching our neighbours playing with satellite dishes and a local artist creating a picture on a panel van.

We are enjoying our time in Tafraoute and it brings back memories of previous trips

We started the morning slow as we had nothing planned.

The sun was shining really early and very warm and we charged our batteries from the solar panels during the day. It was the first time we rolled out the awning and got out the chairs as we were searching for some shade.

In the afternoon we had many of the vendors trying to sell us all sorts of food goodies. We bought pizza type flans and some vanilla slices and sweet tasting Yorkshire puddings. All vert tasty.

I read my new book whilst Tina retired to bed. We plan on making our way to town in the morning.

Moving to Tafraoute this morning so we started to prepare the van for travel. I went to pay the fees and was surprised and disappointed in the same time. The parking including electric was 85MAD (£7) which was good however our 2 Tagines were 160MAD each (£13.5 each) which by Morocco standards is expensive. Note to self: Ask the price before ordering anything.

After draining the grey waste over the drive over drain we started our 3 hour drive. It took us over mountains, through valleys, along narrow roads in small villages. We finally got to the outskirts of Tafraoute around 2:30pm. For the first time I thought we might book ourselves into a campsite with electric close to the town. We drove into the gates of Camping les 3 Palmiers and was told that the area inside the walls was full. There didn’t seem to be anyone to show us where we could pitch outside of the walls where we could get electric as well so we carried on to the guardian parking which is very familiar to us.

After driving around the front part of the parking area to try and find a suitable reasonably flat area we chose a pitch that had a view of the entrance that crossed the dry river bed. It was very warm looking out and having a belated lunch. Tucker lover the freedom and saying hello to the numerous dogs.

Tina cooked a one pan meal she has prepared before of her version of a beef Tagine in the skillet. No plates as we eat directly from the pan moroccan style. It was delicious even though we had no onion to include in the ingredients.

We will be here for a few days as long as the sun is shining and batteries are kept topped up.

We intend to move on tomorrow to Tafroute so I wanted to get some jobs done in preparation so the first job was to empty some of the grey water as the warning light was on. Once I had emptied a couple of buckets there was no more warning light…. the rest can be drained tomorrow.

I wanted to top off the fresh water so my trusty Collapz bucket came out from under the bed and I poured approximately 50 litres into the tank. Now it was time to tidy under the bed so that we could make room for the mobility scooter to be packed away with the buggy board.

After lunch I wanted to stream the AFC Bournemoth match but the internet kept buffering and made the whole experience a disaster so I listened to the AFCB commentary from their website. We lost 3-0 to Fulham which was unexpected and disappointing.

Soon after the match ended we had our Chicken Tagine delivered to the door. It tasted very good. It came with some bread.

I watch Youtube videos when Tina had retired to bed.