2024 Morocco

We made a lazy start this morning. Tina took Tucker down to the beach to play with the stray dogs but they were nowhere to be seen. He did meet an American lady’s dog and they played together.

Tina bought some bread from reception and we paid our 100MAD as we left around 11am. I wanted to find a Post Office with an ATM so we could withdraw some money. We found the post office I had researched on Google but it was closed and there was no ATM. Will need to find a bank tomorrow.

We drove the 230km mostly on motorways and paid the tolls which were about 200MAD (£16). So much cheaper than Spain or France and the roads are just as good.

I watched the second half of the Arsenal match using the Inwi 4G network and it behaved very well. I hope to watch more football this evening. Tomorrow we will travel closer to Moha and family settling at Skoura campsite. We hope to be with our “framily” on Tuesday.

We had rain first thing this morning and we got wet whilst we packed the van ready for travel. It was still raining whilst we travelled to Rabat to find a Marjane supermarket. Here we stocked up on some essentials including milk and meat for the dog.

We then made our way to an old favourite campsite we have visited many times over the years. Ocean Bleu has not changed much during this time other than create another additional entrance which we used.

Whilst sitting on the pitch this afternoon the temperature was very pleasant and must have been low 20’s. This is what we hoped for when we left the UK.

We have had a very lazy day today…

This was the first day that we didn’t travel anywhere since we left the UK. Tina managed to wash a few “smalls” out as the washing machines were n to available for customers use. We have also been disappointed that they had no bread available to purchase and there is no wifi available here. Very disappointing site and it is a little more expensive than most other sites.

Moving on tomorrow and will need to find a supermarket on the way.

This morning I wanted to travel south but not at such a fast pace that we have been moving over recent days so the plan Wass to get to Kenitra and use the same site as last year. We left the site by 10am and went looking for an Inwi agency shop. We found the shop in the streets of Assilah but the locals said it didn’t open until 11am. We spent some time doing some shopping for meat & veg at the roadside market stalls that had been setup.

We then waited until it had gone 11am only for someone to say that the shop was not opening until the evening. We changed plans and started our journey to Kenitra and find an Inwi shop in this city. It was around 1pm when I entered the store which was full of people. I started to chat to a young plain clothes police officer who allowed me to take his place in the queue. It took about an hour to get the unlimited data that will last a month. I will need to renew before the month expires.

Now we travelled to the campsite and booked in for 2 nights. Slightly cheaper than I had seen on the apps at 120MAD but Tina was disappointed there are no washing machines and no free WIFI for me. Good job I got my new SIM card.

What a very long day today. Our first job after breakfast was to travel to the fuel station and top up our LPG tank. It took only 6 litres of gas. I also added a splash of fuel so we didnt have to stop whilst on route to Assilah. The next job was to drive to the port and find the P.I.F. building.

I found a sign and started to follow it only to be stopped by the port police and had to back out. The route was for trucks. I then expected that there would be somewhere close to the check in booths for the ferry companies. After trying to get some help I got nowhere. I decided to walk back to the building where the police stopped me whilst I left Tina & Tucker in the van. The time was around 11am.

Eventually after enquiring at a couple of places I found the right building. They took the Pet Passport and the Animal Health certificate we had paid the Vet €50 for yesterday. I sat and waited about 30mins to get the export certificate but meanwhile Tina was now getting worried and sent a port policeman off looking for me which he did and was going to report back I was well. I got back to the van around 12:15 concerned I was running late as the boat was scheduled for 1pm departure. The boat finally departed at around 2:30pm for the 90 minutes crossing.

Now came the fun time. We expected to queue like last year for the x-ray machine. This took maybe 45 minutes. Now we needed the customs process to overcome. We finally left the port at around 6:30pm. Customs took around 2 hours to clear us and the vehicle. It seemed to us they were all running around like headless chickens… so many people do little to no work.

Our 1 hour journey was in the dark and pouring rain. The toll was 71MAD. We got to the campsite at around 7:30pm and placed on the road. Thankfully not on the soft ground. Yesterday we will probably move on….

The photo is a stock photo and we parked on the road.

What a strange day. We left where we had parked for the night and drove around to the service point where we refreshed our water and dumped grey and black waste. We paid our €15 parking fee for the night and was on our way to Carlos, the travel agent, to find out about a recommended vet.

One of the daughters made a call to a vet that is mobile and works from home. It was agreed that we would meet at 5pm at Carlos office to complete the paperwork. Now worried all day if we will be required to get a further titre test (Rabies blood test) done which will take 2-3 weeks before we get the result back.

Another brit couple who are full timing in their 8m caravan are intending to cross in a few weeks and wanted some advice and information so we spent approximately 1 hour helping them with their numerous questions.

The vet arrived at Carlos office just after 5pm and started to complete the paperwork whilst we sat outside the office. Even when she handed over the animal health certificate I could not believe we were able to now buy our ticket. The vet cost us €50.

I went back to our van and collected our passports and the Vehicle registration document for the van. The office was still busy but not quite as busy as earlier. Carlos himself took our documents and managed to get us in front of other people. We now have the tickets for 1pm tomorrow. It cost €280. for the open return.

Now parked in a familiar place new the Mercadona supermarket for our over night parkup. Tomorrow we will go and top of the LPG tank and visit the PIF in the port for Tucker’s export document before going around the shipping departure point.

Should be in Assilah tomorrow afternoon if everything goes to plan.

We decided that we would continue to drive down the coast towards our destination of Algeciras where we hope to get the ferry ticket to Morocco once we have the required documents for our dog, Tucker.

We were heading for an ACSI site we visited 8 or 9 years ago in Estepona which is some 200km away. Once we pulled into the site we were immediately told they were full up and had nor more room. The guy suggested we try La Bella Vista further down the coast…. a site we used in 2014. I wanted a commercial site because I wanted to service the van because we have no idea how the next few days will pan out.

On the journey going down the motorway I decided we could used La linea once again somewhere we met travelling companions last year before setting off to Morocco. We arrived in the afternoon and settled to read our books on the kindle app installed on the iPads. Tomorrow we will service the van and make our way to Carlos, the travel agent.

We were in no rush to get started on the road this morning. Yesterday we had a lone lady traveller come and park next to us named Ruth. She intends to visit Morocco with her dog when she gets the written copy of the Titra blood test back from the Vets / Laboratory which takes approximately 3 weeks.

Ruth wanted to ask a few more questions and we were able to share some of our knowledge including how useful PolarSteps is for friends and family to follow your trip. So after a late breakfast we were on the road for the 150 mile journey at around 11:30am

We arrived at our planned parking spot which has marked parking bays and full of all types of RV. There are basic facilities so we are likely to move on tomorrow. Tina and I spent the afternoon and evening reading on the kindle app installed on our respective iPads. This is something I rarely do but I have enjoyed it and read approximately half of the Jeffery Archer book I have chosen.

Moving day… We are going to make our way further south and west so that we eventually get to Algeciras. Our friends, Terry & Brenda, had made the decision yesterday that they were going to abort the winter trip and head for home. He hopes that his clutch will hold out on the 1500 mile journey. It was very emotional to say goodbye as this was not planned but we needed to move on.

Our first stop was to get some supplies art the large Carrefour nearby and then to get on the motorway. We stopped and filled with fuel and topped up the AdBlue tank that was now showing a warning light. We later stopped for lunch before arriving in Cartagena at a free parking area.

It’s a a little sloping but does have a sea view. We had complaints from other brits when we pulled in next to them and stole their view and encroached on their privacy. We had no sympathy and they soon moved away thank goodness. We are only staying for the one night before once again moving down the coast.

It was cooler today at 13°C but obviously better than back in Blighty !!

We spent the morning organising the rear of the van as we had been promising ourselves for the last few days. The duvet was placed under the mattress as it’s not as cold at night now we are moving south. We also changed the cupboards containing my clothes. After much we spent some time with Terry & Brenda who have made the decision to return home. They have not heard anything from the breakdown service in the last few days. So in the morning we will be travelling in opposite directions. We will miss their company but we do understand the decision they have made.

This evening for my birthday we booked a table in the onsite restaurant. We had a lovely meal with the men choosing steak and the ladies having chicken. Terry paid the bill as a birthday gift to me. Very grateful.

Tomorrow we will start the journey south towards Algeciras and Morocco.