Thursday 27 February 2020 – Sidi Ifni to Tafraout

Yesterday was very much a do nothing sort of day, nice and warm once the sun came over the cliff top. Another of the couples who came over with us turned up mid-morning so we had a nice catch-up before taking Jamie onto the beach, not the best we've been on by quite a long way which is a shame, then just relax for the rest of the day. It was nice to come back to see the place but we'll probably not visit again.

Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute - 111 miles

So today we'd planned to move on into the mountains to Tafraout so an earlyish start into a cool morning, that is until the sun got onto us when the temperature rose rapidly, forwarning us of another hot one. Chores done, bye-byes said and dues paid we set off back up the road, past Erkounte Park and on to Tiznit where we parked up by the supermarket in the centre to top up on a few goodies. Then refuel and head off east.

It's not a bad road, a two lane carriageway that isn't the smoothest we've been on and with the occasional rough patch so a good lookout was necessary, but at least it was quiet. And hot! Entering the foothills of the Anti-Atlas mountains we paused for lunch in a valley at a spot we've used two or three times before starting the long steady climb up to 4000 ft amsl. We were following a French motorhome who was towing a car on a trailer but he was going fast enough for us and anyway overtaking would have been a bit hazardous on the somewhat twisty road. Not being in any rush we took the time to once again enjoy the scenery.

Entrance to the souk in Tiznit

As well as the load there were 4 passengers in there!

Approaching the mountains

The Anti-Atlas mountains

Impressive arch town entrance

After a steady drive, passing through a number of small towns and villages, we eventually rolled into Tafraout and the guardian parking site just on the edge of town. Now we know where everybody had gone to when all the sites we'd used up until now mysteriously emptied - they've all come here! We've never seen so many motorhomes here, mostly French who, as they usually do, were all huddled up together close to the entrance despite there actually being plenty of room a little further into the site. We estimate over 500 units here but there is easily room for 500 more, although that could possibly overwhelm the facilities, not that there's much on offer apart from some strategically placed rubbish skips.

Further back we found the Dutch and Germans, all leaving plenty of space around them so we found ourselves a nice sunny spot, coincidentally quite close to our other Funster friends who had apparently arrived yesterday. As we plan to stay for a week got ourselves set up, initially deploying the awning but the late afternoon breeze was a little too much until we can get proper tie-downs sorted so wound it back in and just enjoyed the last hour or so with a nice cuppa.

There have apparently been a few changes as regards waste disposal so tomorrow we'll investigate further. But the water truck still trundles around and we'd barely turned the engine off when the local patisserie/boulangerie man on his bicycle came calling. No doubt there will be more tomorrow. But finally, when the guardian came round for his money, we found it's been reduced from 20 dirhams to 15 dirhams per night – that's £1.25!

Tuesday 25 February - Mirhleft to Sidi Ifni

Mirhleft to Sidi Ifni - 15 miles

A somewhat hazy morning with high cloud but which quickly burned off to another hot sunny day. As usual our best intentions of getting an early start didn't materialise but there wasn't a lot to do and we weren't travelling far anyway. So after the usual domestics paid Abdullah, buying a few souvenirs whilst we were there, and set off for the 15 miles to Sidi Ifni – oh aren't we the great adventurers!

We'd been told about a coastal rock formation that was perhaps worth a visit about halfway so took the turnoff, but the “parking” was tiny – we'd have taken most of it up – and it was still a decent walk down so we didn't stop and returned to the coast road. Shortly the outskirts of Sidi Ifni came into view, together with the ubiquitous police check, this one accompanied by a radar speed “trap”. In the seven years it has been since we came there has been much development with a whole new northern “quarter” established before the bridge, which apparently has been rebuilt twice after floods, to the old town.

Approaching Sidi Ifni

Our plan was to have a look at the Municipal campsite close to the town centre as this was just to be a short visit. We already knew it was just an “okay” place, but it was full with folk being turned away so we returned to the beach road where three other campsites were located. We had already noted that two of them, as reported on the internet forum, seemed to be pretty crowded so instead went to the third, where we stayed in 2013. To our surprise it was only half full and even had spaces available right on the front although after registering we chose a pitch on the second row somewhat closer to the facilities. 

Camping El Barco

We've noted quite a lot of negative remarks about Camping El Barco but we found it perfectly satisfactory for our needs, although it is right on the beach and the surf is a bit noisy if that sort of thing bothers you. We're aware that the cliff we're under shades the site from the early morning sun but as our stay is to be short it's not a problem. The lack of mobile phone signal seems to have been addressed by a new mast on the clifftop overlooking the site. Other than that the facilities are pretty well standard “Morocco” i.e. not the best we've seen but adequate.

Settled in quickly, not bothering with a full setup as we only plan to be here two nights, chairs deployed and a long cool drink to enjoy in the sun followed by a lazy lunch. During the afternoon a small convoy drifted in with a couple of Brits who parked next to us – they were Morocco newbies on a guided tour and we had a brief chat. We think that organised tours are a bit of a waste of money, everything being so straightforward, but we accept that there are folk who want the security of organisers. After all we've brought a few groups across, although haven't really organised them as such.

As it got cooler later on we left Jamie, who wasn't showing much enthusiasm for walking around, and strolled up into the old town for a looksee. As said earlier nothing much has changed, it's just a fairly typical Moroccan town, enhanced somewhat by some Spanish architecture harking back to the relatively recent days when it was a Spanish enclave. The small souk/market was quite busy as were the multitude of small shops lining the two main roads – this is probably a better time to explore as it was not too warm for comfort.

Nothing much of interest for us although we were happy to revisit the town so we returned to the van, encountering John and Julie, one of the group we brought across and whom we've run into a few times in various places. They've been here a week, staying at one of the two other sites which they reported were not as crowded as they looked.

Interestingly we've begun to notice a pattern; most of the sites we've stayed on have previously been reported as very busy but when we've arrived we've found a very different situation in that although they had been busy many people had left very recently – did someone tell them we're coming? We've spoken to a few Germans and they all seemed to be starting their journeys home and there also seems to be fewer French around. We'll be interested to see what transpires at our next planned stop.

Erkounte Park

The wind pattern became a feature of our stay. A strong easterly seemed to get up in the early hours and into the morning before fading away mid-morning to be replaced by a gentle on-shore westerly breeze which then continued throughout the rest of the day and evening. This meant that last thing at night we had to put things away that may get blown about and then delay putting up the awning until the wind shift, no real problem as we tend not to put out anything we're not planning to use, unlike some pitches where even the kitchen sink makes an appearance.

There's not a lot to do here, but then again we didn't intend to do a lot! Various domestics, including a couple of machine loads of washing which of course dried out in no time, and regular walkies for the four-footed member of our party, who is starting to take his role as guardian very seriously, barking at wheels, strangers approaching, other dogs etc. He does enjoy sunning himself though but when he's had enough he crawls under the van for shade in a cool breeze.

The beach is a ten minute scramble down a fairly steep track at the back of the site, passable with a four-wheel drive or quad bike, sadly neither of which we possess. However Jamie does contribute by pulling hard to get to the beach and once there and let off his lead he makes a mad dash, waiting for us to launch his ball. Which he never brings back, just sits by it waiting for us to pick it up and throw it again. Just who is the mug here!

Although accessible by road at the far end of the beach, it is virtually empty all the time. The breakers are quite rough for quite a way out so, as common on this coast, it's not good for swimming so we just limited ourselves to a paddle – Jamie seems to be getting over his fear of water now, being quite happy to go in up to his tummy then lying down in the sand. So he shouldn't have been too surprised when one evening he ended up in the site doggy shower!

One of the facilities is an excellent restaurant, run by Abdullahs wife, and Sunday evening we pre-booked a meal for a change – tagine kefta (meat balls) for Terry and chicken escalope for Bren, preceeded by Salade Morocaine and finished off with beautiful ice-creams paying just £16 for the two of us. No alcohol of course, we just shared a big bottle of water.

Tagine Kefta

Poulet Escalope

Yummy ice-cream!

Some of our Funster friends moved on but a couple did stay on for a few days more. We've decided to head off tomorrow (Tuesday) to have a look at Sidi Ifni and maybe stopping off on the way to checkout a set of natural coastal arches. If possible we'll try and find somewhere to stop for a night or two to revisit the town before heading up into the mountains.

Friday 21 February 2020 – Aourir to Mirhleft

Aourir to Mirhleft - 103 miles

Earlyish start to a cold van but when we opened the door the wind had got up and it was very warm, coming straight off the desert. Breakfast, finish packing and servicing the van then paying the man. Nellie was having a tantrum this morning and wouldn't play, but we're only going to Agadir for now and we know the way. Quite busy as usual as we drove more or less along the seafront, the nicer part of the city, to the large Marjane hypermarket to top up the supplies as it's probably the last chance for a while. Got some more cash and also called at a pharmacy for something to ease Brens cough, which refuses to go away (Murphy's Law – since we bought it she hasn't coughed once, but it'll be there in the medicine box).

An early lunch in the carpark before programming Sidi Ifni into TomTom and heading off into an afternoon that had become very warm indeed, not helped by no aircon, and mostly straight into the sun which, however, at these latitudes is actually quite high in the sky so not quite as bad as it could have been. There has been some new road building to the south of Agadir which TomTom knew all about and took us on what appeared to be quite a circuitous route, but was obviously much faster than before as we avoided a few known bottlenecks and were soon bowling along down the N1, for now an excellent dual carriageway. It soon became much quieter, but of course Friday is a “weekend” for Muslims so not unexpected, and eventually returned to a single carriageway.

The scenery was now becoming more of what we are used to seeing, that is miles and miles of scrubland with the occasional patch of cultivation and, of course, herds of goats being grazed on the sides of the road. The temperature was steadily getting higher and the tyre pressure monitor kept complaining whilst we were more concerned that Jamie, although shaded from direct sun, was maybe getting a little too warm as he was panting a bit, even with as much ventilation as we could being directed to him. We did consider a stop but there was really nowhere in the shade to walk him so just carried on, checking every few minutes.

The Anti-Atlas Mountain range became visible in the haze and before long we were entering Tiznit, a large town situated on a main crossroads, once again passing through one of the numerous police road blocks which are a feature of most towns of any size. You have to slow right down and be ready to stop but we've always been waved through – although occasionally the policeman will leave it right until the last second and we've nearly come to a standstill. We're sure they sometimes like to make a game of it!

It was here that we decided that, although Sidi Ifni was easily reachable, we'd heard reports that the campsites were very busy so instead changed our target to a site we'd stayed on for a week last year just past Mirhleft, Erkounte Park, where we were confident there would be plenty of room. The road ran towards the coast from here through the western end of the Anti-Atlas mountains, a lovely run through green valleys and hills on an excellent surface. At the coast we turned south before entering Mirhleft and wondering what was going on.

From about two miles away we started to encounter groups of Moroccan ladies dressed in their finery walking towards the town, which became more and more crowded. From a little way away we could see that the centre of town was absolutely heaving, the roadsides full of parked cars and even more folk heading in. Eventually we were reduced to a crawl, trying to avoid pedestrians who just wandered into our path without a care, and oncoming vehicles whose drivers were obviously trying to find somewhere to park. At one point we came to a complete standstill surrounded by the crowd and worried about trying to get through without hurting anyone, but then the familiar whistles brought a trio of policemen who managed to open up a path for us and we were through. We can only surmise it was some sort of festival but will ask at the campsite. (Later - yes a big religious festival).

We thought a short video of the scene would prove interesting to our readers but when we came to download it from the dashcam we discovered that nothing has been recorded onto the simcard for twelve months! So we're very sorry that we can't show you the scene, and now have something else to sort out! Oh the joys of motorhoming!

But the good news was that there was, as expected, plenty of room at the campsite. Abdullah, the owner, remembered us from last year (yes we're sure he was genuine) and once the paperwork was done invited us to park anywhere. There's been a few improvements since last year, some new facilities and now all the very roomy pitches have been marked out and numbered to avoid the overspill that was common last year. Only about half full, we learned from Funster friends who had been here a few days that it had in fact been very busy right up until this morning when a large number moved off. We later thought we knew why..............

So once again settle in and chairs out to enjoy the late afternoon sun. There was a nice cool breeze which, after the heat of the day, was very welcome, not least by Jamie who didn't seem to have suffered any ill effects and polished off a huge supper later. A brief chat with our friends then a quiet evening. We'll probably stay here a few days then maybe a quick visit to Sidi Ifni before heading into the mountains. The weather forecast is for hot sunshine but a serious chance of very strong winds on Sunday.

Footnote posted Saturday.

Woken during the night by a very strong offshore wind that had got up and was rocking the van about. Fortunately the only thing left out was the mat and that just folded itself up against the van. This wind continued until the sun had got up properly when it suddenly dropped. For those with some weather knowledge it was most likely the land/sea effect – once the land heated up the winds reversed and we were left with a pleasant onshore breeze.

Monday 17 February 2020 – Kaouki Beach to Aourir

Kaouki Beach to Aourir - 120 miles

As we were moving on we actually managed an earlier start, despite a latish night. We'd done some of the packing away and clearing up last night so little to do after breakfast except service the van then pay our dues, interrupted briefly by a chat with another Brit couple on the site. First port of call was to return to Carrefour at Essaouira for a big stock-up shop as we didn't want to have to rush at the end of the day, the next opportunity being Agadir. We also topped up the fuel tank – didn't actually need fuel but we have a sort of rule not to let the tank get below half full in case we find ourselves in an area that has limited fuel stations.

Then back onto the N1 towards Agadir with no particular destination in mind, knowing we had multiple choices depending on how far we wanted to drive. Initially quite busy the road soon became quiet and we ambled along in the wake of a Swiss campervan who was going just about fast enough to be comfortable for us. We passed through several small towns, some with the hustle and bustle of market day, others quiet with few people about. Eventually the Swiss van stopped at one of the towns and as it was late lunchtime we thought that a break for us was in order too although to avoid being pestered we chose a pull off on the mountain pass just before Tamri. Interestingly there was a concrete games/football pitch right in the middle of nowhere and we were on it's “car-park”!

After lunch we had some debate about where to stop for the night. We had passed a suggested place, at Imsouane where we've stopped before, ages ago and thought Agadir was well within reach. However the choices there were limited to popular campsites which at our ETA most likely would have been full. However around 20 miles north of Agadir we remembered a brand new site we had spotted, right on the beach and which at that time was almost empty so thought we might have a look at that.

We descended the pass into Tamri and the road then became coastal, running alongside the Atlantic where huge waves were breaking onto the sandy beaches – ideal surfing although we saw no-one until much further south, perhaps a bit too rough! Finding the afore-mentioned site was easy but we could see from the road that it was very crowded and although we possibly could have squeezed in instead we elected to travel a few miles further on, past our old friend Taghazoute which is now completely overrun with new building, noting on our way several places where motorhomes had parked up – whether they were wild-camping or not we don't know and may well have been there just for the day enjoying the beaches. So on to another site we've used before just a few kilometres inland at Aourir. As expected, due to it's distance from almost anywhere, there was plenty of room and we chose a pleasant pitch in full sunshine although we had forgotten that in late afternoon the sun disappears behind the adjacent hill.....! Not to worry it was still pleasantly warm well into the evening. We booked in for three nights with the intention of doing absolutely nothing.

Tuesday & Wednesday

A real suntrap here and we enjoyed hours just lazing around. Terry had a look at the van air-conditioning in an effort to get it working but with no joy. As we had elected not to take an electricity hookup a trip onto the van roof to clean the solar panel was beneficial. Then the internet credit ran out – we've been using it a lot more than before as it is so cheap – but the site shop had top-up cards so that was soon sorted.

Camping Aourir has full facilities and features something a bit rare in Morocco, fully serviced pitches including water, electricity and waste water disposal, obviously of course for more money! We didn't bother. There are also washing machines, a well-stocked small shop, restaurant and a swimming pool (for a small supplement). In the evening a pizza van parks just outside the entrance – we might try him tonight.

We've also met a few other Brits; parked in a nearby bay was a couple we met on the ferry back to Algeciras last year. Then Keith & Niki, who were at Kaouki Beach, turned up after having their van Lucille “tattooed” by Rashid, whose excellent work adorns many vans, including ours done in 2015 which is still as fresh as the day it was painted.

Tomorrow it's our thought to continue south, most likely pausing at Marjane in Agadir as it's probably our last chance for a while to find a hypermarket, although of course that really isn't a problem. Tiznit? Mireleft? We have a hankering to visit Sidi Ifni again, our most southerly point reached when we first came to Morocco in 2013 but then most likely up into the mountains to Tafraoute and further.

We have to say that this year, so far, has been the best weather we've ever had in Morocco, not a drop of rain with just a few hazy cloud periods. There has been wind but nothing as strong as we've encountered in the past. It has been very warm but not over-bearingly so and we've been able to sit out in it everyday whilst managing to keep the inside of Bertie nice and cool. An idyllic way to spend the winter! Wish you were here?

Kaouki Beach – still!

We've been here now for around 10 days and have to say if we were to go nowhere else we could be happy. It's not the most glamourous campsite in the world but it's relatively small hence quiet and has almost everything we need, save a supermarket. We can get bread daily at reception and there are a couple of local vendors who come round daily with fresh vegetables, eggs and fish. The site has a washing machine which we've made good use of, no dryer being needed of course, the warm sun and breeze making short work of that.

The weather has been excellent with just a couple of days when the sun was obscured by high clouds, mostly with only a very light breeze to keep things under control. Nothing like at home of course where we read reports of a second huge storm causing flooding, flight and rail cancellations, damage etc. A very good reason for coming away for the winter!

There is quite a high turnover of vans, most just stopping for a couple of days although there are one or two long-term residents and a few, like us, who stay for a week or so. In amongst those has been a few Brit vans, some of whom we've enjoyed chatting with, especially one couple from Northampton who stopped to chinwag for so long we missed lunch completely one day! Some of the group we crossed over from Spain with are on the next door site and we've seen them a few times too. The few site staff are also very friendly although they don't speak English, French being the communication medium.

Jamie just loves the beach and when he realises we're going there he simply can't wait, jumping about and pulling on his lead. We had no reoccurrence of his sudden reluctance to run so we suspect he may have just overstretched himself but is okay now. We did have one disturbed night when he wouldn't go to sleep, again we think a tummy upset, but it was just one night. Occasionally he goes off his food but we put that down to being too warm – he spends a lot of time under the van where he's found a cool breeze. Until, that is, he spots one of the several cats about the site or a neighbouring dog who needs shouting at. It's just as well we keep him on a long lead! But today, much to his disgust, we put him in the shower as he was getting decidedly scruffy, and now won't talk to us. Dogs!

However the fridge is now looking a little empty and we've started on the backup rations so a serious shopping session is needed. We're also starting to get itchy feet so tomorrow (Monday) we're planning to move on, firstly to the big Carrefour supermarket at Essaouira, and then south along the N1 towards Agadir with no definite destination in mind – we know of several places where an overnight stay is likely to be okay and we have a sort of rough plan to continue at a leisurely pace as far as Sidi Ifni, where we've not been since our first visit seven years ago, before heading inland into the mountains.

I'm writing this at nearly half past ten in the evening and the temperature in the van is still 29 deg!

Kaouki Beach - As promised some photos

Looking north west

Sidi Kaouki Village

Plenty of room to run about!

Local transport!

Campsite entrance - Kaouki Beach

Swimming pool

Pitches (us in the far centre)

Campsite - Kaouki Soleil - next door

Kaouki Beach

Although not up to the best European standards Camping Kaouki Beach is very popular and has all the facilities for a lazy break. The 60-odd pitches are of varying size but all have electric points, get full sun for much of the day and all are close to the adequate toilet, shower and washing facilities. It also has a laundry, swimming pool and daily bread delivery plus occasional visits from local traders. The huge sandy beach, stretching for miles in each direction, is just across the road and is popular with surfers. The village itself is about 700m along the road with a couple of basic cafe/restaurants and one or two small shops plus a surfing centre. A couple of buildings are signed as hotels but look more like basic hostels – probably ideal for the surfers though. Also available are camel, donkey and quadbike rides.

A little further along the road there are two more campsites, one very similar to Kaouki Beach but not as well equipped the other being very basic. We'd guess the prices reflected that but at Dh90, which is just over £7 per night and includes electricity, we're more than happy with our choice. If only the electricity would power the fridge though – as with many such places away from major centres the voltage can be distinctly variable and on occasion we've had to resort to switching the fridge to manual operation as the auto function can't keep up.

Temperatures during the day are in the high 20's, often with a breeze which makes for very pleasant sitting out but of course it's still only February so overnight it drops to around 15 deg – brrrrrr! Better than at home though where we're getting reports of hurricane force winds, torrential rain plus snow and ice forecasted. Wish you were here?

Our days are spent generally relaxing and walking the dog with forays on to the beach for a good run around. However on Sunday one of these runs was quickly terminated when Jamie suddenly slowed his headlong dash after the ball and didn't want to run anymore, instead apparently preferring to head back to the van then lying quietly for the rest of the day. We could find nothing wrong and think perhaps he may have strained a muscle when he went all-out after the ball. He ate his meal okay although it was followed by a disturbed night when he got Brenda up four times wanting to go out, eating grass, which is a sign of an upset digestion. We'll keep an eye on him.

We also had an annoying incident when, whilst we were having lunch, a French driver trying to turn round reversed into the luggage rack, twisting it a little and breaking the lamp lens. It was an accident, although Bren went off the deep end at him, but it looked repairable although we took Dh200 off him for a replacement lens. We doubt we'll get one in Morocco but after a bit of glue it should hold together until we get home. The rack itself wasn't damaged and we were able to straighten it out.

We've planned at least a week here before continuing further south. If there is anything we miss it's regular company even though everybody we meet is friendly enough. We've seen few Brits but have noticed a lot more Austrians whilst the French are not so predominant as in the past. Netherlands and Italy are represented but there are plenty of Germans in their huge gin palaces and mighty off-road trucks – some quite impressive, and dare we say expensive, kit.

We'll take some photos tomorrow.

Friday 7 February 2020 - Camping Le Calme to Kaouki Beach

Le Calme to Kaouki Beach - 30 miles travelled although only 12 apart.

Yesterday was a generally casual day, our only task really to get a couple of loads of washing done, which we set to after a latish breakfast. A warm steady bereeze and plenty of hot sunshine meant that by mid-afternon everything was dry so it was just fold and put away. We don't do ironing while we're away and our wardrobe is full therefore of non-iron stuff. Who cares about a few creases.

This is a very nice site, if a bit expensive, but we had a sort of hankering to visit Essaouira again so today, after waiting for a very nice Austrian couple to finish pratting about servicing their campervan, we headed out a little later than we'd hoped for Essaouira. We were not surprised to see that the old guardian parking was not in use, although apparently we could have parked there for a couple of hours, but it is still a long walk into town. The nearby campsite, which had a very poor reputation, was now being built on; in fact there was a lot of new building going on, mirroring what we've seen elsewhere. Morocco is changing.

We drove along the promenade towards the Medina but were soon confronted with “no motorhomes” signs so with little chance of being able to park relatively close for a short visit we reluctantly gave up that idea and instead, wait for it, went to the local Carrefour supermarket! As it was now our plan to go the short distance to Sidi Kaouki and stay for at least a week, we thought a little bit of topping up would not come amiss.

That done we noticed the adjacent Afriquia fuel station had gas bottles on the forecourt, they don't always, so a quick side trip to exchange the empty bottle we have been carrying about since last year for a full one to augment the inadequate on board gas storage. At the princely sum of £3.50 for a 13kg bottle – in the UK that would be £35.00! Hopefully that will be enough for the rest of our stay but we may get a small bottle as an emergency reserve.

So on to Sid Kaouki and perhaps our favourite campsite last year, Kaouki Beach. It being lunchtime we hoped that we'd be in the empty changeover period and sure enough we had a good choice of pitches, choosing one with a little shade from the sun for Bertie but with plenty of room to spread out for the all-important sunbathing!

A light lunch, sort out the paperwork and get set up properly. It's our intention to stay here now at least a week so don't expect a daily blog for a while! This is what we've travelled 2517 miles for!

Wednesday 5 February 2020 - Oualidia to Essaouira

Well yesterdays chicken tagine went down very well after another very warm day which turned to fog late afternoon – Ali the tagine man said that it means it is going to be very hot tomorrow. Cleared up by bedtime though.

Oualidia to Essaouira - 128 miles

But today we're heading further south with thoughts of Kaouki Beach campsite, just past Essaouira, for a longer stop. With domestics done we took to the scenic coastal road, a good surface and quiet so a fast run as far as Safi, a very modern town which has developed into the main centre for exporting phosphates, Morocco's number one foreign currency earner. We called in at the Marjane hypermarket for a few things we were short of and also had lunch before heading a little inland to pick up the main N1 road south. The coastal road goes past the chemical works and, apart from being busy with lots of trucks, is not particularly pretty, or indeed in very good condition.

Another fast but quiet road, managing to avoid having our mirror smashed by incoming lorries and buses as happened around here to our friends last year, slowing for the occasional town, sometimes quiet sometimes busy. We noticed how green the countryside still was and in places still showed signs of wet; a local fisherman commented to us this morning that this was the first warm spell of weather they had seen. Lucky for us, although the lack of air conditioning made it a very warm trip which is probably why Jamie has been a bit fractious all day. However by mid-afternoon it was becoming clear that Kaouki Beach might just be a little too far so we weighed our options.

A few years ago we stayed at a campsite, called Le Calme, just outside Essaouira and a sign for it appeared. Knowing we'd have little difficulty in getting a pitch, and with thoughts of needing some laundry plus maybe visiting Essaouira again, we decided to drop in there for two nights, get the laundry done then have an early start on Friday for a couple of hours in perhaps our favourite town. It was then maybe only half an hour to Kaouki Beach.

As expected, plenty of room on this, now brought right up-to-date, lovely quiet campsite (well apart from the deaf guy “listening” to his music at full volume a little along from us) so we settled down with a cuppa then later a light meal to end a somewhat tiring day.

The hot weather is causing a couple of minor niggles with the van – the tyre pressure monitoring system keeps warning us of over-pressure due to heat build up and the auxiliary battery charging system is refusing to shut down properly, no doubt due to the heat sensor. Nothing serious and there is little that can be done except wait for it to cool down. It's now 10.00pm and still over 25 deg. But Terry's cold is getting better although we're not there yet. However a nice cold beer straight from the fridge goes down rather well!

Monday 3 February 2020 – Dar Bouazza to Oualidia

Dar Bouazza to Oualidia - 98 miles

Yesterday, as planned, became a do nothing day, just sit in the hot sun relaxing. The few vans that were here when we arrived left early and nobody else came onto the site so we had the place to ourselves. Terry has developed a heavy cold so once again we're getting through the Beechams!

But today was time to move on so after breakfast the usual chores, pay Rashid and return to the nearby Shell garage to fill up with nice cheap diesel at 78p a litre! We've noticed fuel prices have increased a little since last year and there is now more price variety whereas before it was very similar everywhere. This, however, happened to be the cheapest we've seen so far. Similarly campsite prices have increased too, perhaps a sign of increasing popularity.

And on this subject of popularity there is a tremendous amount of building work going on, mainly holiday apartment complexes with pool etc. No high rises, thank goodness, but it is very obvious a lot of money is being spent and we thought this might well be the beginning of a new era for Morocco. We could certainly envisage planeloads of sunseekers being attracted to the area, with places like Casablanca and even Marrakesh within easy reach, although there is still much clearing up to be tackled.

But ever onward and we chose to stick to the old coastal road, a lot quieter now that the morning rush into Casablanca had ended. Initially a good dual carriageway, it wasn't long before we were back to the usual Moroccan main roads we are used to so we just modified our speed and enjoyed the sights as we more or less followed the coast. A wrong turn took us through the centre of Azemmour, a typical busy Moroccan town, but we just took our time enjoying the ambience with a nod of thanks to the policeman who helped us round a bit of road blocked by vehicles more or less abandoned where they stopped whilst the occupants went about their business – situation normal!

It seems that whenever we're on the move we're on the lookout for a supermarket and today was no different. Entering El-Jadida, a pleasant city we've visited before, we spotted and followed signs for Carrefour and turned into their modest carpark, directed by the manager – well he was wearing a suit! We're seeing more of these new shopping complexes, a main store with a number of boutiques around it, very much in the French style, this one being relatively small but still big enough for us to have a wander around before another trollyful of goodies found their way back to the van. Then lunch.

With not a cloud in the sky it was turning very warm indeed when, to our disappointment, we found the “repaired” van air conditioning was not working – words are going to be said when we get home – so wind down the windows and just enjoy, it's better than freezing at home! Continuing south along the coast, past the now-completed new port, we drove through a sparsely populated area with great sea views and good locations for stopping off if we wanted. But the day was getting on so we decided that our old favourite, the guardian parking at Oualidia was an ideal place to stopover for a night or two.

Plenty of room, although another Funster, who spotted our badges and came over for a chat, told us it had been quite full last night and indeed later on it again became very busy. After a cuppa Terry took Jamie for a walk and found our old friends Ken & Linda and Simon & Margaret, who we haven't seen for a few years, parked up in the overflow area with another van and just sitting down to a locally prepared tagine. It looked delicious so we left them to it but later the vendor turned up on his moped and we ordered a chicken tagine for tomorrow night; looked good value for £10 for two – we'll report back later.

There used to be an area of unused scrubland next to the parking but this has now (been?) flooded and forms quite a large lake, attracting local wildlife including a colony of frogs whose loud calls continued well into the night. So we went to bed listening to the frog chorus as well as the sounds of the surf on the nearby beach.

Saturday 1 February 2020 – Asilah to Dar Bouazza

Asilah to Dar Bouazza - 207 miles

We were going to move on yesterday but the weather was so nice we couldn't be bothered so instead had a total relax day, just taking Jamie onto the beach for a run around. But we are starting to get itchy feet so today the plan is to get as far south as we can using the motorway. After breakfast we serviced the van and said our goodbyes to the group, who are all off in different directions now although we'll probably see them again somewhere. Then pay the man and away to the motorway.

It is, of course, a toll road but not at all expensive so it enabled us to make good time – we've seen this area a few times so avoiding the slow and congested roads seemed like a good idea. Generally quiet until we paused at Kenitra service area for lunch, the roads became progressively busier as we passed Rabat, then Mohammedia until around Casablanca it was manic, not helped with the breakdown of at least one lane at each of the toll stations causing jams and folk fighting their way into alternate queues. We just sat back and let them get on with it, only once did we have any problem and a kind lorry driver waved us in front of him.

We decided that one of our old favourites, Camping International Oasis at Dar Bouazza, would be a suitable stop for tonight so we programmed the satnav which took us a different way, avoiding the very poor link roads we've used in the past. The coast road out of Casablanca was more like a race track, cars dodging around mopeds, motorcyclists without helmets weaving in and out of slower traffic and us having to keep a very careful watch out. But we can give as good as we get so it was all a bit of fun, although we were very glad to turn off at the campsite!

Never full, there were only a couple of vans parked up so we found a nice pitch, but then had to move because the electricity didn't work. The guys do a good job of keeping the place clean and tidy but it does suffer from a lack of investment, probably due to it's poor position, which is a shame because anywhere else it would be a real gem. However it's perfectly adequate for us and we decided to stay two nights as today has been a relatively long and tiring drive.