Monday 28th January – Estepona to Algeciras

Estepona to Algeciras - 45 miles

 

Of course we didn't get away as early as we'd hoped but who cares, we're on holiday! We needed to make sure the waste tanks were emptied and the water fully topped up as there were few or no facilities expected for at least the next couple of nights. From the campsite we went directly to a fuel station where we knew we could top off the gas tanks too – gas is possibly our biggest concern in Morocco but hopefully we'll be able to report on a successful solution.

Returning to the meeting point, over half an hour we met up with all four other vans who had contacted us – three had been before but there was one “newbie” couple. After lunch we went along to the travel agency office, the ubiquitous Carlos who we have encouraged all Funsters to use and have thus ensured a discount on tickets. They also advised us some new procedures for entering Morocco so we'll see. As always a friendly greeting and quick and efficient issue of suitable tickets, and as we were a group we all got a little present of a bottle of wine and pack of biscuits.

With a suggestion that we might meet up later for a meal, everybody went their own way to get the shopping done. There are a variety of large supermarkets, which is probably why it is so popular with motorhomers, our preferences being Carrefour and Mercadona. There is also oodles of unused parking area which becomes quite full of motorhomes “overnighting” ready for ferry crossings – it has been tolerated for quite some years now, probably because of the amount of business we bring. However another large parking area has been created near Carlos' office, some say by Carlos himself, that takes over 50 units and is where we finally settled for the night.

Following our earlier suggestion four of the five couples walked along to City Wok, a Chinese restaurant that does an all-you-can-eat for a fixed price buffet (drinks extra of course). At opening time, 8.00 pm, we had the place to ourselves but the Spanish eat much later than us and it filled up as we were leaving. There is an extensive range of food and, being a buffet, you can mix and match as much as you want – but save room for the gorgeous range of puddings etc.

So with full tummies we wandered back to the vans ready for an early start in the morning. Our various conversations over dinner had obviously enthused our newbie couple who were becoming quite excited!