Tafraoute

Well we thought it was about time we stopped enjoying ourselves and reported back to our readers!

As we've said before Tafraoute is likely our favourite place in Morocco, maybe because we have happy memories of enjoying time with many other Funsters, the superb weather, the lively and welcoming township – and also because it's CHEAP! Okay, it's guardian parking, that is, rough camping with security and a few facilities thrown in, but at 15 dirhams (about £1.25) a night it's the bargain of the year and many, many motorhomers take advantage of it. There's probably upwards of 300 motorhomes here of all nations, ranging from simple converted vans through to super-liner monsters towing cars, buggies and motorbikes. Then there is a smattering of giant off-road machines, designed for the desert proper, usually German. But the place is so large that, unless you want to live hand-in-glove, like the French seem to insist on, there is plenty of room to be on your own if you wish.

Water is delivered by bowser who you need to keep an eye open for and then wave him down, but he'll deliver as much as you want for 25 dirhams. The toilet cassette emptying facility is primitive and totally inadequate for the number of people here, so you need to pick your time – 5.00 am seems to be good! As for “grey” water, most just water the few stunted trees.

Local tradesmen call round at intervals, the most regular being the bread man who will leave you a baguette or bap in the bag you tie to a door handle and leave 2dh in before you go to bed - he also does absolutely delicious coconut macaroons! Solar panels, bodywork repairs, argon oil, honey, windscreen and wheel covers, floormats – we've met vendors for them all. Local ladies offer a “meals-on-wheels” menu, home-cooked and served in your van, also a laundry service if you wish. Young lads collect used water containers (they get a kick-back for them) and will also run errands – one took our gas bottle for replacement this morning, was back within an hour and was overwhelmed when I told him to keep the change, around £1 which is a lot to them. The gas cost £4 for a 13kg bottle – how much is it in the UK?

The weather has been fabulous, the main reason of course for us coming to Morocco. The sun comes up over the eastern rim – Tafraoute is in a bowl, almost completely encircled by mountains – at around 8.00 am and disappears the opposite side around 6.45 pm. Overnight temperatures drop to a comfortable 12 deg and during the day we've seen as high as 37 deg. Mid-afternoon a strong easterly breeze gets up, enough to cause us to take in the awning, but it remains very warm. But just to ring the changes, this morning it was partially cloudy although it has mostly cleared and is once again quite hot. The solar panel has the batteries recharged by 10.00 am.

We've walked into the town a couple of times, once for some shopping on market day when it gets totally chaotic, and one evening for a meal at an excellent restaurant for the princely sum of £12 for the two of us! There are others which are, shall we say, colourful but are very enjoyable and we'll almost certainly be eating out again. The locals are very friendly and almost without exception very helpful, although they always have an eye to turning an advantage, but also they are not pushy and accept Europeans as a normal part of life – there are quite a lot of us about however......

Our reason for coming a little later this year was to see the 9^th annual Almond Festival and this has been taking place over the last few days, today being the last. During the day there are stalls selling goodies, a bit like a Christmas market we suppose but realistically only up-market versions of stuff you can get every day. A big sound stage has been erected in the main square near the mosque and that has been hosting entertainment for the last three nights – and we mean nights; it was still going when Terry got up at 7.30 am this morning. Unfortunately it was quite loud too and Arabic music sounds very repetitive to us so not to our taste. Never mind, we can at least tick that off our todo list.

Our days have been generally spent relaxing, in and out of the sun so that we're colouring up nicely without getting sunburned. The humidity is very low so the heat is much easier to cope with. We've had a few get-togethers with our Funster friends and more are planned – we've just been told about a planned “farewell lunch” in a local hotel next week. Brenda is getting quite a lot of her sewing done, although the quilt is still slow progress, whilst both of us have got through a good number of books.

We've had a couple of problems with the van, not entirely unexpected given it is now 12 years old with 107,000 miles on the clock, but nothing serious thank goodness. We tried to use the cab air-conditioning on our drive up here from the coast but it wouldn't work; suspect it needs a recharge but we'll need a proper garage for that which we'll look for later. The freshwater pump started to fail so we replaced it with the spare we carry. As previously mentioned the mains electricity element in the fridge failed on our way through Spain but, not being able to get a replacement, we're managing okay on gas, although using a lot more than before. Finally we thought we had a leak after unexpectedly running out of water, but that appears to have been us using more than we had thought when doing some washing, though we'll keep an eye on it.

Strangely we've seen no other Brits other than from MotorhomeFun all the time we've been in Morocco and have come to the conclusion that insurance companies introducing a hefty charge for the obligatory Green Card has deterred many this year. The French however, after a couple of lean years when we heard they'd had the same problem, are back in force, totally overwhelming all other nationalities.

We haven't made any plans about when we intend to move on, or even where although a couple of ideas are being kicked around – this year was always intended as a relaxing break rather than rushing around being tourists. We've not taken many photos either but here are a few more, some taken by our good friend Phil.

Must finish now, my deck chair is calling.......................

The camping area (Phil)

Evening falls (Phil)

Sunrise (Phil)

The mountain rim (Phil)

Lion Rock - can you see his face? (Phil)

Daily visitors

Main road into town

Festival poster

Monday 25th February – Erkounte to Tafraoute

Erkounte to Tafraoute - 99 miles

A much disturbed night. Just after Terry's usual nocturnal visit Bren suffered a severe thigh cramp which was extremely painful and took some shifting – it was a wonder she didn't wake up the whole campsite but she did upset Jamie who, an hour later, decided he needed to wake us again and go outside. Yet another hour later he did the same thing and we could not get him settled until Terry transferred to a seat and tried to sleep with him in his lap. Eventually he was pacified and let Terry go back to bed!

Which nearly had us cancel todays plans which were to move up to Tafraoute for the one target we had set ourselves, the Almond Festival, but we were okay although our hoped-for early start went by the board. But doing most of the packing away last night meant that, apart from breakfast and service the van, there was not a lot else to do except pay the man and say bye-bye for now to our friends, who we expect to see a little later during our trip.

First call was the supermarket at Tiznit to restock and also get a wifi recharge card – we've been in Morocco nearly a month so our present subscription is about to run out. That done we headed out on the road to Tafraoute, stopping for lunch at the same place as on earlier trips as we started into the mountains. Having missed last year and so far this time being always on the coast we had forgotten the fantastic views and enjoyed them again equally as much as on our first visit.

Lunch

A long slow twisty haul on good roads up the Col de Kerdous to 4239' amsl then a memorable meander through the mountains with almost no traffic and amazing scenery, a little hazy today unfortunately. We have posted pictures before on earlier blogs so if you missed them take a look at our previous efforts – links on the right. Eventually, having got stuck behind a French motorhome towing a car on a trailer and his travelling companion, we arrived at the guardian parking just outside Tafraoute to find it surprisingly busy, given that earlier reports said it was quiet. However there was still plenty of room and after spotting a couple of Funster friends found a nice empty patch and set up. A quick chat revealed the locations of others and indeed a few called to say hello shortly after.

Before long the itinerant traders spotted a newcomer and we were “persuaded” to buy a bag of coconut macaroons and order bread for the morning (just leave 2 dirhams in a bag tied to the door handle – it worked fine). We didn't need new windscreen wipers and thought the cous-cous, tagines and pizzas, all home-cooked, were a tad expensive. We'd also discovered that the cab air-conditioning wasn't working – it always works when you don't need it – but spotted a garage man who, according to his card, could fix it so we'll catch him later. Hopefully it just needs recharging, but anything else will have to wait until we get home.

A nice cuppa and a sit in the setting sunshine – it feels like we've come home!

Erkounte

Erkounte is a tiny village on the Atlantic coast between Tiznit and Sidi Ifni. Apart from the campsite there is little of note except a spectacular isolated sandy beach, accessible from the campsite down a steep track, steep enough that not all that many folk use it.

Looking down to the beach

The site itself is modern, well laid out with generous pitches and electricity points and water taps well situated. The sanitary block is immaculate with hot showers, washing and washing-up facilities and even a dog shower! There is a regular bus service north and south although most who stay here seem to have their own transport, 4-wheel drive buggies being quite prevalent. There is an excellent restaurant and small shop for essentials and the owner has built a large meeting room, used for various functions arranged for the campers. Many are here long-term and get good discounts. We like it!

Quieter, bottom end of Erkounte Park

Busier, but not as crowded as it looks, top end

The owner, Abdullah, comes from the village itself but spent 33 years in Denmark as a restauranteur, before returning to his roots and building the site on land inherited from his father, thus the strong European influence. He speaks several languages, as does his young son who helps run the place. His wife and daughters run the kitchens etc. making it a big family affair. He is also keen on helping develop his village and has instigated several programmes including a tourist trail around the rocky coast, visiting five rock arches.

Our stay here has been most relaxing, blessed with hot sunshine and light cool breezes during the day and comfortably cool nights. We have used the restaurant a few times and enjoyed very reasonably priced and tasty meals, but have not ventured away from the site, except for Terry taking Jamie onto the beach a few times for a run about and a plodge in the sea, which is actually quite rough with big waves rolling in from the Atlantic. We've not seen anyone actually swimming although it is not all that cold.

It is easy to see why it is popular with long-term motorhomers and we've enjoyed our week here. However we're now ready to move on to the one objective we've had in returning to Morocco this year, the Almond Festival at our favourite town of Tafraout, in the mountains, which takes place at the end of next week. A number of our MotorhomeFun friends are also heading that way so our plan is to join them tomorrow, pausing again at the supermarket in Tiznit, although Tafraout is quite a big town with all the shops etc. we need. It's just that a supermarket is a bit easier.

We'll be leaving our friends, Derek and June with whom we've been travelling since arriving in Morocco, for now as they want to stay here longer but have plans to meet up again later.

 

PS - Harry and Meghan haven't been to see us! (They're currently in Morocco somewhere).

Monday 18th February – Takat to Erkounte

Takat to Erkounte - 79 miles

A reasonably early start (for us) on a bright but still hazy morning and after the usual servicing we headed back to the main N1 road and headed south. Initially we were still in a built up area but before long it gave way to open land and vistas of scrub and mountains in the distance.

Donkeys, camels, sheep, goats

This road has been seriously improved since we were here last with an excellent surface and mostly dead straight for miles, with just the occasional village. We were heading for Tiznit, a large town where we knew of a decent supermarket and also banks etc. to get some more currency. Parked on waste ground adjacent to the supermarket, along with several other motorhomes, we first headed off to find a cash machine and bureau de change, naturally walking in the wrong direction as we later found both just round the corner from where we had parked.

The supermarket supplied us with all the dry goods and drinks we needed but no fresh fruit and vegetables so knowing there was a market here somewhere we wandered off and after a couple of wrong turns we asked for directions. A large covered market had all we needed, as well as a lot we didn't (sheeps heads anyone?) so we bought enough to last a week.

Returning to the van, our intended destination was only about 45 mins away so we forewent lunch and pushed on. Following TomTom, we were a bit uncertain at first as we thought we'd be going another way, but Bren soon confirmed we were okay from the map and we enjoyed a scenic (that word again) run through the coastal hills on another excellent road to the sea shore. Before long we arrived at Erkounte Park, a place our friends had been before and loved. A very friendly welcome by the owner and we registered before walking around to find a couple of pitches.

This site is very popular with French long-termers and although there seemed to be lots of space, many had encroached onto adjacent pitches with their trailers, buggies, cars etc so that finding two together was not possible. In the end we settled on pitches with one van between us, but neither had a lot of room. In all honesty if it had been earlier in the day we may have just cancelled our registration and moved on but the weather was again turning cold and grey so we just put up with it. In fact it wasn't long before we had a couple of quite heavy rain showers.

As a consolation, however, we booked meals in the restaurant and at 7.00 pm sat down to a very nice meal, the guys settling for kefta tagine and the gals chicken brochettes, with a traditional Moroccan salad, followed by banana splits and a crepe for Derek. We also had a good chat with the owner who spoke excellent English and remembered Derek and also several other Funsters who stayed here a few years ago. We went to bed in a somewhat happier frame of mind.

Kefta tagine

Chicken brochettes (skewers) and chips

Banana split

Takat 2

Thereafter we didn't do an awful lot. Couple of walks on the beach to give Jamie a chance to run about before we put him in the shower and gave him a bath – he was going brown with the dust! He looked, and obviously felt, a lot better after his washdown which he accepted quite happily for a change.

But the weather changed a bit. Friday afternoon saw increasing amounts of high cloud and the wind got up, prompting the site receptionist to go round advising people to take in their awnings. Settled down overnight but Saturday was a lot cooler and cloudy with even the odd hint of rain until the evening saw the cloud cover breaking up. Sunday was hazy all day although a bit warmer. The forecast was a bit mixed so we'll have to see.

We decided to move on on Monday so Sunday afternoon was pack up the van, pay the fees etc. time with a view to a reasonably prompt start in the morning.

Takat

This is a French owned and operated site and the vast majority of vans are French, with a couple of Germans and the odd Dutch. We're the only Brits here. As to be expected the facilities are excellent with spacious pitches, plenty of water points, and a lovely swimming pool adjacent to a bar/restaurant. The only down side is that it is in the middle of nowhere; the coast is 3km in one direction and the nearest village the same the other, so with no public transport unless you've got your own you're stuck. But that isn't really a hardship as there are a few essentials available at reception where Monique, the owner/receptionist speaks good English and is very helpful.

The mobile phone signal isn't very good either, making the use of the mi-fi sporadic. There is good wifi in the bar/pool area but there are a lot of folk using it so it can be very slow. 

Tuesday we went out to try find some gas as one of the refillables was empty and we were running on a small Moroccan bottle. Thinking the main road and village of Siddi Bebi would be the best place we tried there first but despite driving several miles in both directions we could find no-one who would/could exchange. So as we had passed a shop in the village nearest the campsite with bottles outside we decided to try there – which of course we should have done in the first place! No problem, three small bottles exchanged and one large 13kg purchased, all for the princely sum of £13. Camping Gaz 907 bottles in Europe are £27 exchange; identical (but unbranded) in Morocco 95p, yes 95p! The large bottles are the same connection as Calor in the UK so we just had to connect up using our adapter hose.

Back at the site we re-established ourselves but despite a nice breeze we couldn't sit out in the sun until late afternoon. Jamie was non too happy as there was nowhere to let him run so he spent a lot of time under the van in the shade – we wouldn't let him lie out for too long in th sun.

Wednesday was a sort out, clean up and washing day. Full service on the van and a load of washing, which was dry in less than an hour of being pegged out! Terry sampled the swimming pool which, despite being 19 deg, was very refreshing if a bit of a shock to the system!

Thursday was Valentines Day and the site had organised a Valentine Lunch poolside. “Les Anglais” had our own table of course but nevertheless were made welcome enough. After a toast of rum-laced punch, hors d'oeuvres were served followed by spit-roasted lamb with roasted vegetables, baked potato and salad. There was plenty of it, beautifully cooked and presented, with as much “seconds” as you wanted. All washed down with a cold bottle of Moroccan rose or orange juice for the non-alcoholics! Then three large chocolate profiteroles rounded it off, with coffee or mint tea.

Waiting for lunch

Roasting lamb

Being French, of course, this was spread over three hours but Jamie, who we'd had to leave in the van with all the vents open, blinds closed and a fan going, forgave us when he sniffed out the bowl full of lamb leftovers! It was then siesta-time and a couple of hours got lost.............

11 February 2019 Imsouane to Takat

Imsouane to Taket - 89 miles

After a noticeably warmer night we managed to get away reasonably early as we had a few things to get sorted today. The sun, once it had cleared the coastal hills, was very warm and once again we had the promise of a fine day. Pausing for a photo of Imsouane from the top of the hill, we then rejoined a busy N1 towards Agadir, initially very “scenic” through the hills before dropping down onto the coastal plain. 

Coast south from Imsouane

Imsouane

This is surfer country; huge waves rolling in from the Atlantic onto miles of wide sandy beaches, it was just unfortunate that there were only a few places where they could be accessed and it seems the local authorities are quick to prevent overnight parking. We saw very few motorhomes parked and those we did see were obviously only daytime parking; we have heard of folk who got away with the odd night but have also heard about others being moved on late at night.

However we did spot a brand new campsite, right on the beach at a tiny settlement about 10km north of Tagazhoute, which obviously hasn't yet got onto the information sources as there was quite a few empty spaces. We didn't stop, just made a note of it's location to pass on to others who may be able to find out more.

A new dual carriageway road has now been completed, taking the N1 around Tagazhoute and from which the massive developments that have been made can be clearly seen. There is still much work going on and looks to be several years worth yet – Morocco earns a lot of money through tourism so, although the motorhoming community lost what was possibly the best location in Morocco, we wish them well.

On, then, to Agadir and the big Marjane supermarket for probably our last major shop for a while, as ever very popular with motorhomers judging by the numbers parked up. Whilst we had lunch Derek and June went off to find the local Fiat dealer to see if they could sort out his broken mirror; incidentally the same thing happened to a French van right in front of us on the road near Tifni. We managed to take to the verge to avoid the same fate; it seems the minibus drivers are training to be coach drivers and need to “collect” a number of “trophies” before they qualify..............!

With no success, but a possible name, Derek & June rejoined us before we refuelled and continued south to Takat and the campsite recommended by another Funster. A few kilometres off the main road this almost new, apparently French owned, site is situated in the middle of nowhere, even being some 3km from the coast. However it has nice roomy pitches and spotless facilities as well as a swimming pool and daytime bar and restaurant. We found two adjacent spaces, manoeuvering in sideways to get maximum daytime sunshine, and settled in with a view to stopping until at least the end of the week.

Being pretty pointless, we again declined electricity hookup but then discovered the gas refills offered were of no use to us so we'll head out tomorrow and get new gas bottles. It's not a problem at the moment but we cannot keep putting it off.