Onto Agadir

30th Jan - 2nd Feb


We have been here at Atlantica Park for 5 days just chilling. The site is very commercial and geared towards retirees, everyone having their own bordered pitch, We are surrounded by French but they are very welcoming contrary to what we have heard? Some have been returning here for years, and come straight here once they arrive in Morocco from Spain and stay the duration?
The site celebrated its 10th year of opening on the 25th, just before we arrived and by all accounts they threw a good party? There are more pitches on the other side of the road, with the water park, dance hall and also holiday chalets. The owner's are sitting on a gold mine, as both sides are pretty much full, possibly nearing 900 vans.

We are on plot 552

The site has pretty much everything you need, a few restaurants, tat shops a grocery and fresh fish shop and also a van valeting booth and an upholsterers. I went to the upholsterers to enquire about having our front seats done, but he wanted more than I was willing to pay but the seed is planted, I'm sure I can stripe him down? There is also a shop that makes just about anything for motorhomes. awnings, safari rooms, thermal silver screens and Moroccan mats. I bought a Moroccan mat 5m x 2m 250dir about £17 a third of the price back home. There is also a local artist that paints Moroccan theme pictures on vans, he also sells his own paintings from his shop on site, his name is Rachid Nadal and he is famous along the Agadir campsites and you will see many vans with his murals painted on them. I am thinking of having one done to the van as a memento?

 The Reception

The site is in a valley about 1/2 km from Paradise beach

Van valeting booth on site

This guy does a good job, but a tad pricey

We could not agree a price on the upholstery, so he tried to sell me a fox hat

 

There are several Pétanque / Boules areas on the site, and at the moment a tournament is taking place, and all the areas are busy with the fixtures. It also attracts plenty of onlookers mainly French, possibly the ones that have been knocked out already.

There are two other sites close by and also three Guardian parking sites on the beach at Taghazoute so we will probably be in the area for a while and will no doubt return sometime on our way back up.

One of my biggest bugbears on the road is with the Internet, I have not been able to get any reception on my Huawei and we are too far from the wifi zone for me to pick it up in the van. So on Sunday I missed the game against Southampton, we put up a good display by all accounts albeit against the run of play, and won 1-0 away from home, "Happy Days"
While walking to the shops I noticed they are building a new Mosque. I had to take a picture of the cradles they were using to work on the exterior

No Risk Assessments needed 

 

Today I bought some Monkfish, 35dir 1/2 kilo about £2.50 so it's Monkfish madras tonight, we are eating a lot of fish including Max, who has also garnered a taste for tinned sardines and gets a tin a day.

We plan to move onto one of the sites in Taghazoute next, there are three guardian parking sites along the beach and a few official campsites so we have a choice.

 

3rd Feb

 

Late last night I read on the MHF forum that the police had told people on one of the Taghazoute beach sites that they will be evicted tomorrow, it appears the police are cracking down on these wildcamping sites. so we decided to stop at a site 4km along the road.

We set off early today as we knew that if the beach sites were being evicted approximately 300 vans would be looking to find somewhere to park.

We arrived 15 minutes later at Terre d'Ocean it is perched on the side of a mountain and over looks the coast with stunning views and 500m from the beach

 Camping Terre d'Ocean 30°33'18.2"N 9°44'20.6"W 

 

It's another nice site 115dir a day with large pitches, we set the van to South West and have a nice sun trap all day. There is a swimming pool and shops onsite and a wifi lounge. 

Max likes the new mat

Not long after we parked up many vans started arriving, no doubt from the beach eviction? And pretty soon it was full. I got talking to a German chap next door and he told me that all three beach sites are getting closed down by the 14th February to make way for the developers. It is a shame as we had planned to stop there for a few weeks, I had wanted to see how it had changed since 76/77 when I was last here to how it is now? It has been "The Place" to visit since the early 70's for surfers, beachbums and hippies alike and lately the snowbirds, but unfortunately it's popularity has been it biggest enemy.

 

 These MotorHomes have no leccy but great vistas

We are parked up there

The view from our van

Sunset from the campsite

 

We had a few visitors later in the afternoon, there are now five other British vans on site, they have been evicted from the beach site. They tell me that the military were on hand along with the police to evict the campers, and they were also at the other two sites to ensure the vans did not move onto them. Once the other two sites are evicted there will be approximately 1000 vans looking to find a home.

 

 

We also find out that Colin and Sandra are here also, having been on the beach for the last 5 days, and they have had a painting done by Rachid on their van, it looks good I am deciding where to have our one done? We had a drink with them and the other refugees from Taghazoute.

This afternoon Sam made Sincronizadas from Tortillas for a snack, a new one for me and very nice too. 

 

 

4th Feb

 

The weather for the last few days has been scorching, it's a dry heat as opposed to being humid, and the breeze from the coast is welcome, Max spends most of the time either under the van or inside it. We though are absorbing the rays like a sponge.

Rachid the painter was on the site today touting for business, so I asked to look through his portfolio and decided on a mural for the van. There were two thin cracks at the rear that I wanted to eliminate, and after he had prepped he began painting, quite a few van owners came over to watch him at work and a few secured his services to paint their vans. An hour later he had finished, and we are quite pleased with the new addition. 

If only Billy Bridgend had applied himself a little more? Who knows what he could have achieved

 

 

5th Feb

 

The sun has got his hat on..

9.50am and it's already in the 30's

 

This morning we got up and decided to stop another day, it was sunny and getting warmer as the sun rose over the mountains, and by 10am it was in the mid 30's. The fish seller was on site so I bought 1kg of Monkfish and a 1/2kg of Prawns caught this morning, he had some nice  John Dory, another time I thought?  After breakfast we headed to the beach, we got to the top of the cliffs and could see the surfers were already making hay,

 

The early surfer catches the wave

 Taghazoute beach is around the corner

Max doing a silhouette of a Chicken

 

By midday it was scorching again, the hottest time is actually 3pm and it was in the 40s by then.

We are having Thai Monkfish curry and sticky rice for our evening meal tonight. If there any executive chefs reading this? I'd like a recipe for John Dory!!

Tomorrow we plan to head into Agadir, I want a few bits done on the van and I'm told Mustapha is the man to see? So we will drop by and get a quote and if ok arrange a time to get the jobs done. We then plan to head further South towards the Western Sahara.

Another magnificent sunset to finish the day

 

Tomorrow I will try and watch "if I get good Internet" the Rugby match Wales v The Old Enemy. I don't think there will be any bars showing it over here though!!