Well today we both woke with large hangovers, copious amounts of wine, port and brandy was consumed last night to celebrate 100 days on the road. We took a long walk along the beach to clear our heads. First impressions nothing to rave about, maybe we have been spoilt with all the fantastic beaches we have visited on this trip.
Not one of the best of beaches we have visited
A few pics of the campsite
More unfinished buildings here also
There are two other campsites along the same road, Camping Sable d’Or and
Camping Equinox. Tan Tan Plage is a port town, and it's responsible for the largest percentage of Sardine exports in Morocco.
A photo taken by Ken outside his van in Mirleft
This morning I bought two nice Bass off a local for 40dir, we will have them
later for our supper. It is still blowing a hoolie here and the fine sand/dust is getting
everywhere, we cant sit outside even though it's warm, we will take off
tomorrow and head for Tarfaya then onto Laayoune, where I imagine we will encounter quite a bit of sand?
Local housing estate in Tan Tan Plage
21st Feb
We left Tan Tan Plage and picked up the N1 to Tarfaya the last town in Morocco, The
road is long and straight for miles upon miles, although it is fascinating to drive with not a lot of traffic. We drove past a few large salt lakes which were being mined.
We arrived in Tarfaya a few hours later and looked for the Aire but it appears to be closed, there are a few vans parked up in side streets so we pulled in and took a wander. There is big plans afoot for Tarfaya, the promenade area is under construction with new buildings being built, they are looking to commercialise the area and plan to operate a ferry service to the Canary Islands. We took a walk on the small beach and were sinking up to our shins in the soft sand. The old fortress/trading post Casa del Mar stood out, it was built by the British in the 1880's
Salt Lakes we drove past en route
Then started to encounter large
sand dunes, the road meandered along the coast and we began to see lots of wild camels roaming the hammada.
Are you sure?
We arrived in Tarfaya a few hours later and looked for the Aire but it appears to be closed, there are a few vans parked up in side streets so we pulled in and took a wander. There is big plans afoot for Tarfaya, the promenade area is under construction with new buildings being built, they are looking to commercialise the area and plan to operate a ferry service to the Canary Islands. We took a walk on the small beach and were sinking up to our shins in the soft sand. The old fortress/trading post Casa del Mar stood out, it was built by the British in the 1880's
Casa del Mar
Tarfaya
Tarfaya new promenade under contruction
A Scotsman named Donald MacKenzie created the original trading post, formally
named Port Victoria, having looked around we decided to press on to Laayoune.
Leaving Tarfaya we came across the Tarfaya wind farms, the largest wind farm
in Africa, it stretches for 33 sq miles. We are stopped several times at police check points and have to fill in a fiche and they check passports etc. I am also told to switch off the dash cam at one?
Max is unsure about the Camels
We finally reached Laayoune about 4pm, it is a modern looking city with nice boulevards, it's a shame they have no Aire in the proximity of the city. we carry onto our destination.
Laayoune has a heavy military presence, and once again we are stopped at two checkpoints, finally arriving at the Aire at Foum el Oued about 5.30pm, 27°11'28.5"N 13°23'17.8"W it's 30dir a night with basic services, we are offered leccy but decline for the one night. I check the scores and Swansea have beaten Man U, coming from behind to win 2-1, my faith in Gary Monk is restored! I message a few people and then the internet connection disappears. (celebration short lived)
Foum El Oude Aire
Not a lot happening in Laayoune, except the long expanse of beach
The Aire is on the seafront roughly 30 meters from the beach, Max needed to stretch his legs and so do we, it does not have a lot going on in the area re shops/restaurants, maybe there is more to the other end? We will check out the other campsite tomorrow, but tonight we will have a couple of drinks, a bite to eat and have an early one, we are both shattered!
Our route to date
Note: We have reached our southernmost point of the trip, from the UK to Laayoune we have travelled 3753 miles, for most of the way we have been blessed with good weather. We have been in Morocco for 45 days and have 45 days to go with our green card.
22nd Feb
We slept well last night, and packed up and drove to the campsite which was not too far away. It is open but in a state of disrepair there is one solitary van parked up and litter and wild dogs galore, we are deflated! It is an anti climax to the journey down south. We can go further south to Boujdour which has recent reviews and is quite new, but it is another 200km and about 3hrs away, we will also have to drive the same way back being the only road and stay at the Laayoune Aire again.
Tan Tan is too far so we set the satnav to take us to an Aire in Ma Fatma another 250km up the N1.
Des res in the middle of nowhere
We decide to go back up the N1 200km and stop at a site in Khenfiss near a National Park. We fill up first though in Laayoune as it's cheaper here 43p a litre!! a few hours later we arrive and find it, It is abandoned also. It overlooks the Naila Lagoon.
Abandoned Houses at Khenfiss
We headed up the coast and passed through a small town called Akhfennir, as we were exiting the town I spotted two hitchhikers, I pulled over, they were a young couple a French guy and his Turkish girlfriend. "I remember hitching lifts to London and other parts of England going to concerts as a youngster myself" They have come up from Dahkla and once we had their rucksacks and guitar onboard, I took them as far as we were going to Ma Fatma. They both spoke good English, and they conversed with each other in English whilst in the van which was nice.
I dropped them off at Ma Fatma 28°12'18.0"N 11°46'59.9"W and hoped they would not have to wait long for their next lift? Good deed for the day over we levelled up and then went for a perusal. The Aire is on a cliff top overlooking an estuary and the Atlantic Ocean
There are several French vans and a German in an old truck conversion, the French are playing petanque and a few are fishing off the rocks, its a nice place to stop for one night and after a walk around we settle in for some food.
Views from the Van at Ma Fatma
A little later the Guardian comes by for his 10dir and tells me my rear tyre is low, I check and it is! but there is nothing I can do now as it is getting dark, I will sort it in the morning, we went to sleep with the sound of the waves smashing into the cliff face.
23rd Feb
First thing I went to check the tyre, by now it was totally deflated. I don't have a foot pump so I will put the spare on! Now that was the beginning of a comedy of errors that only happens to me or Basil Fawlty. First my jack breaks, clunk and it will raise no more, I try my two ton bottle jack but it will not lift it sufficient to remove the tyre. I take the spare out, and that is flat also. "jeezus" All the French have left bar one and the German conversion. I then think phone ADAC but there is no phone signal!!
With that two French vans pull in, I leave them to set up and have a cuppa.
Once they are set up I wander over and in my pigeon French ask French No1 if he has a foot pump, my right leg stomping the ground like a jack hammer, mimicking a foot pump, he does not, but comes over to survey the situation, he sees my broken jack and goes and fetches his, he also brings over a block of wood to put under my bottle jack, then his friend No2 arrives and after a discussion fetches his jack and a compressor. two jacks and my bottle jack and we have the tyre off. We notice that it has some big cracks to the inside it is shot! Thank god it did not blow out over the Atlas mountains we crossed a few days earlier? We put the spare on and use the compressor to inflate the tyre but after sometime the compressor gives up the will to live and packs in. He then wanders over to the solitary French van parked abut 400 meters away, He returns and says he has a compressor and will be with us in half an hour, he tells me if all else fails he will take me and the tyre back to Akhfennir to get it fixed,
Half hour later French man number 3 turns up and shakes my hand, I thank him for his assistance and he gets his compressor out, crocodile clips to my battery, and this one is more robust than the first, and it pumps the tyre up, he spits on the valve and it bubbles, the valve is dodgy but we put the cap on and it stops. I thank them profusely and No3 tells me in broken English "you campervan me campervan we're all family". They have restored my faith in human nature.
So after putting everything back in the garage, we say goodbye to the three musketeers and drive onto Tan Tan gingerly!
We arrived in Tan Tan plage but could not find a garage so drove onto Tan Tan, again no obvious sign of tyre garage although there must be some, but I'm not in the mood for driving off the beaten track, so I check the tyre by kicking it, it feels ok and make an executive decision to drive to Guelmin.
Arriving in Guelmin on vapour, there was no petrol station from Tan Tan? I fill up and a Moroccan comes over and wishes me a good day, and starts to chat about where we are from in the UK, it transpires he has a business in Camden Town selling Moroccan jewellery and artefacts. He is over on holiday for a few weeks, it just so happens I have my Oxford Arms "Jack Daniels" Tshirt on, and he knows the pub? I ask him where there is a tyre place and he tells me to follow him. He shoots off up the road with me following dodging donkey carts and motorcycles through the streets of Guelmin. We arrive at the garage and I ask for a price for two new Michelins and the spare to have a new valve. Price agreed they proceed to work. Tyre off tyre on I notice no balancing weights, I ask if it has been balanced he nods yes, I tell my new found Moroccan buddy that there are no weights and he gets into a Berber conversation which is quite heated. Tyre off balancing proceeds and tyre one goes on, I then notice the tyre I changed, I have lost the hubcap it is somewhere between Ma Fatma and Guelmin, not a big deal replaceable! Tyre two comes off and quickly gets replaced with new, and balanced and put back on. Then I ask if they have done the valve to the spare he says it is ok I tell him I want it changed, so it is done with a bit more Berber toing and froing. Finally complete the owner asks me for 40dir extra for balancing, I tell my buddy to tell him to fly a kite, it is part of the sale on new tyres, again more Berber hullabaloo, he admits defeat over the £2.66 then smiles and shakes my hand. I say goodbye to Esham, my Camden Town chum and drive to Marjane then onto Abaynou 20km from Guelmin.
We stop at Camping de la Vallee 29°06'49.7"N 10°01'12.2"W 60dir a night inc EHU, you can have half board for 120dir, breakfast and evening meal plus camping for two for £8.27!! It's set in a valley in the mountains, the last few Km are off piste. It is owned by a French couple and the spot is beautiful, so peaceful the place has got a nice vibe about it, it's a nice place to chill. We are invited to free aperitifs at 7pm in the courtyard, but decline we just want to settle in after todays events. Plus I feel it will be hard for me to socialise with the 50 - 60 French on site who are gathering for the freebies. You recall I struggled with the foot pump, so in no great rush to do a charades of todays itinerary at the garage.
It already getting dark when we arrived and did not fancy cooking, so we ordered a Berber omelette, it came with chips "proper chips" not frozen a baguette and a couple of avocado's and two cornetto's for desert, cost 100dir. We have not had chips since Portugal so they were extra special and the Berber omelette was nice too washed down with a few beers and a bottle of wine.
Berber Omelette
The stars at night are resplendent, there is no light pollution. I could watch them for hours, which if it wasn't so chilly I would have.
The sun sets on another eventful day
24th Feb
It is hot today no breeze in the 30s by 10am and it was getting hotter, the last 5 days have not been so good, overcast and windy, it's nice to feel the sun again.
After breakfast we took a walk up the valley with Max. Great scenery and all the wild flowers are out. There is nothing around here apart from nature itself, I watched falcons on the cliff edge hovering, quite a few nesting pairs.
The nearest village is down the valley a few km. The campsite is well set up with good facilities. nice private pitches with hedges, each serviced with a water tap "drinkable" and EHU point.
Some views of the campsite
Another great German off road truck conversion
25th Feb
We upped sticks today and took the N12 towards Tiznit we branched off before Sidi Ifni and went over the mountains, a few scary parts, where thank the lord nothing else was coming our way? and we then drove into Tiznit and onto Aglou Plage 29°48'13.1"N 9°49'39.5"W
It is quite a commercial site that can accommodate 260 vans, the pitches aren't massive but ok.
It has a good supermarket, a butchers, two restaurants a motorhome valeting area "which we will use after our desert run" and a wifi area, the shower blocks and washing machine areas are very high standard and it also has a resident artist who sells his paintings and does murals on vans. His work appears good at first glance and I will take a look through his portfolio photo's in the next day or so? It also has a waterpark to the side albeit closed for the winter.
The small village of Aglou Plage
A few houses on the cliffs at the end of the beach
The park overlooks the beach and the small village to the side, very quaint. We took Max for a walk once set up, we like it here and will stay a few days before making our next plan?
26th Feb
The day started well, very sunny earlier on only to cloud over by midday. also the breeze from the sea cooled the air down a tad. We have just mooched around today while I try and load some videos of our trip down to Laayoune and back onto YouTube. Sam has made a goat stew with cauliflower n cheese sauce for supper,
We are running a bit short on beers I noticed today, so we may have to drive up to Agadir to the Carrefour and restock. We plan to go inland to Tafroute then further east to Erg Chebbi/ Merzouga then meander north back into Europe
The videos uploaded to YouTube after sometime, internet has been patchy today?
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Marc and Sam