Goodbye North Africa, Hello to Europe

4th–5th April



Yesterday I spotted a familiar face on site, it was Alain Giletti the French ice skating champion of way back when, who we met at Merzouga. His female travelling companion had to leave due to an injured back, I guess the off roadin’ may have took it’s toll. He had tried to change his ticket at Tangier Med but it would have cost to much, so he is staying till the 28th travelling solo. It was handy he turned up, I was helping one of his French patriots to set up his satellite dish he had recently bought in Morocco, the instructions were in English, but I was having problems in the communication dep't and Alain speaks good English.
A Dutch convoy arrived later, about 20 vehicles or more, they were on an organised tour similar to the British equivalent of Desert Detours, the “Team Leader” arrived earlier setting out numbered cones, when the others arrived sometime later they were pointed to their allotted slot between the cones,  Now I’ve got nothing against these tours but it looked all too regimental for us, everything seemed so organised, a tour of the medina to an evening meal at a nearby restaurant, a blackboard was erected near the reception, names had to be registered for the jaunts. It’s a good business, but Morocco in my opinion you do at your own pace, stay as long as you like and leave when it suits yourself, that’s what the freedom of the Motorhome gives you? I’d hazard a guess our three month trip in Morocco including tyres and repairs, clothes and numerous other things for the van, is roughly what they paid for their one month tour,  they still have to pay for fuel  and meals also. Don’t worry about travelling here on your own, because you'll always meet up with other motor homer’s going the same way or point you in the right direction.
I’m not sure if Lawro has been reading this, but this week he was saying he had been getting stick from Swansea fans for his predictions, he also noted that we would have single figure points going on his knowledge to date. This week he had predicted us to win for a change?  I hoped it was not a bad omen, and thankfully we won with ease,  hopefully he will now put away the bad blood he has against the the only Welsh premier team and move on, unless he’s a closet CCFC fan.

Alain Giletti et moi

 

The last two days we have been preparing ourselves to re enter Spain, also making a list of essentials we need, the first point of call will be to one of the many large supermarkets in Algeciras. We have all but finished our wine stock and I have two beers left, I will also seek out some pig products, ham, bacon, sausages and pork chops, something we have missed while being in Morocco.
Morocco has been a great country to visit, it has so many different features, I think I've used every superlative to describe the country in our time here, and probably missed a few along the way?  We have travelled on some of the worst roads imaginable, and some of the most scenic we are ever likely to drive on, we’ve been on some great and not so good campsites, there is so much more to see that we have not been able to fit in on this trip, we have seen the devastation the floods caused and their attempt to rebuild, and saw wealth and poverty side by side, but the true charm of the country is it’s people, they are friendly,trustworthy, generous and humble people.




6th April

We have been in Morocco 89 days. travelled 2724 miles, stayed at 36 places and visited many more, our average living cost per day was £17 for two people and a dog, this figure includes diesel, gas, food, wifi and campsite fees. I have not included alcohol, how can you in a Muslim country?  Actually our alcohol cost per day was £3.19 for the two of us, not bad a tad over 20 quid a day! We know you can do it a bit cheaper, as most sites we used EHU to run our fridge due to not having enough LPG.

This morning we left Chefchaouen and drove up through Tetaouen and onto Tangier Med to get the ferry over to Spain, a pleasant drive, dual carriageway for most of the way from Tetaouen, a rarity over here, a small section of toll road and we were in Tangier Med.

Leaving Tangier Med

Unfortunately we missed the ferry we intended to catch by minutes, the ramps were being raised as we arrived, so it was a four hour wait for the next, which then turned into six hours before we departed?  It was 8.30 Moroccan time, or 9.30 in the evening Spanish time by the time we exited customs. We decided to stop at Lidl’s car park in Algeciras, “we had stayed here the night before we entered Morocco” it was close by and we were able to grab ourselves a McDonalds meal, the choice was limited at that time of night on a trading estate. A few Bombay Sapphires later we turned in, shattered.



7th April


We are back in Europe and the weather is abysmal, it’s overcast and blowy. Restock our alcohol cupboards and obtain plenty of pig products from Lidl, Then fill up our LPG bottles at Los Barios and onto La Linea. The Aire is a short walk to Gibraltar, It's outside the Estadio Municipal de La Línea de la Concepción, 36°09'28.6"N 5°20'20.3"W it’s quite basic with emptying facilities but no water or leccie, but at 3€ it has other benefits namely a sports bar . We took a stroll into Gib for some duty free, and stopped for a pint of Guinness, nectar from the gods! I also bought a new camera, as mine had given up the ghost in Morocco. The weather reminds me of Britain, It’s blowing a hoolie and it’s noticeably colder than it was in Morocco, It’s the first time I've worn jeans in months! Walking across the runway in Gib, we were walking at an angle and Max was getting blown from side to side. Shopping over it was back to the van for pork chops.
I went across to the sports bar, the team Real Bolompedica Linense were founded the same year as the mighty Swans, what’s more they play in Black and White.

Ticket Office

 

I took a tour of the clubhouse after speaking to someone of Importance, and was able to walk onto the field through the tunnel, Then it was into the bar which I had originally came here for, and a few slurps with some of the players who had been training that night. I could have sat there all night, contented with beer in hand, absorbing the atmosphere, but unfortunately my pass was only valid a short while and it had run out.
Back at the van, Sam had cooked the chops and they were delish! a few more beers and a bottle of wine later we were ready to turn in.



8th April



The wind did not abate last night, it was dreary black skies above when we surfaced, so we made a plan to move on and find better weather. We had talked about our plans when we were in Morocco and we changed our original route, we would no longer be going up the Spanish coast “I’m not a lover of the Costas”  but across into Portugal and up, we have been told that the weather in Portugal was better than Spain at this time and with no internet to find out we set off to Gelves on the outskirts of Seville. The further we drove the better the weather became, tackling the traffic in Seville with the numerous junctions, if your in the wrong lane you need to act quick!  We made it to Gelves and our stop for today, on the outskirts of Seville. The sun was shinning, we’d made the right decision.

The Aire  37°20'21.1"N 6°01'27.0"W is in a marina set in a nice area, at 12.10€ p/n and 2.80€ for leccy if required, It has all the facilities with good showers,”unlike Morocco the hot water comes from the red tap” and wifi, it’s handy for the shops just down the road, and what’s more it has a bar 50 metres from where we are parked up. 

A bar and some shops under the apartments

 

The Rio Guadalquivir run’s along side. It exits at Sanlucar de Barrameda

 

 

9th April



We stopped another day at Gelves, while walking alongside the riverbank we came across a few plaques set into the wall, It’s obvious they liked this area very much and had their ashes dispersed here, we also came across another plaque where the ashes of a Spanish person was Interned into the wall.

RIP Mike Harper

 

While we walked down to Aldi, this morning, I happened to notice the Marina apartments rental price 15€ per day? £330 a month for a riverside apartment including gas, wifi,  and gym in a nice neighbourhood close to Seville, not bad I thought. “beats the hell out of Roffey”

 

Not sure how this got here in this football field.

 

We got back just in time, the heavens opened up and we were confined to the van, well for a short time until the sun came back out, the bar across the way is covered as it happens, and it’s warm out.

We will move on tomorrow along the coast of Spain, before heading into Portugal, we will have been on the road 150 days, it seems to be going so quick.

I’m posting this early this week, I’ve been studying the form for the National, It’s a lucky race for me, I have it nailed it down to two nags, my tip for the winner is Rocky Creek, and place claims for Alverado, both of whom I backed last year. Fill your boots, You read it here first!
Disclaimer: Sensible Gambling Only.