Tafraoute & Taliouine

Spot the Campervan

We knew from the meandering road on our Michelin map of Morocco that the drive toward Tafraoute from the coast was going to be a good one, this was our best so far. The route was lined with tiny Moroccan villages and mountain passes taking us up to 1900m above sea level. The scenery was just stunning and it was difficult to capture with a camera just how breathtaking and detailed the scenery is. More people use the road on foot or horseback then they do cars, with the women doing most of the heavy lifting while the men ride on  donkeys.

Left: A donkey with its legs tethered to stop it straying to far. 

Right: Women seemed to be doing all of the heavy lifting, but could only be photographed from a distance.

A Moroccan boy chances his luck

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, waves and smiles as you pass and we've yet to work out if they wave to everyone or just foreign campervans. The children are equally friendly but even more cheeky, smiling and waving hoping that you will stop and offer them a sweet or a pen. Children in groups start to become a little more daring and you need to be careful that they don't attempt to play chicken with the van but on the whole they're well behaved and good natured. Some little boys spotted us miles ahead and made their way from their huts onto the roadside where they waited patiently at the roadside in the hope of a sweet, thanking us in 4 languages when we gave in and passed over a couple of wrapped sweets - after we'd picked the lemon ones for Sophie! Laterally we took to passing out the odd satsuma trying only to stop for those children who appeared genuinely needy, we're still not sure on the gift giving etiquette and there is a lot of debate for and against.

Free Camping at Tafraoute

After a long drive we start to see campervans in the distance who appear to be free camping in the desert outside a campsite. Catherine approaches a Dutch couple who ask if this is allowed - "Black Camping!" they say, we ignore and find a spot anyway. We've not long stopped when we're approached by a friendly English speaking Moroccan who rides side saddle on his peddle and pop and enquirers as to the progress of Chris's beloved Bury match (Bury 3, Yeovil 2) which despite being in the middle of nowhere is happily streaming over our Moroccan dongle. We expect there to be a catch but leaves happy after pointing us in the direction of his shop in town. Later we're approached again and C&C get offers made on their bikes for the second time, it might have to go to sealed bids! The black camping is not so black after all, when an official looking guy with a receipt book comes and asks for 10dh (70p) each. Well, at least we're legal now.

Left: An Argon Nut growing in the wild  Centre: A fortified settlement   

Right: A village built both sides of in face of a deep gorge

Another day, another 200km drive to our next destination, Taliouine, with the views just as breathtaking and spectacular as the day before. We're more than ready for a rest when we arrive at Camping Toubkal.

The view from our most recent campsite, best enjoyed with a cold beer!

The weather is fantastic and we forget that we're still about 700m up and it doesn't take long before we've all had a bit too much sun and we spend a day just sitting around and admiring the fantastic view. Food is running low and there isn't a European style supermarket in sight so we have to shop like a Moroccan, trekking into town for supplies. There is one price for all fruit and veg and we fill a couple of bowls with produce but can't seem to buy anything that's over £1. The meat at the butchers doesn't look too appertising, it's all the same price and we're too late to get the best cuts - if only we can remember where they are.

Left: Fruit and veg, one price for all.     Right: Shoes for sale, if you can find a pair that is!

Dinner!

We settle for chicken, but can only find eggs. The eggs on the counter, it transpired, means that there are chickens in the back and what better way to keep them fresh without refrigeration then to keep them alive. It's not often you get to look your dinner in the eye but in a few seconds the deed was done and in less than a minute it was beheaded, plucked, gutted and in a carrier bag still warm for 40dh or £3. Delicious cooked in Catherine's remoska, Campervan Cookbook eat your heart out - we're starting to see the virtues of campsites and hookups and in Morocco we can do so for £5 a day and still come in on budget!

Left: We bought fish, 20p each gutted and de-scaled.   Right: A typical butchers, get there early for the best cuts!

Taghazoute and Aglou Plage

The view on the way to Essaouira

Heading South and back toward the coast was the plan, driving down through the mountains we finally saw the vivid contrast of the sea against the sandy mainland as we made our way to Essaouira. We got to the campsite and slotted into the last two spaces much to the annoyance of two tag axel Burstner Elegance's complete with trailers who in the end had to park either side of the gate - what a spectacle.

Wild Camping at Taghazoute

Just before Agadir we found a wild camping spot right on the beach with guarded parking for £1.90 in the presence of 50+ other campers with stunning views over the ocean. A short walk along the beach took us into the small town of Taghazoute which seemed to be one of the main surfing hubs along the west coast, as the majority of the shops along the main street were surf gear related. Small winding alleyways took us back down onto a large terrace with a couple of local cafe's overlooking the windswept beach where we watched the surfers getting battered by the waves as we drank mint tea for a small sum of 50p each.

Sea Front in Taghazoute

Back at the van there were plenty of opportunities to haggle with the steady stream of locals who seemed to be selling everything from fresh fish caught that morning to brightly coloured carpets and rugs. We had no space for carpets so opted for fresh prawns, 4 bream and Sophie took a shine to a pink braclet offered by one of the sellers. In true Moroccan fashion the price which initially was 10dh (75p) became 20dh when it was on her wrist, emphasizing the point we didn't have any more change (we didn't!) we rattled the mixed coins in our ashtray much to the delight of the seller who took them in lieu of the extra 10dh he wanted!

Lamb for tea!

Enroute to campsite at Aglou Plage we were all nearly forced off the road, not by a crazy Moroccan but by an insane Frenchman in a nearly new A-Class Pilote. When we arrived Chris went to confront the maniac, but he had abandoned his van at reception and disappeared into the site. It seemed full when we arrived and it wasn't as close to the beach as our camping guide made out but after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we actually ended up staying here for 3 nights. Chris and Adam decided on trying a bit of fishing but, alas, no tasty fish for the barbecue that night, good effort though chaps! We settled for some lamb steaks from the local butchers, topped off with courgettes and C+C's famous dauphinoise potatoes.


After a couple of lazy days we felt like some exercise was needed, it transpired that a short walk along the beach and round the cove were numerous old fishing huts built into the side of the cliffs. Most of them still seemed to be in use to a certain degree, others were crumbling away and had seen better days, whereas a handful had been decorated in bright colours and transformed into holiday lets.


Having stayed for three days we began to have itchy feet and set off towards Tafraoute.

Stunning scenery heading toward Tafraoute

Marrakesh

Djemaa el Fna - The Main Square

Our Taxi

From our base at Le Relais outside Marakesh we stay for three days lapping up the sun, relaxing and enjoying the company of Catherine & Chris before contemplating a visit to the city. We eventually call for a Taxi from reception and wait in anticipation for what is going to come and collect us. There are two types of Taxi in Morocco; the usual 1980's era Mercedes and a 'Petite Taxi' the majority of which seem to be Peugeot 205's of a similar vintage.

Koutoubia Mosque

The car that arrives is a Mercedes, with 950,000km on the clock and comically vague steering, Chris rides shotgun and we experience several arse clenching moments en-route to the center of Marrakesh. We disembark unscathed but disorientated and make our way towards the first notable landmark of Koutoubia Mosque. Being a mosque we can of course only view it from outside and so we press on with Chris leading purposefully to where he believes the main square is located.

When we stop to review the map we are approached by locals who speak to us in English rather than French and seem eager to help. They don't ask for money but the routes they suggest seem indirect and vague and we are wary of getting off course. We eventually make it to within a stones throw from the Bahia Palace when we were stopped by another friendly face. "The Palace is closed, do you want something to eat?". We decline and take a look anyway.

The Palace, it transpires, is not only open all day but only 74p to get in. Result. We hand over our money and are instantly transported into an oasis of calm, the bustling city streets inaudible from within the tranqual mosaic clad walls.

Bahia Palace

We emerge suitably relaxed and ready to tackle the city head on and make for a Souk next door where spices are sculptured into impressive cone shapes and we hover around like moths to a lamp. Within seconds the shop assistant has pounced and plied us with Berber tea which is refilled and reinvented with every sip. It becomes clear we are going to buy something and we make the most of it by photographing widely. Catherine and Chris are horrified to be referred to as our parents as we pose for a "family" photo and we haggle over our ground spices. No sooner has the money changed hands calm is restored and the shop assistant vanishes into thin air, a trick he has no doubt performed countless times previously.

With the pressure to buy something now reduced we wander around the incredibly authentic Souk's and back alleys clutching our purchases in a prominent position. There is none of the cliche tourist tat here and if it is its incredibly well disguised, even the ever present French seem to be in lesser numbers. Meat is cooked over coals, cigarettes sold singularly from stools and every now and then we dive for cover from kamakazi motorbikes racing down the narrow streets.

Somehow we are discharged into the main square and make a bee-line for one of the balconies so the we can watch the snake charmers at a safe distance. We order Tajines, Brochettes and inexplicably, Pizza, all while trying to snap a few cheeky photographs of the spectacles down below. The main square was already beginning its evening transformation where stalls are setup to sell freshly prepared and cooked food in the open air.

Back on the ground again we head back into the Souk's where we get involved in the heckling and banter with the locals in vivid technicolor. We head for the Ben Youssef Medersa, an Islamic College, where we are promptly abducted by a guide who spoke no more than five words in five languages and by the end of the tour were left in no doubt that they pray five times a day for five minutes.

With the light starting to dim we headed back to the main square which was by now transformed into a bustling food market, nobody mistakes us for French as we are heckled with British colloquialisms enticing us to eat at their stall. The truth is not much other than the Maitre d' separates them and we settle for "Lubbly Jubbley" as our favorite at stall 117.

 

To fully appreciate just how lively the main square is on an evening this short 360 degree video should go some way to communicating the atmosphere of the place.

To summarise an incredibly long post -  we can't imagine a trip to Morocco that doesn't take in Marrakesh. Nearly all of the people we encountered were good natured and played their roles as token Moroccans with an almost theatrical flare. Certainly you need to have your wits about you to some degree and not allow yourself to be intimidated by a few who use questionable sales tactics. Take some money and buy something of low value just for the satisfaction of haggling, eat food from the market and enjoy the spectacle for when you return to your campsite you'll be left in awe of your experience. Enjoy!

You can read Catherine and Chris's account over on The World is Our Lobster.

Morocco 3G Internet Dongle - Maroc Telecom Pay As You Go Data

What's in the box.

If you are heading to Morocco you're going to want to get online and the best way to go about this is to purchase a Maroc Telecom dongle.

Campsite Wifi has been, in our experience, unreliable and by contrast we found the dongle incredibly fast and easily quick enough to have a video Skype call back to the UK. Of course there may be areas where reception is limited but overall we have been very impressed.

Where to Buy

A Typical Maroc Telecom Shop

We would recommend purchasing one from a branded shop rather then a third party dealer for piece of mind, these look exactly like the phone shops we have back at home garishly decorated in blue and orange. The sign may be in 'English' or Arabic but the logo remains the same. We purchased ours at a Maroc Telecom shop within a Marjane Supermarket in Marrakesh. You will need your passport with you as a form of identification and you will receive a small box containing your modem and a shrink-wrapped credit card sized package which is your SIM.



If you are traveling anticlockwise around Morocco, the first Maroc Telecom shop you come to is in Asilah. The shop has a red and white phone mast on the top of the building so you can't miss it!

The address is - Rue Khalid Ben Oualid n° 41


The Cost
In January 2012 the cost was 199dh (£15) which includes a USB modem, most likely a Huawei 153, SIM card and also a months worth of unlimited internet use which begins when you first insert the dongle.

How to Use
Remove the dongle from the package and insert the sim card by sliding the white cover off the device. Take a note of the PIN code printed on the card as you removed your SIM from as you will be promoted for this each time you connect to the internet.

Simply insert the dongle into your laptop and allow it to install. If the Autorun install application does not begin, go to My Computer and there will be two new icons a Removeable Drive and and CD Drive Internet Mobile  Click this and open the folder named 'Internet Mobile' and click Setup.exe.

Screenshots of the software once installed.

The Speeds
The connection speed is up to 3.6Mbps which is easily enough for Skype with video, although the speed is limited once you exceed 400MB in one day to 128Kbps which is still perfectly usable for general browsing. The software provided shows you how much data you have consumed.

If you think that 400MB/day is not enough then read the 'Other Providers' below, there are some alternatives but the coverage is not as good.

The Data Coverage
You should be able to get some form of internet in the majority of locations in Morocco. In reality we have almost always been able to achieve the fastest speed, HSDPA.

There are other providers available and the biggest competitor is Meditel but having spoken to some other people and having Sophie's phone connected to the network I am not convinced that the coverage is better than Maroc Telecom.


Topping Up
Once you have used your free allowance you will need to top-up your account by either purchasing a top-up card at one of the many outlets across the country or online via Maroc Telecom Website which will still be accessible without any credit.

If you choose to buy a top-up card from a reseller or store you need to text the code from the back of the card using the software's built in SMS function to 555. Once your credit runs out your account is temporarily suspended and if after 3 months you have not topped up your account is cancelled.

A 100dh Topup Voucher

Sending an SMS using the Software

•  1 day: 10 dh (75p)
•  2 days: 20 dh (£1.50)
•  1 week: 50 dh (£3.75)
•  2 weeks: 100 dh (£7.50)
•  1 month: 200 dh (£15)

You may find that, as in Jan '12, that retailers are running a 'double credit' promotion so that the prices above are in effect halved.

Tip: If you want to check what date your allowance expires, send a blank text message within the software to 580.

Improving Reception

By far the best way to improve your reception and chances of achieving a HSDPA connection is to place your dongle outside your van. To do this you will need a USB extension cable no more than 3 meters long and some method of attaching the dongle to an external surface. In our case we simply used a clothes peg to attach it to our roof-mounted Wifi antenna!

You could also consider removing the sim card and placing it in a different dongle with an external antenna point using the APN settings available on the internet but if you are considering this you probably already have a pretty good idea what you are doing!

Other Providers
Meditel is the second biggest provider of 3G in Morocco and is snapping at the heals or Maroc Telecom. Their dongle deal is presently 229 dh (£17) including 30 days worth of Internet or 22Gb whichever you use up first . If you don't want a dongle then the price is 99 dh (£7.50). Their pricing structure is slightly different to that of Maroc telecom in that instead of a daily 'allowance' it is priced by data used and by time, whichever is used up first.

• 24hrs / 1GB = 10 dh (75p)
• 3 Days / 3GB = 25 dh (£1.90)
• 7 Days / 5GB = 50 dh (£3.75)
• 30 Days / 22GB = 200 dh (£15)

However, compared to Maroc telecom I am lead to believe that the coverage is not so good. We have been on sites where we have 5 bars HSDPA on our Maroc dongle but our neighbour had only very slow GPRS coverage.Click here for a coverage map.

There is also a provider called Wana (IMWI) which is a relative newcommer. A dongle currently costs 290 dh (£22) which includes 2 months unlimited internet with as far as we can tell. The coverage, however, is not so great so check before you buy (click here for coverage map). Top ups are:

• 1 day - 20 dh (£1.50)
• 1 Week - 70 dh (£5.25)
• 1 month - 180 dh (£13.50)

Use the SIM in other devices
If you use your Moroccan SIM in another device, you will need your APN Settings.


Maroc Telecom
username: (blank)
password: (blank)
APN: www.iamgprs1.ma (contract) or www.iamgprs2.ma (maybe menara prepaid) or wap.iamgprs.ma (3G Jawal)

Medi Telecom (Meditel)
username: MEDINET
password: MEDINET
APN: internet1.meditel.ma

Wana Corporate S.A. (inwi)
username: WANA
password: WANA
APN: www.wana.ma


Sharing The Internet

We don't have an iPad so can't comment on if the data SIM will work in there or in a mobile phone or tablet, however by far the easiest way to share the internet connection is to use a bit of software called Connectify which turns your laptops built in Wifi card (which is not being used) into a wireless hotspot. You will need to purchase the 'pro' version in order to share a 3G connection, I will be writing a review on it shortly. 

See also: The Maroc Telecom Website
                The Meditel Website
                The Wana (IMWI) Website

We're in Africa! Hello Morocco & Asilah

Asilah

You may well have picked up by this point that we've had some vague plans for Morocco for a while now. Those plans came into fruition when fellow bloggers Catherine and Chris of The World Is Our Lobster expressed an interest at a joint effort and the plan eventually came together in a Lidl carpark just outside of Algercias.

As every motorhome traveller will know there is no place more fitting and this particular car park was chockerblock with vans all returning from the legendary Carlos' ticket office equipped with a bottle of Brut and a slab chocolate cake and before long we were both armed with the same.

With tickets booked for the following morning, what followed was perhaps in hindsight ill advised; an evening fueled by 59c a litre Lidl wine as we enthusiastically swapped stories over Catherine's fantastic home cooked cottage pie.

The next morning, after discovering much to our disappointment that Mc Donald's in Spain don't open for breakfast, we headed for the lunchtime ferry to Ceuta. The crossing was naturally pretty rough and coupled with the night before C&C fared better than us, but at least none of us were sick!

The beauty of this crossing is you don't disembark into Moroccan madness, you're still in Spain complete with a Lidl and Spanish mobile phone coverage. Chris and Catherine are the undisputed motorhoming king and queen of border crossings, having exited and re-entered the European union on countless occasions; we are, by comparison, utter novices having only crossed nonthreatening minor European non-schengen borders.

Some of the huge loads on the road system.

As we approached we envisaged a scene of utter chaos at the border and we weren't far wrong. Adam and Chris stayed with the vans fending off various official looking Moroccans while Catherine and Sophie went off to get all of the official forms for both personal and vehicle immigration stamped and signed. We did in fact enlist the help of Mohammed and his friend, also Mohammed, for the pricey sum of €5 and we began the squeeze through the queuing traffic jumping to the front of the queue past about 20 vehicles and up to the border officials. There are mixed views on if you should do this, but in our case the help we received in jumping the queue was useful and greatly reduced our time at the border but you don't actually need any assistance with regards to the paperwork.

 "Alcohol no problem, but no pistols!" he quipped in excellent English before the inevitable line "and a tip for Mohammed?". A few more flashes of passports and paperwork later we had crossed the border and stopped briefly to withdraw some Dirhams at a cashpoint we headed to the town of Asilah where the night was spent in guarded motorhome parking in view of the city walls.

The Murals in Asilah

Guarded Parking in Asilah

Morocco is everything you imagine it to be; overloaded trucks, impromptu shanty towns and shops and markets piled high with wares of all description. Our first stop was Asilah, the town famous for its painted murals on buildings and we enjoyed a well deserved and inexpensive tea in a street side cafe. This time it wasn't just the wine that was 59c a litre, we brimmed our Diesel tanks for not much more then that from a local Shell en route.

The excellent Campsite 'Le Relais' outside Marrakesh

http://www.lerelaisdemarrakech.com/

The following morning we made 550km trip down an excellent toll road system (costing £17.20 for the duration and well worth it) down to Marrakesh where we are now camped at 'Lobster By Camper' HQ enjoying beautiful weather and fantastic BBQ'd Moroccan meat. What could be better! We've even had time to make friends with the locals, giving Mustafa a lift back from the supermarket where he was promoting the campsite to shopping motorhomers.

The 'Lobster By Camper' HQ and our new friend Mustafa

Access to the internet has thankfully been no problem either, thanks to a Maroc Telecom dongle for the princely sum of £15 including two months unlimited usage. The connection here is so good it allowed streaming of the Bury match for Chris and a couple of hours work for Adam, it's safe to say the plan for the rest of our trip is coming together nicely!