Thursday 30 Jan 2014

We've now been away from home for a month!

Of course, because we've decided to move on, the day started bright and clear - but very cold. It seemed that everyone else had heard the forecast as the campsite was emptying rapidly so after the usual chores, paid the man (whose name was Rafid and judging by the way he kept pestering us for drink was an alcoholic Muslim!) and got under way.

And got lost. It appears that every road into and out of Tafraoute is the R104 and we wasted half an hour trying to find the right one. However eventually a road sign and a bus driver pointed us onto the road to Agadir, which was mainly single track tarmac with gravel verges to provide passing places. Fortunately there was little traffic as you had to plan exactly where you were going to put your wheels!

The road wound up into the mountains and, as before, the scenery was spectacular. Again over a hundred photos taken so here are a few of the better ones:

Watch those verges!

Village clinging to the mountainside

Mountain road

Distant mountains

Getting closer

Roadside mini-mosque

Mountain fortress - now a hotel

Every town and village has a mosque

Lunch stop

Dried up river bed

By early afternoon we were descending back to the plain between the Anti Atlas and Haut Atlas Mountains towards Agadir. Everywhere we saw almond trees which were just starting to blossom.

Almond Blossom

A reservoir in the hills

Soon we were back to what equates to civilisation and passed through a couple of bustling towns. It was quite common on entering or leaving a town to come across a temporary police checkpoint, where the rule is that you stop until you are waved on by the police. Up to now we have never actually been stopped but today one policeman was definitely waiting to see if I was going to.........

Welcome to Agadir

Agadir is a modern sea port on the west coast of Morocco and the excellent roads take you through the edges of the city. We were making for the giant Marjane hypermarket to re-stock our dwindling supply of provisions and for the first time in Morocco the satnav took us straight to it. Mind you, it was signposted from over 10km away.

That done, and the day wearing on, it was time to find somewhere to stop. All through our time in Morocco we have been reading on the internet about Taghazoute Beach being a great place to stay so, satnav programmed again, we set off to easily find it around 20 mins north.

This is basically an ex-camping site that has been taken over by "wild-camping" motorhomes, but now has "guardiens" who generally look after the site and provide basic security for a small fee. There are no facilities as such, except for a sewer access for emptying toilet cassettes, although local enterprise has stepped in. A large water bowser comes round twice a day providing as much water as you want for 20 dirhams; we're told that if you leave 2 dirhams in a plastic bag tied to your mirror it will be replaced in the morning with a baguette by the local baker. We'll see.

As usual as all over Morocco, various tradesmen wander round but they are not pushy, but when you see and hear of just what is available! A dutch lady has set up a massage salon in an old bus - said by one of the group to be excellent; you can have a decorative mural painted on your van for 200dh in 10mins; a local guy will supply and fit solar panels, properly and efficiently, for less than half of the UK cost. If you need maintenance or repairs, it can be arranged. Anything, just ask!

And on top of this the location is superb; right on the beach, uncrowded despite there being upwards of 200 vans parked up, the local village an easy one and a half km walk and a bus service to Agadir right outside.

We drove slowly around and managed to locate various vans from the group that crossed to Morocco originally, parked up more or less together, so we joined them. We may well stay a few days here.