Day 30 - Taghazout

Unlike yesterday everything happened last night and today….

Woody had us up at 3am with an upset stomach. He was both sick and losing it from his back end. The mess and smell was aweful. He was not a happy chappy throughout the day time.

We had agreed that we would go and buy a new Quilt at the supermarket. Mustafa, once he learned of our plans, insisted that he would loan us a replacement and wash ours in his washing machine. Well it didn’t fit so he sent it off to the laundry by a chap on a moped. He soon returned with the ticket… price 20 Dirhams which is about £1.50. We will have to return and to a swap in a few days.

Sue arrived early to get her door surround painted and also have her wing mirror tightened. It was mid afternoon when she left us. She joined us for some of the time but we could only offer her a seat on the bases as we still had no cushions back. She was not feeling well and did take the opportunity to try and have a sleep. Not sure how successful with the activity around the van and the road noise.

We had made a decision that when the seats and cushions returned today we would leave no matter what the state of the van was and what jobs were left unfinished. I made my feelings known to Mustafa first thing in the morning and he promised to fix everything….

We still had a few jobs left to do. My inverter was finally bolted to the seat side. We also fitted an additional handle to the other side of the seat but we will need to take care as the wood is very thin. The electrician returned to the LED strip in the lounge that refused to stick to the plastic surround. Finally with some super glue he managed to persuade it to stay in place. Due to this difficulty I was not going to complain about the curved line it took across the van to the other side. After more waiting we also got him to re-tension the roller blind in the lounge. Its like pulling teeth to get these guys to work on your van. With the remaining LED strip I asked that this should be fitted in the garage with a switch I had. Again he started the job and was then called away for his meal at the cafe next door. He finally returned and completed the lights installation. Success all jobs had been complete.

The seats and one cushion was returned about 3pm. Whilst bolting them back in I noticed we had no arm rests….. we are working on them was the reply. The one cushion also has a cut I noticed and was immediately taken back for rework. We then had the remaining cushions arrive at about 6pm. The head rests and arms still yet to appear. Mustafa offered to take me to the ‘shop’ where they were working on my job. It was about 3min car ride away. The shop was a lockup with a space at the front of maybe 2m x 2m and a rear of 1m x 2m. There were four guys working one of which was doing the stitching on an old singer sewing machine. The side of this space had a work bench where the master upholsterer was assembling our arm rests. It was fascinating to watch and so different to how it would have been in the UK. Once all arm rests completed we returned to the van where they were now fitted.

Next came the Head rests and seat belt cover. Tina spotted that the cover was not quite right so it was again taken back to the shop for rework and soon refitted. All of the original covers are still underneath the leather so in time we could return to the original fabric if we choose. It was now around 8pm. I had gone with Mustafa earlier to get a chicken takeaway meal we ate whilst we waited for our final things to be fitted.

Mustafa offered us to stay until the morning but I was insistent that we wanted to get to the beach. We said our goodbyes and arrived to meet our fellow campers again that we left on Monday. Today is Saturday. The welcome we received was delightful. It was really nice to see everyone again and explained some of what had happened. Our LED strip lights were envied by a few.

Relaxation tomorrow and the ‘boys’ back at the beach where they will start to enjoy their walks.

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Day 29 - Agadir Garage

Another boring day in the garage. We thought that we might get some of the remaining jobs completed today but no one seemed interested. My intension is to complain to Mustafa and insist that we want to leave tomorrow. Lets hope he gets the message loud and clear.

The only bit of good news was that they came for the two cab seats but that did leave us sitting on nothing this evening. However, I did manage to watch the live Bournemouth match on Sky TV by using a VPN to change my internet location to be within the UK thus fooling Sky. Success!! We won 2-0 by the way and remain top of the championship.

The FUNsters up in Taghazout went up to the village to celebrate Sue’s birthday and I have featured Phillip’s photo of the event. Shame we missed it.

Roll on getting out of here tomorrow.

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Day 28 - Agadir Garage

Today was our day to return back to the beach … or so we thought.

The electrician was soon with us to redirect the cables for the inverter however it still needs to be permanently fixed into position. A job for tomorrow I am told. The towbar was fixed into position and all bolted up. Later in the morning we had asked Mustafa to get us a price for reupholstering the van in leather. We had thought that we might get it done next year if we return.

The same guy that fixed my drivers seat a few days ago turned up and we got our price…. 3500 MAD equivalent to around £250. At that price we thought that we had better stay a few more days and get it done.

The Rapido emblem has now been sprayed red. This was a very skilled job as the painter had to mask out the main Rapido writing before spraying…. a very fiddly job.

They have made a carrier for my MIFI from an old plastic cover. At least this will look better than my cardboard one I made from a cereal packet. The Gas sparker was fixed this morning but might again need some attention.

All of our cushions have now been taken and hopefully we might get some back tomorrow. The main cab seats will disappear tomorrow. It will be good to get straight again.

Once again I have shown one of Phillip’s images of the Souk in Agadir.

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Day 27 - Agadir Garage

We hoped that this would be the last day at the garage getting our array of jobs done however this was not to be.

The painting of the rear panel doors and tow bar have all been completed. The tow hitch and cycle carrier have been painted black but still have to be fitted back onto the van.

Sue arrived this morning to have her shelves fitted and a couple of cracks fixed. It was some time late in the afternoon before her work was complete and she was on her. In the meantime she and Tina took a petite taxi to the Marjane supermarket. They spent quite some time looking around before returning with bags of food etc.

At around 6pm the electrician finally arrived. He had some difficulties getting the LED stick on strip to adhere to the surface but he finally finished the job around 9pm. Our supper tonight was very late.

Hopefully the remaining jobs will be completed in the morning.

Once again I have used one of Phillip’s photos he posted on the MotorhomeFun web site. Thank you.

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Day 26 - Agadir Garage

The second day of our stay in the garage alley where we are having various jobs done started well this morning. Simon and Margaret arrived just before 10am with Sue who was along for the ride. Simon wanted his kitchen tap fixed. Sue came and saw the cracking job on our wardrobe shelving and decided that she wanted the same done in her van so she is due here in the morning.

Today we spent most of the day waiting for things to happen and most things happened late in the afternoon and into the evening. The drivers seat was re-stitched and more foam added. Mustafa had not been convinced about the proposed repair using wood so came up with a more robust solution of holding the sides together with a threaded rod spanning between the sides. It is very much more sturdy now.

The carpenter also fixed the Kitchen furniture and eliminated the gap that had appeared. He was with us until around 8pm. Much of the preparation for the spray job I need on the rear panel was completed and painting will start tomorrow. It seems that the grey sides are not paint but a film applied to the standard white van. Mustafa has had the work done to prepare for paint instead.

Looking forward to getting the rest of the work completed tomorrow and getting back to the sunshine where we understand it has been hot.

The featured picture is again one I have used taken by Phillip of goats at the site in Taghazout where we stay.

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Day 25 - Agadir Garage

This morning was the day we were to go and have some work done on the van. Up early, breakfasted and left the beach site at 9am promising that we will return in a few days. We left the carpeting ramps behind.

Arriving at Mustafa's garage at 9:30 we were soon ushered into the alley between the buildings behind the double gates where we will be for the next few days. Work soon started. We had the rear crack fixed by melting some welding wire into both sides of the crack… next to sand this down and respray. Whilst I stood there I noticed that there was a problem with the high level brake light…. the paint was lifting. A promise to spray this as well was soon made by Mustafa.

Next the slide catch on the fridge was welded and fixed which also included some wire. I would not expect this to break anytime soon like the others before. The Tow bar has been removed and work started on rubbing it down in preparation for spraying tomorrow. The front tow eye cover was also fixed by welding something to it. Never saw the solution as it was done so quickly.

Late in the day the carpenter returned and fitted our shelves to the wardrobes. What a difference that made to how we organise our clothes. Tina was well happy. The carpenter is returning tomorrow and will be fixing the single seat next to the door.

When Mustafa was looking at my bonnet catch I noticed that the water level was down and I thought I would check the oil level. Anyway I decided that a oil change together with air and oil filters were in order. When the air filter was removed there was a cover around it so it wasn’t doing much good. This cost me about a £100 more but is still significantly cheaper that the UK. I mentioned the Rapido symbol on the bonnet had lost most of the red so once again Mustafa said ’No Problem'

This evening we watch the film Mr Turner, Strange but well acted… not sure about the story line though. Tomorrow will bring more work on the van and another night in the alley. We should escape on Wednesday all being well.

The featured image is one taken by one of the FUNsters which is a little more interested than the alley in the Garage.

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Day 24 - Taghazout

It was good to wake this morning with Tina in less discomfort.

The morning was a leisurely one. Chatting with our fellow campers and discussing such important topics like gas. Later in the morning some of our comrades walked up to the village for lunch whilst we sat around enjoying the sunshine and warmth we had come all this way to enjoy. It is a very cheap existence her with our camping fees only £1.40 a night, bread is 7p for a baguette and water is £1.40 for a van full (around 100 litres) every few days.

Tina loves to take the ‘boys’ down to the beach where they can be let of their leads and play along the shoreline. Woody now comes back when he knows he needs to go back on the lead before coming back up to the vans. So much better than last year. It does take her a while to walk the dogs though and can not do it very often.

This afternoon I listened to the FA cup match between Bournemouth and Aston Villa. It was a shame that we lost 2-1 but we did put up a good show and did not get overawed. All goes well if we do achieve promotion to the premiership in May. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Started to pack up our things in readiness for the trip to the garage tomorrow where we will be getting our jobs done. It will be a shame to leave everyone her but we do need these few things doing. So an earlier start in the morning…. have to be in Agadir at 9am.

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Day 23 - Taghazout

After yesterdays walking Tina was suffering first thing this morning. She struggled to get out of bed. She did however and took the dogs for their morning constitutional along the beach.

I thought that we would postpone the washing until Sunday but Tina decided to have a go after breakfast. I dragged out the washing machine from the depths of the garage and we filled it with hot water she sat and I helped with the whole process.

During the hour plus the machine consumed large amounts of bedding and clothes before being hung out to dry. Whilst the spinner and washer were operating at the same time I was amazed that we were drawing around 40amps from the battery bank. By the end of the day we had got back to only 40 amps down on full. Should get back to full tomorrow.

Some of the others had gone off to the village but Terry, Brenda and ourselves remained behind. The carpet man came with our carpets in readiness for Kathie wedding in May and we had water from the Bowser.

Mid afternoon saw some of the other brits join us for beer o’clock and the party lasted until after the evening sun faded and it started to get cold. It broke up around 7pm. In the evening we sat and watched a film. Tina had taken more medication for the pain she was in after the efforts of the last 2 days.

An enjoyable day with temperatures in the early 20’s and some good company to finish the day off well.

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Day 22 - Taghazout

This morning we had decided to visit the Souk (market) in Agadir. After a leisurely breakfast and checking out Ron and his charging situation we left for the bus at around 11am. I think that we had just missed a bus and so we waited until about 11:45 before the next came along. The fare was 7 dirhams each (about 50p) for a 20 mile journey.

At the bus station we all visited the ATM and I drew out the maximum daily allowance which just about covers us for the debts we have incurred in the expense of the solar panel and regulator. We strolled to the Souk and soon came across the cafe we had visited a year before. We all took a light lunch… some of the party going upstairs to the sunnier roof terrace.

We bought fruit, vegetables and some telecom recharges for phones and data. At around 3:30pm we started back to the bus station. The bus arrived about 20 mins after we got to the station. We got back to the vans just before 5pm. The ‘boys’ were very pleased to see us. On the journey home we noticed the temperature in the city was showing 32°C. Some what different to home at present.

The solar man soon came for his money but also checked out Brian's van and soon diagnosed a faulty battery. It cost him €130 to replace it. Lets hope that in the morning it will have fixed his problems. On our return our van was fully charged…. a little different to 2 days ago when we were 100 amps down and I was concerned about whether we could stay here in Taghazout.

Tina needed additional medication this evening because she has done too much and she has gone off to bed early after we have just seen a film we  brought from home.

There is a get together in the afternoon tomorrow in our area of the brits for beer o’clock.  Looking forward to that. Could be washing day tomorrow.

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Day 21 - Taghazout

Thought that today was going to be a quiet day. Firstly Ron has been having issues with a flat battery so the solar guy who fixed regulator started to take a look early this morning. It turned out that he really needed a complete system as his regulator needed replacing and also the panel was worn out. He had a 180 watt panel fitted and the guy has wired in an additional battery. Not sure if this is a gift, loan or will need to be paid for. Will find out tomorrow when he returns. The results of this new panel was very impressive.

I decided that our old 10 year 120 watt panel that was now on its 3rd van should be replaced with a similar panel. Once they got it off you could see that some of the cells were damaged and it was not working to its capacity. The results later in the evening were astounding. We had put back nearly 100 amps during the day. I was amazed.

A number of the FUNsters went off to visit the others for beer o’clock and Terry, Brenda, Tina and I enjoyed the warmth of the afternoon. The wind had dropped and it was very pleasant indeed. When Brian returned he found that the battery in his van was showing a low reading. Lets hope that he has caught the solar bug like Ron and I. We will find out in the morning.

We plan to visit Agadir tomorrow and look around the Souk but first find a bank so that I can pay for the panel I have had fitted and the loan I needed to pay for the regulator yesterday. I also have the carpet man coming tomorrow with my carpets which are needed for sister-in-law’s wedding in May. I will be broke by the time I have paid for all this. Happy days… at least we are in the sunshine and summer clothing not like back home in the freezing temperatures.

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Day 20 - Taghazout

Last night before retiring to our bed we had already spent 100amps of our available power and had about 70 amps left to last us until we visit the garage on Monday where we would be on a hookup. I was worried.

Tina and I agreed that if we could not get our solar panel problem fixed today we would have to go and ask Mustafa, our friendly repair man, to take a look and connect up to mains power. Whilst Tina was out walking the dogs she approached the local solar panel installer to ask if he could take a look at our van. I also approached him not knowing that she had already done so. About 90 mins later he came over and quickly diagnosed that our regulator was ‘fried’ and needed replacing. 30 mins later we were up and running but €70 lighter. Still its probably cheaper than the same repair in the UK which would certainly be in excess of £200. We were now getting 4+ amps and likely to get back everything we used throughout the night. Relief that we were no self sufficient again.

Tina finished knitting a light blue hedgehog for Brenda and Jeanette, one of the FUNsters, also started to knit her own using Tina’s needles, pattern and woo. We’ll see how it turns out and compares.

Due to the solar panel being fixed we did not join the others in visiting the market in ‘Banana’ town. They caught the bus and spent the morning looking around the stalls and having coffee in a local cafe. To my surprise they had not purchased too much.

Early afternoon we both took the ‘boys’ down the beach and played along the shoreline. Woody loved it but kept running back when the water came in. He didn’t get his feet wet. Walking back up the slope killed my knees and I suffered for the rest of the afternoon.

In the village this evening was an ‘open mic’ session at the Pizza restaurant. Most of the english have gone. It would have meant a 20min walk into the village so we decided not to go and stayed with Terry & Brenda.

It was warm in the day’s sunshine but soon cooled down when the sun went in.

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Day 19 - Taghazout

Our first morning here after a very torrid night. The van was rocking from the severe winds but it didn’t keep us awake. We woke to the sound of someone knocking on the van at 8:30am. It transpires that the bread seller was trying to get our attention.

The morning saw us sorting out the van. Getting chairs out that were dug into the boot and trying to see if i could consolidate some of the crates. No such luck however. Around lunch time Rachid Nabil, a local and famous artist, came around and four of us decided to have our vans painted … 3 on the rear panel and our toilet external window.

The temperature was around 24°C with a slight breeze. This was the weather we had come away for. More relaxing in the afternoon. Later on Graham & Darren, guys we met last year, came by and Graham played some tunes on his guitar.

After the sun went down so did the temperature so we retired to the van at around 7pm and sat listening to the AFC Bournemouth match with Leeds.

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Day 18 - Taghazout

The rain continued to pour throughout the night and the area around the van was very muddy. The  Funsters who had run for shelter yesterday were also making a move today. They were gone soon after 9am not really saying where they were headed. Later we learnt that they had gone to Essaouiria.

We serviced the van and headed of to the Hypermarket. I had to keep reminding Tina that we didn’t have any more room for the souvenirs she would have loved to buy. All fuelled up we left for Agadir and hopefully some sun and warmth. We later learnt that the place we had just left had warmed up to around 20°C. I call that sods law in action.

Four of us in convoy travelled the approximately 150 miles only splitting up when we arrived at the city. I took Ron & Jeanette with me to Mustafa to sort out when he can get started on my list of jobs. Ron has been having problems with his battery. It was agreed that we would return next Monday morning. I am expecting to have to stay with him for maybe a couple of days. It will give me a chance to charge up batteries if the weather is not kind to us over the next few days.

Off to our final resting place on the beach. We have now secured a spot just close to the edge and the 4 vans have taken up positions on three sides of a square all looking out to sea. We have already upset a German but does it really matter… I think not…we are all wild camping.

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Day 17 - Marrakesh

On the move this morning. We have travelled down to Marrakesh and join the other FUNsters at a site we did not use last year. The weather this morning and throughout the night was winds and showers. After paying the fees and servicing the van as necessary we left before 11am.

The journey would take about 4 hours with a lunch stop. The wind continued to blow very strongly and the temperature dropped during the journey. At on point is was down to 11° as we reached a height above sea level of 4000 ft.

When we arrived there were four units there already and they we sitting around after just having a brunch. It wasn’t long before the heavens opened again and they were rushing for cover. The rain continued most of the evening. I informed Terry that I had been looking at the weather forecast for the next 3 days and it showed no improvement i.e. staying cold and damp….its all relative I know. At home its freezing whereas we are feeling cold when its 13° I had made up my mind and Terry agreed that we leave earlier than planned and make our way to the beach in the morning.

Two other FUNsters arrived back from the city and we told them our plans and they also decided to join us in the morning.

NB. Due to the rain I didn’t take a photo nor did Terry so showing one from the campsite website

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Day 16 - Mohammedia

No plans to move today so we had a leisurely start. I was soon greeted with our fellow travellers all deciding to move on today. Three were making their way to Marrakesh whilst two were going the short distance to El Jadida which is just south of Casablanca. Most had left the campsite by 11am leaving just Terry & Brenda and ourselves. Our satisfaction that they had the confidence to go off on their own was heartening. We are due to meet in Marrakesh tomorrow and the others later in the week at Taghazoute.

During the morning I streamed Radio Solent into the van using the campsite free WIFI. It was strange to hear the local news but somewhat satisfying that we were missing the bitterly cold weather. Here we are sitting in shorts and tea shirts in temperatures around 15° but with the occasional light shower. I also caught up with the second part of the Christmas Top Gear special. I watched the first part at home and downloaded to Iplayer desktop the second part. Really enjoyed it and there were a couple of very funny moments as well as a very worrying end to their trip. The final credits to the program really showed how this is no longer a car show but pure entertainment. In my opinion it was well worth watching.

In the afternoon I listened to the AFCB match commentary against Rotherham and to my delight we won again 2-0. Tina had her usual afternoon nap. She had spent some of the morning cleaning  the inside of the van.

Spent the evening with Terry & Brenda again after a late supper. Organised our trip to Marrakesh in the morning and the site we plan to use. Lets hope we don’t get the rain again like we had this morning at 3am…it was like stair-rods hitting the van with such force.

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Day 15 - Mohammedia

Last night we had very strong winds and heavy prolonged rain starting at around 3am. In the morning it had stopped raining but the winds were extremely strong. However it did not seem cold. At least we should be thankful for that.

Left sight at around 10:30am headed for a campsite we used twice last year. We took the lead of the other 5 vans. We travelled at a steady 50mph. We stopped at an Aire after about 2 hours and one of our company continued on to the campsite whilst we rested a while and had some lunch.

Arriving at the sight by a route I hadn’t taken previously, which involved an even longer stretch of muddy lane, we soon chose our pitches and settled in for the afternoon. Skype the family and used my newly acquired Skype number phoned my Mother. All was well thank goodness.

We plan to stay for a couple of nights before moving on to Marrakesh on Sunday.

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Day 14 - Assilah

Up bright and early this morning and left the supermarket car park at 8:30am. We drove down to the port and fortunately they had just reopened the tunnel from last night.

We waited until 9am, an hour before departure time, before the ticket checkin opened. Once passports checked and outbound and inbound tickets issued we were on to the port dockside. We seemed to wait ages. It was 10:50 before we finally sailed. The crossing was smooth and took about 90mins. We adjusted out watched back to UK time and then drove around to the Police and Customs check. This was certainly quicker that we experienced last year. Money exchanged and we were soon on the toll motorway to Assilah. Filled up with fuel at the first fuel station and paid 63p per litre.

We arrived at the guardian parking site just to the north of the town about 75 mins after leaving the port. Soon we all walked (slowly in my case) up the hill and waited for the Telecomms shop to open after lunch. Queues formed and were not being dealt with very quickly so decided to go back later in the afternoon. Spent even more time but finally got back tp the van about 6:30pm.

We took the ‘boys’ on to the beach and they had a run round. Woody was off his lead and we had no issues with him running away. Probably something to do with Tina having tit bit treats for them.

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Day 13 - Algeciras

I thought that last night we were leading a couple of the vans to go and get a last fill up with LPG and then on to the over night stop at Lidl. I had said that I wanted to leave at 10:30am. As it turned out we were the last to leave the campsite and were alone. However when we arrived at the fuel station for LPG there were the 2 vans I thought that we would have been leading. After gassing up I did indeed lead the vans down to the supermarket.

Once paper work and money handed over we set about gathering in the things we needed from the nearby supermarkets. First it was a shopping trip to Mercadoa for the basics. However we didn’t see the water and beer and one or two other things we wanted so we then visited Lidl later in the afternoon. The van now loaded to the gunnels. I really hope they don’t stop us as we would be well over weight.

Tickets now received and we are all set for the off in the morning… leaving bright and early at 8:30am. I will have to get Tina up earlier for her medication.

Later in the evening we had our habitation door open and a young backpacker lad came to the door and asked if we could boil some eggs for him. On getting them out he broke one of the six eggs so Tina replaced it and proceeded to boil them. He next got out some bread and we offered him some butter and salt. Tina cooked an extra piece of fish whilst cooking our supper and offered him this with some potato. He was grateful for some hot cooked food. He explained that he was from Lithuania and was hoping to go to Morocco but had lost most of his money. He was now on his way east and up the coast. He spoke very good english and explained that he had worked as a waiter in Ireland for a time. On leaving I offered him the cake that we had received with our ferry tickets which he gratefully received. He took our email address and stated that he might visit England in the summer. We always seem to experience things like this. Last year we met an english guy and his moroccan wife whilst visiting morocco.

Late in the evening Carlos who sold us the tickets came looking for us and took Terry in his car to the port explaining that a lorry had overturned and blocked the main entrance tunnel to the port. He shows Terry an alternative route if the tunnel remained blocked in the morning. We will see!!!

Tomorrow we leave Spain for Morocco

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Day 12 - Camping Parque Tropical

Today was a more relaxing day. Tina had started to recover from the exertions of the laundry.

The morning was taken up with a late start and some chatting over coffer. Later in the afternoon Terry provided information to all of those that were venturing over to Morocco for the first time. Felt like an old hand even though we had only been once before. I can remember having the same thoughts and hearing and asking the same questions. They are all excited but nervous of what is about to happen.

We agreed who was to follow who down to the overnight stopping point tomorrow and the time we would leave. Terry was aiming for 10am so that he could organise the collection of the required documents and the money in readiness for obtaining the tickets.

We spent the evening with Terry & Brenda as we had done since arriving in Calais on the 2nd.

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Day 11 - Camping Parque Tropical

After all the efforts of yesterday Tina suffered today. Before she even got out of bed she needed to take twice her usual level of medication. It has really slowed her down and she needed to sleep most of the afternoon.

I spent some time this morning updating the blog site from the previous days and also tidying the New Forest DA 2015 Sites list so that it could be published on the web site. The internet was spasmodic even though like Saturday I was only a few feet from the wireless router. At one point a large tag axle Hymer motorhome pulled into the space between me and the router and I fully lost the connection. I am sure I could recommend abetter solution than the system they operate here on the site.

During the afternoon I spent sometime trying to explain how to get an electronic calendar on to an iPad. It was a real struggle and I still have to create a generic account like Gmail but the internet connection was so bad we were unable to create an account. Decided to wait until the situation improves.

After dinner we once again visited Terry & Brenda and helped with content ideas for a get together about what will happen over the next few days and what to expect once in Morocco. I remember only to well the same excitement and trepidation on the thought of how it would be once across the water. I hope that Terry and I will be able to help alleviate their concerns.

 A quiet and restful day before we start more activity starting on Wednesday.

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Day 10 - Camping Parque Tropical

The day started well with Bacon and Egg and a surprise gift of a bottle of wine and card from Ron and Jeanette for my birthday.

We dragged the washing machine out from the depths of the garage and set too with the job of washing our clothes. We also lent the machine to Brenda to do there bedding and washing.

Later in the morning I washed the van. It must have thought that it also had a birthday today. It was extremely dirty after the trip down through France & Spain.

More vans arrived today and we spent most of the afternoon and evening socialising and getting to know everyone. A very enjoyable time…. a few beers, good company and warm weather….this is why we came.

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Day 9 - Camping Parque Tropical

L

eft the aire this morning after first looking around the Saturday market that arrived and set up this morning. Trying to get Tina away from the clothes stalls was a minor miracle. Her excuse was that she was looking for something to wear at the weddings this year.

The short 35 minute drive included a stop at a filling station for the replacement gas bottle that Terry was looking for yesterday. On arrival we sorted out the pitches we were allocated for our little group and met Ron & Jeanette who had come the day before as well as Ken & Carol who had got there 30 minutes before us.

Spent the afternoon trying to listen to the AFCB match commentary sitting outside of reception where I thought I would get the best WIFI signal. However the signal kept dropping in and out and this is the case wherever you are on the site. Tina sat with the others getting to know them and sharing our experiences of last years Morocco trip.

The evening saw us once again sitting with Terry & Brenda having a drink and a chat. Lovely day.

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Day 8 - Golf La Noria

Easier drive today. We left this morning at around 10am and was heading for an aire we used on our return home last year from Morocco. Along the way we were searching for a Cepsa fuel station as Terry wanted to but a refill for his Spanish gas bottle. As soon as we spotted one (there weren’t many) we had passed it.

We arrived at around 2pm. The site had changed a little. Where we parked on grass last year there was now sand. But this was not an issue. Terry took a short walk and found a Lidl supermarket and purchased some replenishments.

I was able to logon to some free WIFI albeit it was very slow… probably because there were more vans here than lsat year all trying to do the same thing.

After another evening in with Terry & Brenda we retired to bed in the expectation of a market in the morning.

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Day 7 - Santa Elena

Last ones to leave the site this morning. The dutch caravan that arrived late and another english van had already exited.

We decided to look for some gas and get some fresh food this morning. Gas in Spain for refillable bottles is difficult to find be we knew that there would be somewhere around Madrid. First stop was a Hypermarket. Fruit and other things we needed or impulse bought acquired we were back on the road, after about an hour, to the Fuel station for our gas. Thirty more minutes later we found the place and proceeded to fill the bottles. I think that one was empty and another was well on its way so quite pleased we decided to fill this morning.

Our next decision was whether to take lunch or press on to our chosen commercial site. We chose the latter and arrived at about 4:30pm. Electrics connected and site fees paid we were soon settling down. There is free WIFI at the site so it gave us the opportunity to catch up with mails, the blog site and Facebook.

Tomorrow takes us down to the coast where we stayed last year on our way home. I hope that Saturday will bring a market in the morning before we pitch up at the pre meeting point for our little group of 12 units. People will be arriving over the course of the next few days.

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Day 6 - La Cabrera

Very cold night last night. The dogs were snuggled up to both of us warmth so much so that I kelp loosing the duvet….this made sure I woke regularly through the night every 2 hours. The expected disturbance from the market setting up really didn’t happen. There were some traders around at 7:30am but the market didn’t get into full swing until around 8:30am. Terry, Brenda & Tina went to have a look around after breakfast and Tina came back teasing me about buying something (usually clothes) but in fact she didn’t buy anything. Terry said it was mainly socks and ladies knickers. So glad I didn’t walk around.

We left at just before 11:00am and set off for an ACSI commercial site about 300km south. We have planned for the next 3 days to be all about the same distance which should bring us to the south of Spain at Estepona on Saturday. Our Friday night stop had a market on the Saturday / Sunday morning (Not sure which dayI) so I am hoping for the same this year.

We arrived at the campsite paying €18 for the night. Serviced the van and had a bite to eat. Time to relax for the afternoon. The sunshine was lovely after seeing the freezing fog throughout todays journey and the temperature had improved from the 0 degrees.

Early evening we took a long hot shower followed by a make shift dinner as the chicken had not thawed properly. Drinks in with Terry & Brenda putting the world to rights and it was soon time for bed. Another day over.

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Day 5 - Vitoria Gasteiz

Left at about the usual time with full batteries but the water was turned off. Unlike the previous days we did not make a lunch stop so arrived at around 2pm.

The Aire is in a corner of a large car park giving facilities for 10 vans. There is no EHU here however. It is in a residential part of the town so there has been a lot of noise all evening long. Lets hope that they go to bed soon.

We spent the evening with Terry & Brenda again planning our stops over the coming few days. We still have around 900km to travel to get to our campsite where we will spend a few nights. We hope to get away as usual in the morning however it seems that Wednesday is market day and could be a challenge for us to leave. There are signs up saying that the service points cannot be used between 7am and 2pm on Wednesdays. It will be interesting to see what greets us in the morning. I suspect that we will be disturbed very early with the market traders setting up their stalls.

No internet tonight. Lots of WIFI signals but they are all locked. Might have to wait until we get to the campsite tomorrow.

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Day 4 - Mugron

This morning I thought that we were going to start out with a few problems. No water available and we had just about run out as well as the loo cassette was full. Thankfully Terry tried the tap again and someone had turned the water back on so we could empty the toilet and replenish the fresh water tank.

We also had a few market stalls set up in the square. The girls went and bought some bread fruit etc from the local stores. Next we went in search of some fuel. We eventually found a Super U supermarket and filled with diesel at €1.06. As we continued our journey to our overnight stop we saw prices as high as €1.25.

Later in the afternoon we arrived only to find that 2 vans were already in place with one place immediately available and cards parked blocking the fourth spot. So we parked up and waited for the workers to come out at 5pm where upon the cars soon drove off.

Batteries all fully charged again overnight and off to Spain in the morning.

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Day 3 - Chaunay

Much like yesterday we spent the day travelling. We left at around the same time ..10:15am and this time I led our little convoy.

We stopped for lunch for around 45 mins and arrived at our destination about 6 hours later. It is part of a large square with 7 electric points around the outside. We have hooked up and charging our batteries up to full power. This evening we could watch a little TV and run the heating without any concerns. The only concerns are that the fresh water has been turned off and there seems to be nowhere to empty the loo. We will have to cross our legs a little longer tomorrow.

I arrived here with the reserve light showing on the fuel gauge and a range of 75 miles remaining. Terry has a range of 50 miles so our first job will be to find some fuel soon after setting off in the morning. We saw diesel prices on our journey today ranging €1.06 - 1.10 (84 - 88p). Just shows how much we are ripped off for our fuel.

Tomorrow yet more miles to cover and we will be close to crossing into Spain.

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Day 2 - Chateaudun

We left the site at around 10:15 and travelled most of the day at a steady pace of around 60mph. We stopped for lunch at around 13:00 at a site we had stayed at on our way home in early 2014.

We arrived at around 16:30. I was hoping to get the match commentary for the AFC Bournemouth match with Rotherham in the FA Cup. I had been listening to the internet radio whilst we were travelling but the signal was intermittent so was not a great success.

Once at our overnight stop things were not much better. I eventually settled to following a live online blog of the match. It gave 3 word phrases every couple of minutes but I was able to follow the goals being scored. The final result was 5-1 to Bournemouth. At least it made it worthwhile.

After dinner we spent the evening with Terry & Brenda, our travelling companions, planning the next day and talking about routes that we might take to our final destination before the ferry crossing to Morocco. We had a pleasant evening chatting with them and getting to know them better. We finally said our good byes and agreed to start off in the morning at a similar time as today at around 10am

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Start of our second Morocco trip

Today we travelled down to Folkestone to cross under the channel using Eurotunnel. We left at around 10:15am and arrived at our destination around 12:30. We were offered a train at 13:20 which was 30 minutes earlier than the booking.

The whole experience is so easy. Fast and definitely no worries about bad weather. We soon arrived in Calais. Our first stop was to go and get fuel as we only had enough left for about 50 miles. We paid €1.12 per litre which works out at 90p per litre. We had bought some to make the journey to the train at £1.20 which I thought was not too expensive.

Our first panic came when I tried using the ATM and was informed it was broken. Tina had gone into the opticians to get her glasses fixed. I quickly nipped back to the van to see what change we had that we keep for tolls etc. Thankfully I found a wallet we had used on our last trip which still had some euros. Panic over … especially after finding there was no charge from the optician.

A little food shopping and we were soon on our way to Wissant, an Aire we had never used but were likely to meet some friends crossing later in the day. The Aire is a large car park for buses with bays for Motorhomes around the perimeter. I think that we will be using this again.

Our friends arrived at around 19:30 and later they joined us to discuss the route and overnight stop for the following day. Early to bed to try and conserve our batteries. Planned start is 10am so need to get Tina up earlier than normal

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