Overland to and then a tour around Morocco. Winter 2016-2017

[XCovlov70]

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2016-2017

Preview

As this is our 5th overland trip to Morocco, and our route down through France and Spain to get there will be the same as the previous trips, then I will not bore you with the pictures and text of going through the same places unless we see something we missed previously, but if you wish you can refer back to the previous trip we have made, as we are sure that the weather is going to be just as cold and unhospitable as it was before at this time of year!

Brrrr! Now where did I put those thermal thingy’s?.

However, the good news is that our tour around Morocco is slightly different this time so below is the route we will be taking…..



After that we come back across the Mediterranean Sea for the route back up to the UK which has been included as we again make a diversion into Portugal and a new place to have a look around in Spain…



So now all that remains to be said as we make sure all the things we need are packed including this time the 12Kg of Porridge!

A warm ‘Welcome’ to previous and new ‘Travellers in the Third Seat’ which we hope you will find comfortable in ‘Flamenco Red’ (That’s the Swedish ‘Tug’) and enjoy this tour as we haul the ‘Tin Tent’ (That’s the Caravan) South to a warmer climate as the forecast is for a Long Hard Winter in the UK!

Next Stop…………Eurotunnel!

[Da Tow'd]

Glad to hear"We" are back on the road again
I'll bring some maple syrup for the porridge
cheers
Hank

[XCovlov70]

Glad to hear"We" are back on the road again
I'll bring some maple syrup for the porridge
cheers
Hank

I thought I could hear you 'Chomping at the bit'!

I like the sound of a spoonful of Maple Syrup for the porridge in the mornings!
It could take over from my 'normal' spoonful of Honey!

Thanks

[XCovlov70]

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2016-2017

Stage 1 – UK to Algeciras (Spain)

Our first part was from South Wales down to Folkestone and Eurotunnel for the trip under the English Channel…..

As we rolled along our ‘regular route’ from the UK to the bottom of Spain for the ferry to Tanger Med in Morocco I think we had caught out ‘Mother Nature’ as the further South we got the more vivid the colours of the leaves on the trees became, which with the wet and cold weather it was quite surprising to see!







No matter what the weather is like, in all the towns we have spent time, mid afternoon sees all the Boules Players out having another game, while some places like this one have that many players they have matches between teams!



While in the town of Roullet it was good to see that the local supermarket has been acquired by a multi-national company and is now back up and running, but being Monday in France it was closed!



While today after a rather long day and 334 Miles we are now in Spain where the HOT water in the Heated Facilities Block on the campsite was very refreshing, as my socks after their removal very kindly made their own way to the washing bag!
Must have been something I said about ‘Feet’!

[XCovlov70]

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2016-2017

Stage 2 – Algeciras Port and then Tanger Med and Morocco.

After our week of travelling down through France and Spain we then headed for the Port in Algeciras to get the ferry across to Tanger Med in Morocco…..

Waiting for the Ferry Check In Office to open!





While as the Sunrise appeared we could see a really red sky over the security fences in the port area.



We hit a problem at the ferry office check in as our reservation could not be paid for at this office, so I had to make a very quick trip to the main office in the terminal building to pay for the reservation after going there first and being told that I paid as we checked in!!
As a result after a very frustrating 20 minutes in the terminal building, it was a quick dash back to ‘Flamenco Red’ and the ‘TinTent’ to head off to the ferry that was already nearly finished loading, as we then watched this rather long outfit struggle to get onboard……..



As the ferry then moved out of the port we could see that the Container section was considerably lighter with containers this year than last year which seemed to tell us something about the economy……



Heading out of the port entrance we swung around to head off into the Mediterranean with the view of the Rock of Gibraltar ahead of us in the early sea mist…..



One of the Cafeterias on board this Ex Stena Line Ferry which we think was previously used in the UK as a number of pictures in the ship were of scenes in the UK……



90 minutes later and we are swinging around in the harbour in Tanger Med to dock and start disembarking to head to the Border & Immigration Control check points…..



Clear those points and then it is off onto the Moroccan Motorway to head for our first campsite in Kenitra……



More of Kenitra tomorrow…..

[Da Tow'd]

What about that UFO in the Container Crane photo?

[XCovlov70]

What about that UFO in the Container Crane photo?

Oops!

I missed that, but on closer examination and thinking about where I was when I took the picture.

It was in the Cafeteria and the 'UFO' was in fact one of the ceiling lights reflected in the window at the bow of the ship as we were not allowed to go outside.

[XCovlov70]

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2016-2017

Stage 2A – Our first day in Kenitra.

Firstly a few pictures of the campsite…..







Then it was off into the city and a quick look at the railway station……..



The ‘South Line’ to Rabat, Agadir & Casablanca…..



The ‘North Line’ to Tanger……



One of Mother Nature’s little creatures as we climbed the steps away from the railway station…..



Home grown produce for sale by the street sellers who were all over the city…..



One of the smaller city squares….



One of the main roads through the city…..



Something like a ‘Neopolitan’ Ice Cream but in this case it was a wall….



Interestingly we kept seeing the Kenitra local Buses both the BIG and small types that had a number of their windows ‘missing’ and had been replaced by large sheets of metal that have been welded in place!
Even the Glass in the Entry/Exit Doors had also been replaced with large metal sheets, but so far I cannot find out why!





Shop front alley, but as it is Sunday, there are a few places that remain closed…



As night time arrive we decide to head back into the city which is the time of day when most people venture out as it is normally a lot cooler, or even some would say ‘cold’!

So we initially head for a Fruit Juice Bar……


As we then ordered a mixed fruit dish and it was delicious with around 7 or 8 different types of fruit in the bowl…..



Having finished our ‘Desert’ it was time to have a stroll along the main road to see what was on offer from the street vendors before heading off into the market streets….



Tea lights which looked rather nice but sadly not a good picture, sorry!



As we then get to the start of the market streets….







Then we made our way back to the campsite, with a forecast of Rain and a significant drop in the temperature for the next 7 days!!!

[XCovlov70]

Overland to Morocco.
Winter 2016-2017

Stage 3 – Kenitra to Mohammedia.

After another very wet night we decided to pull out of Kenitra and head further down the coast to Mohammedia and the next campsite which is Le Ocean Blue which we have not been to before…..

While the ‘greeting’ this morning as I opened the door of the ‘TinTent’ in Kenitra was of a growing ‘Paddling Pool’!



Having then packed up and paid the bill, then got on the road we found ourselves on a new Autoroute that was not on the Map in the GPS device, with this ‘Futuristic Bridge’ going over one of the rivers!



After then heading for one of the ‘Exits’ we found ourselves initially going ‘across country’ and back to the ‘A1’ Autoroute which went around the city of Rabat with these blocks of flats on the right hand side…...



Then we come off the ‘A1’ and onto the road into Mohammedia which is not good with all the rain……..



At this point, we had a choice: 1) Try and go around the ‘lake’ to the left. Or 2) Head over to our right and go around that way…….



We headed over to the right and went around the ‘lake’ that way as you never know if there are any DEEP ‘potholes’ that you can literally ‘drop’ into and possibly knacker your suspension leg or collapse the tyre or both!

While a little bit further on after turning left and going through the ‘Holiday Complex’ we found ourselves going along the ‘Beach Road’ to get to the campsite!!!…..





As the entrance finally appears in front…..



Came back to take the next pictures after it had stopped tipping it down!……









As it had stopped raining albeit for a short period we ventured out to have a look at the beach, with the following results……











The ‘Wall of Water’ just before it rolled over!.....









It seemed a bit strange to find what looked like very large pieces of dead coral sat on top of what looked like lava that had set as the sea bed……









Looks like the Sea Snails are getting ready for a ‘party’ as the tide comes in, although it looks very rough out at sea!!...



Forecast is currently for at least another week of rain and high winds at times!

P.s. The Electric Kettle 'died' this morning which was the reason the Mains Hook Up (220V) failed as we were just finishing breakfast!
So if anyone knows where I can get a 900W Electric Kettle over here, then let me know as we are currently using the backup of the 'Gas Kettle'!

[ssicarman]

Hope that the rain does not continue. Other than the rain the trip looks nice so far. The wave pictures are good ones. It does look like they are strongly storm driven.