Essaouira, Morocco

We arrived in the coastal city of Essaouira to torrential rain and a campsite that was full.  This means that we spent 2 nights camped in a car park which has been very interesting in gale force winds.  I thought that the fly sheet was going to blow away the first night as we just hooked it on to rocks.  We even had a dog hiding under it for the night, great for her but not for me and Lucy. We were already struggling to sleep and it wasn't helped by the dog lying on our heads!  The second night we slept in the truck which was much better.

The city has been a great place to have a wander around.  Its a nice mix of tourists and locals with shops and cafes for both next to each other.  There has been no hassle to buy stuff either which is nice and again we have enjoyed great pizzas, crêpes and brownies.  The car park is close enough to the town along the sea front which I'm sure is completely different in the summer!  The fishing harbour has made great viewing as the huge waves crashed against the walls.  They must have been big as even the locals were taking photos.

We are staying another night in Essaouira, moving to the campsite for tonights stay as the road south is shut due to flooding.  The winds are easing off but the rains not stopping.  Not really what I was expecting from Morocco.

We are slowly heading towards Mauritania and we have been told by Oasis that we need to make sure that we are fully insured for Mauritania and Mali for which visiting is against FCO advice.  Fully aware months ago that my insurance didn't include these countries I checked in with the Oasis office who said that they were OK with this and they would still take me on the truck.  Now to be told that I can not travel on the truck as I would not be covered under Oasis' insurance because my insurance isn't valid for going against FCO advice is more than a bit annoying especially when the office told me differently earlier in the year!  This is going to result in me having to pay out more that what I originally paid for my insurance to be able to to continue the trip.  Better stop all my shopping now!

Next stop Mauritania after a few nights bush camping down the coast providing the road lets us.

Marrakech, Morocco

We arrived at our campsite about half an hours drive from Marrakech in the morning.  The weather had completely changed and we had 2 nice sunny days in the city.  We spent lots of time eating very tasty food and having drinks on the roof top terraces around the main square, Jeema el Fna. 

The square is another world heritage site and is a complete spectacle.  During the day it is filled with dancers and snake charmers.  There is even a dentist but I'm not sure that I would visit!  In the evening half the square is turned into an open air restaurant with tasty but completely overpriced street type food and the other half is filledwith locals playing music.  It was a great place to visit and I really enjoyed the city.

Todra Gorge, Morocco

So from Rabat we drove for a full day towards Todra Gorge bush camping along the way.  The weather has been awful.  Cold and constant rain.  We got to the Todra turnoff, 10km away from the gorge and found out that the road to the gorge was shut.  This was a major disappointment for all as it was such a long drive to get there.  We waited for about 3 hours to see if the road would open and the rain would lift.  It didn't though so we decided to head to Marrakech.  On the way we had another very wet bush camp which meant that we had a muddy and wet truck dig out the next morning. 

We stopped at Ait Benhaddou which is UNESCO site Kasbah, a fortified village.  Only a few people live there now and there has been lots of restoration due to its use as a film location.  Due to the rain there were no other tourists visiting when we went for a look around which was great.  Sadly for the people who live there the buildings were crumbling right in front of us as they are just made of clay from the river mixed with straw. The river was very fast flowing.  The locals are saying that this is the worst flooding in over 5o years and usually you can access the kasbah through the main gates by using stepping stones through the river!

We didn't get very far before our next stop, just a few kilometres from Ait Benhaddou.  The rain had washed away bridges on the road to Marrakech and the other road to Agadir was also shut due to surface water flowing over.  We were completely stuck in a little village.  After waiting the whole day on the side of the road we camped overnight and joined the queue the following morning waiting for the road to open.  Steve still wanted us to get to Marrakech and Essaouira so we headed towards Agadir when the road opened at 11am the next morning and had a long drive.  With a quick stop to cook our tea at the roadside we drove until gone 11pm to get to 60km from Marrakech.

Todra gorge, Morocco

So from Rabat we drove for a full day towards Todra Gorge bush camping along the way.  The weather has been awful.  Cold and constant rain.  We got to the Todra turnoff, 10km away from the gorge and found out that the road to the gorge was shut.  This was a major disappointment for all as it was such a long drive to get there.  We waited for about 3 hours to see if the road would open and the rain would lift.  It did't though so we decided to head to Marrakech.  On the way we had another very wet bush camp which meant that we had a muddy and wet truck dig out the next morning. 

We stopped at Ait Benhaddou which is UNESCO site Kasbah, a fortified village.  Only a few people live there now and there has been lots of restoration due to its use as a film location.  Due to the rain there were no other tourists visiting when we went for a look around, which was great.  Sadly for the people who live there the buildings were crumbling right in front of us as they are just made of clay from the river mixed with straw. The river was very fast flowing.  The locals are saying that this is the worst flooding in over 5o years and usually you can access the kasbah through the main gates by using stepping stones through the river!

We didn't get very far before our next stop, just a few kilometres from Ait Benhaddou.  The rain had washed away bridges on the road to Marrakech and the other road to Agadir was also shut due to surface water flowing over.  We were completely stuck in a little village.  After waiting the whole day on the side of the road we camped overnight and joined the queue the following morning waiting for the road to open.  Steve still wanted us to get to Marrakech and Essaouira so we headed towards Agadir when the road opened at 11am the next morning and had a long drive.  With a quick stop to cook our tea at the roadside we drove until gone 11pm to get to 60km from Marrakech.

Rabat, Morocco

We now have a grand total of 8 passengers after picking up Dave in Fes.  From Fes we headed towards Rabat.  We would be bush camping every night in Rabat due to the lack The funds which means that we have to find a place to camp just before dark and then pack up the next morning.  Rabat is the capital of Morocco so it's the place to get visas.  We rocked up at the Mauritanian embassy just before 9 in hope of submitting our application and getting the visa as quickly as possible so we could then submit for Mali.  Steve wore a tie for the occasion and we successfully got the two visas by the end of the day.  Whilst waiting we had a wander around the city walking through the market and a huge cemetery to the beach.  Morocco so far has been great for coffee and cakes so I'm making sure I'm fitting lots of them in.

The last visa we need to get is the Cote d'Ivoire which we couldn't submit when we wanted to due to a public holiday.  Tyson and Dave headed on the train to Casablanca and the girls went for a shower in town and then on to find a beach to spend the day on.  It wasn't the cleanest of beaches but the views were good.

We had a morning in the Cote d'voire embassy getting fingerprints and photos taken.  Its a good job that there weren't more of us otherwise it would have taken all day.  The man in the embassy didn't really know when they would be ready.  Most likely the day after next but possibly then next day.  In the afternoon most of us headed out for pizza and wifi. 

The following day we had another day in the city.  First stop was the Chellah.  This is an old walled city.  Originally a Roman site and then, in the 13th century the sultan built a mosque and maulosleum.  Now everything is in ruins.  It was nice to walk around and the gardens were well kept with nice plants and fruit trees.  We also spent some time walking around the half of the Medina that we hadn't seen and taking another shower.  We now also have a truck pet.  A tiny tortoise named Mertyl which we bought from the market.  We decided that it would be easy to look after and more likely to survive that the other options of fish, chameleons, hamsters of a ferret!  Hopefully she will survive the journey and will go to a happy family in Harare, Zimbabwe where the truck is headed after this trip.

Our visas were granted quicker than we thought so we were all very happy to be leaving Rabat and our cork forest bushcamp after 5 nights.  We are now headed in to the Atlas mountains for stop at Todra gorge.

Fes, Morocco

We had a local guide for our stay in the city of Fes.  On the first day he look us to a viewpoint and a pottery workshop.  In the afternoon most of the group went to a Hammam (steam bath).  I didn't fancy it so I stayed in camp.

The next day we had a Medina tour.  The Medina is a world heritage site and a massive maze of alleys with some just 60cm wide.  We weren't too happy at first as the guide wasn't letting us have any freedom in where we went but by the end of the day we were happy.  He took us to see the kings palace, and a spice shop.  The visit to the tannery was great as we would have definitely never found it ourselves.  It was interesting as we could see the different steps in creating the leather bags that are around in every stall.  We had camel burgers and mint tea in a carpet shop whilst getting shown all the lovely different styles of rug.  4 of us bought a rug.  We probably paid more than we should have but it was hassle free shopping.  The rug I bought is a simple one in an orange colour with a Berber tattoo on it which is of the tribe who weaved it.

Next stop Rabat for visas.

Volubillis, Morocco

Volubilus was a stop for lunch on the way to Fes.  The site is full of Roman ruins which were abandoned in the 1800s and left to disrepair.  We declined a guide and it was nice to spend an hour wandering on a lovely sunny day.

Chefchaoun Morocco

Chefchaoun is a proper Moroccan town.  Our entire stay here though was pretty cool and rainy.  Not really what I thought Morocco would be like!  It was a nice to have a wander around the Medina (old town) which was painted in a variety a blue paint.

The truck food hasn't been great. As we are a small group our local  payment for camping and food is low so we are on more of a budget than a full truck.  The local food has been great though and Chefchaoun lunch was mystery meat skewers which unexpectedly came with home made chips and veggies.  All for less than 5 Euros with a drink.

Chefchaoun was a great introduction to Morocco but I was glad to be leaving due to the damp miserable weather.

Gibralter, Nov 2014

We'll this isn't the original written but that's lost in the internet somewhere.  To summarise though, I flew from Luton with 3 of the fellow passengers and met our crew member Steve. We were suppose to have 2 crew but the other crew member will be hopefully with us by Christmas.  We had a day wandering around Gibraltar.  The attraction being walking up and a long the rock and for us seeing the road closed so that a plane could take off right in front of us!  From Gibraltar we headed across the sea to Ceuta on a very rainy morning.  From Ceuta (Spanish Morocco) we crossed the border in Morocco and onto Chefchaoun. 

Rabat, Morocco. Nov 2014

We now have a grand total of 8 passengers after picking up Dave in Fes.  From Fes we headed towards Rabat.  We would be bush camping every night in Rabat due to the lack of funds which means that we have to find a place to camp just before dark and then pack up the next morning.  Rabat is the capital of Morocco so its the place to get visas.  We rocked up at the Mauritanian embassy just before 9 in hope of submitting our application and getting the visa as quick as possible so we could then submit for Mali.  Steve wore a tie for the occasion and we successfully got the two visas by the end of the day.  Whilst waiting we had a wander around the city walking through the market and a huge cemetery to the beach.  Morocco so far has been great for coffee and cakes so I'm making sure I'm fitting lots of them in.

The last visa we need to get is the Cote d'Ivoire which we can't submit when we wanted to due to a public holiday.  Tyson and Dave headed on the train to Casablanca and the girls went for a shower in town and then on to find a beach to spend the day on.  It wasn't the cleanest of beaches but the views were good.

Blog is getting written!

I am writing my blog as I go but i'm having a lot of issues posting as I've added photos and tried to publish on a too slow internet connection so nothing is really happening and I cant stop the posting and start again!

The journey begins

So after 9 months working it's time for 9 weeks travel in order to escape British winter and to go on a jolly around West Africa.  I'm heading with Oasis Overland to explore Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali and Ghana.  West Africa is somewhere that I've always wanted to go to.  I couldn't tell you if there is anything there but I'll find out!

I have travelled down to Luton today in order to catch my flight to Gibraltar tomorrow afternoon to meet everyone else on the trip.