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.