We are in North Africa – whoop, whoop!

After a long day of travelling yesterday we finally made it to Asilah, Morocco.  We were up early at 7.15am, and although our ferry wasn’t sailing until 10am we were keen to get to the ferry port early to get in the queue.  The signage to the port was good and once there we followed signs for ‘Tangier Med’ and that took us to a small check point.  We showed our ticket and the women just waved us through. We then spotted the barriers for the ferry – there were 4 ferry companies, including Balearia (who we were travelling with).  All good so far; however, that was short lived as what followed can only be described as 'organised chaos'!  There were lanes that seemed to lead to nowhere, no officials were on hand to guide you to the lane you should to be in and cars and vans were criss-crossed everywhere.  We will never criticise Dover to Calais P & O Ferries again!

Mel edged the motorhome cautiously alongside a few cars and turned off the engine.  It was only 8am so we had a 2 hour wait for the 10am sailing.  As we looked around the Moroccans had their cars and vans weighted down with goods.  Think this guy was praying that it didn't collapse with the weight on the top of his van!

As 10am approached we were beginning to get nervous as nothing was happening.  There were no other motorhomes or Brits around and nearly all the cars/vans were Moroccan, with a couple of French and Spanish.  At about 9.50am a Balearia official arrived in the booth and everyone was out of their cars and vans.  We watched to see what was happening, as everyone had papers in their hands and formed a queue at the booth.  Once the queue went down we thought we’d better go and see what was going on.  It turned out that you show your ticket for embarkation to get verified and stamped before driving through – who knew? certainly not us!

A lot of people were speaking French and we managed to make out that a lot of the smaller ferries couldn’t sail due to the strong winds and high waves.  So, we were waiting for a larger ferry to make it across from Tangier to pick us up.  The barrier to take you through to the ferry eventually went up at 1.30pm, engines started, horns were beeping and everyone was trying to cut everyone up in a race to get to the front of the queue.  Mel stood his ground as 4 lanes merged in to one - luckily we didn’t get bumped! 

The ferry set sail at 3.30pm - it looks an old one!

Once on board everyone must complete an official entry form and take this and their passport to a desk on the ferry to get stamped – this is Morocco’s passport control and there was just one man and a computer!  As this was the only ferry to cross today, it was bursting at the seams and we queued for over an hour to get our passport stamped!  We knew the crossing was going to be bad as a man was walking up and down handing out ‘sick bags’.  Normally it takes 1 hour 30 mins but due to the strong winds and high waves, it took a little over 2 hours and it was rough!  We ventured outside just as we were going through the Gibraltar Straits but you could hardly stand up.  We had heard that you usually see dolphins and whales through here but we weren’t going to stay and find out!

Going through Gibraltar Straits

We were relieved when it docked at 6pm, although it took one and half hours to get off and get through all the vehicle checks the other end.  However, a bonus for us was they didn’t come in to the motorhome and find our stash of alcohol, they just circled it with the sniffer dog!  Just outside the ferry port we found a bureau de change so we changed a wad of Euros for Dirhams €1 = 10.40 Dirhams.  Then it was a pretty straight forward 75 mile drive to Asilah, which was mostly a tolled motorway (70 Dirhams).  We had been warned about touts trying to sell you things as you leave the port, and there were dozens of them. However, we didn't make eye contact with any of them and Mel just kept driving, swerving at times so he didn't knock them over as they came that close to the motorhome!  We got to our Aire at 8.45pm Spanish time (7.45pm Moroccan time, as we had gone through a time zone and back an hour - same as UK time).  It’s a 24 hour patrolled parking spot over-looking the sea, with a little café/restaurant next door.  It cost 60 Dirhams and that included electricity.  We laughed as the man took the cable and plugged it from our motorhome to the restuarant - that's were our electric was going to come from.  They also had a chemical toilet disposal, which was more like a hole in the ground! We were too tired to cook we went there to see what they had.  They did us a lovely chicken and vegetable tagine that they brought to the motorhome along with flat bread and olives – yummy!

Enjoying our first Moroccan meal - chicken and vegetable tagine 

As it was dark when we arrived last night, it was nice to wake up and see this sea view from our motorhome this morning.  It's still very windy but the sun is trying to come out and it's nearly 19°c.

Sonny (the motorhome) enjoying his beach spot at Asilah

Asilah is a very old and small fishing port.  The 16^th century Medina is apparently one of the most attractive in the country, with its towers and square stone ramparts plus lots of lovely, narrow streets. 

Bab el Kasba - main entrance to the Medina (the old city)

The old mosque, which is currently undergoing renovation

El Hamra

Narrow, winding streets around the medina

Lots of small, colourful hand-made stalls can be found in the medina.

Looking around, it's a mix of old and modern in cultures, especially in dress.  A lot of the youngsters go for the European look, although most of the girls still wear head scarves, with the older people opting for traditional robed dress.  Some are more colourful than others.

There are very few cars around the town and a few people still use donkeys for transport for themselves or goods, and some use scooters.

We had read that mint tea was a popular drink in Morocco (Moroccan/Berber whiskey as they call it), so "when in Rome" as the saying goes, we had to try one.  Verdict – not bad actually, just gets a bit bitter as you get down to the bottom - we had opted for one without sugar, although it came with a sugar lump/1

Traditional Moroccan Mint Tea

We are moving on tomorrow further down the coast to Moulay-Bousselham.  We have only been in North Africa one full day but the Moroccan people we have met so far have been really friendly, so we're sure we are going to have a great time travelling around over the next 6 weeks!

Sally x