Into Morocco!!

We ended up staying at the campground in Cadíz for five rainy days. With our planning and shopping done, we were more than ready to go to Algeciras, the port city where we would catch the ferry to Morocco. 

Looking ahead at the weather reports we decided to schedule our crossing on Sunday, January 26th. We had two reasons for this: first, it was going to be a gorgeous, sunny day and second, the “weekend” in Islamic countries is Friday and Saturday, making Sunday the beginning of the work week and therefore, hopefully, less crowded. 

When we arrived in Algeciras we headed straight to the office of the legendary “Carlos”. There are probably a dozen or more ferry ticket offices around the city, but for motorhomers, Carlos is the man. Thing is, the real Carlos retired years ago and the agency is actually called “Viajes Normandi”, but everyone still refers to the person, not the place. And indeed, the business card inside our envelope has his name on it. “Carlos” is also known far and wide for giving customers a bottle of wine, cake and/or cookies as a thank you gift. Maybe another ticket company could win some motorhomer business if they upped their gifting game.

The ticket office is very convenient, as the lot where most everyone stays before catching the ferry and upon returning to Spain is right across the street. And directly in front is a very busy and well-stocked Carrefour grocery store. We went in for a few last minute items before settling in for the night. A couple of hours later we realized the gigantic lot was filling up and if one more rig parked near us we would likely be blocked from leaving! So we moved out while we could and found a place closer to the exit.

Our tickets, both going and returning, are open and valid for one year, so we can select any ferry we would like to sail on and as long as there is room, we’re good to go. The cost for a round-trip was 200 Euros. We thought we’d take the 11:00 a.m. ferry, but then decided to instead take the first of the day since we anticipated a beautiful sunrise. This meant arriving at the port at 7:00 a.m., in the dark, for the 8 o’clock departure. I don’t like to drive in the dark if I don’t have to, but I figured this would be worth it. We arrived early and got in line. By the time we had boarded the ferry the morning light was just creeping across the sky. There was less than a dozen motorhomes on board and other than a few tractor-trailer type things, not much else. It was nowhere near capacity, which was great for us! After a beautiful trip across the Strait of Gibraltar, we were the first ones off! I thought we’d be able to just follow the crowd when we drove off, but this time, we were leading the parade. Port Tanger Med is well-signposted and we had no issues making our way to customs.

Though first off the boat, we were the last to leave this area. Since drones are illegal in Morocco, we declared Steven’s “Buzzy Buzzandra” and checked her in for safe-keeping. We will collect her on our way out of the country. This process took longer than customs, passport check and vehicle importing combined, but when it was done, we were on our way! Our overall experience thus far was fantastic. It seems there have been some changes from years past, as there was much less paperwork than we were expecting. All in all it was very efficient. The customs and border officials were very professional, welcoming and pretty chill. One guy asked to come inside Bijou and he just stepped in, looked around and said, “Niiiiice.” That was it!

The highway we would be taking to our first stop was literally right outside the port, so we hopped on it and skirted south of Tangiers. The Rif mountains to the east were peeking through the dramatic cloud cover and I was surprised at how green and lush the countryside looked. I guess I was expecting a more desert feel to the place. I know we will experience that the further south we get but for now it was all very pretty. The small communities along the highway were reminiscent of Mexico, colorful and crowded. We were heading to the coastal town of Asilah for our first two nights.

Our campground in Asilah was peaceful, but the electricity left something to be desired. Throughout the night our fridge kept switching from electric to gas, which we want to try to avoid at all costs because there is no propane in Morocco. What we came with is all we’re gonna get! We have two 11 kg tanks and we filled them to the brim in Algeciras. In order to make it last for cooking, showering and the occasional boondocking opportunity, we are relying on campground electricity as much as possible. One of the things we purchased in Cadíz was a small electric hob (hotplate to you and me) and a small kettle. We already have a small electric heater, so we’re set!  When possible we will avail of the campground showers. 🙄 

Once set up in our campground, we headed straight for the medina. A medina is an older section of town with narrow, maze-like streets and corridors, typically walled. Within it’s confines are shops and residences and it’s fascinating to wander around and see the sights. Asliah is a perfect jumping off place into Morocco because it still has European influences, so it’s like easing into the culture. People still speak English, the restaurants have English menus, the medina is fairly small and easy to navigate, and we were not bothered by “touts” or “fake guides” trying to get us to buy things or show us around. In fact, there weren’t very many people out and about at all, so we really enjoyed ourselves. One sure sign we were no longer in Europe was the “call to prayer” five times a day blasting from the mosque about 50 yards away from our campsite, but that didn’t bother us, not even at 6:00 a.m.

Anyway, on our second morning we awoke to yet another episode of depleted batteries! We got ready to depart hoping a long drive would help them recharge. About halfway to our destination we noticed there was no charge going to the batteries, so we stopped and Steven got out to check fuses. He pulled the big 50 amp fuse on our EBL and Bijou promptly dumped all our water. LOL, who knew?!

Needless to say we were a bit stressed when we arrived at our campground in Mohammedia. We set about trying to figure out what was going on, and what we learned was a real kick in the gut. Turns out our Schaudt EBL (electroblock, charge controller thingamajig) cannot handle the charging demands of AGM batteries, which is what we bought two weeks ago in Seville to the tune of 560 euro, including installation. Turns out we can only have lead acid or gel. Why did we buy AGMs, you ask? Because that’s what was already in Bijou! That’s what she came with and we simply replaced them with the same ones only new! Is it any wonder that we’ve had so many battery issues? But if they were already in Bijou, why won’t they work? That’s a good question! The reason we knew we’d have to replace the batteries sooner rather than later is because one of them was swollen. And they were only 18 months old! That should have been our first clue, but we just chalked it up to, well, I don’t even know what we chalked it up to, frankly. 

On the one hand, it’s great to finally have figured all this out, but on the other, it was a very spendy lesson. We’re not even sure we will be able to get them changed out in Morocco, and we have Just about decided to just keep them anyway. They won’t last long, but we can’t return them so at least we’ll get some use from them before we have to buy another pair. Ugh!

The way we look at it is with every issue, we eventually find a solution and each one is a learning experience. It takes a long time to really get to know the systems on a motorhome and we feel like we are inching ever closer to understanding Bijou. There is already a plethora of things we can identify and fix ourselves. One of those issues is our back-up camera, which was also an ongoing issue in Scoopy. We just couldn’t believe the same gremlins had followed us to Europe! But once we learned how to deal with Bijou’s finnicky camera, we decided this was also probably the same issue in Scoopy, we just never figured it out before now! Turns out it is a loose fuse that doesn’t like bumpy roads! 

So, here we are in the very peaceful Camping Mimosas in Mohammedia, a suburb of Casablanca, complete with kasbah kitties, chickens and a beautiful peacock. We had originally planned to stay here a while and head into Casablanca, but at the end of the day, we’re not quite ready to tackle a city of nearly 3.5 million people. Maybe next time. Instead, tomorrow we are headed to Marrakesh!

NEXT UP:  Marrakesh! 

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