El Ouatia was a major fishing port on the Atlantic coast 10 miles west of the town of Tan-Tan.
Each day a man visited the camp site selling freshly caught fish from the back of his moped.  We bought an Atlantic bonito for £7 – the seller skilfully filleted the fish which was so fresh there was hardly a fishy smell.  There enough fish to feed four, so we put one fillet in the freezer to have another day.
I think we must have paid top dollar for the bonito because the fish seller returned the next morning as we were about to leave.  He sold us a good sized langoustine for £14.  The creature spent  the day in the shower tray before being despatched that evening for supper, it was delicious.
Our truck carried 400 litres of fresh water, enough to last us a week, more if we were careful; we topped the tank up whenever we found good clean water. Â Much of the water in those parts was sourced from wells and often tasted salty. Â If we contaminated our tank with well-water we could no longer use it for drinking and we would have to switch to bottled water, adding to the mountains of plastic bottles littering the Moroccan countryside.
We filled up with water from this dodgy looking source
The source of the camp site water did not inspire me with confidence, but the gate keeper assured us it was good and, after having a taste, Tony declared it was OK.
The water stored in our tank went through a water purifying system with a series of filters to ensure it tasted good and was safe to drink (hope!).
