Chefchaouen

Camping Azilan was reasonably clean and tidy. Some – but not all – of the toilets were the pedestal type. One toilet even had the benefit of an ill fitting plastic seat – second to end on the left, but don’t tell anyone! No loo paper provided. The showers were cold except for one that was kept locked and you paid the gatekeeper if you wanted a hot shower. Fortunately our truck had its own toilet and an excellent shower.

We walked down from the camp site and entered the city through the Bab Mahrouk gate, built in the 15th century, and on down through the steep, cobbled steps to the town. The narrow streets were lined with shops and stalls and heaving with tourists. It was a long way down and it was quite warm (24°). After doing our shopping we normally returned to the campsite by taxi – the fare was less than £1.

We bought a data card for internet access from Maroc Telecom, £4 for 4 GBs. These cards could be recharged at one of the many kiosks found throughout Morocco.

We were trying to get our barbecue working; the gas tank had been fitted by the Polish builders without a regulator. There were plenty of hardware stores in the town, each stacked from floor to roof with colourful goods. It wasn’t easy explaining exactly what our problem was but this shopkeeper kept shuffling off to the back of his shop finding different types of gas fittings. We came back with assortment of bits that might, or might not, solve the problem. As a stop gap we also bought a Camping Gaz bottle and a burner.