10 weeks Morocco

[trevskoda]

I’m hoping to be adopted by a EU passport holder. There has to be around this 90 day nonsense. Any offers?
I had thought about taking a rubber dinghy over the channel to France . If I asked nicely, maybe I could be an immigrant

Irish passport, brown envelope and im you grandad.

 

[Trotter]

Irish passport, brown envelope and im you grandad.

Almost sounds tempting. Almost

 

[Boris7]

Just remember he said brown envelope, didn’t say it needed money in it

 

[trevskoda]

Just remember he said brown envelope, didn’t say it needed money in it

Brown envelopes are worth a few pence may i add.

 

[Boris7]

Is Ricks Café still there? (Just watching Casablanca )

My first trip to Casablanca was late 90s maybe even very early 2000’s the hotel we stayed in (can’t remember its name) had a bar set out like Ricks,
Casablanca movie was playing on several screens 24/7

A black man came around with a piano on wheels took a stool off the top of the piano and played requested tunes.

I looked at the barman and said “his name will be Sam then” and the bar man said “No it’s Abdulla” why would you think it was Sam.

 

[RichardHelen262]

I’m hoping to be adopted by a EU passport holder. There has to be around this 90 day nonsense. Any offers?
I had thought about taking a rubber dinghy over the channel to France . If I asked nicely, maybe I could be an immigrant

The french would fill it up and push you back

 

[runnach]

I’m hoping to be adopted by a EU passport holder. There has to be around this 90 day nonsense. Any offers?
I had thought about taking a rubber dinghy over the channel to France . If I asked nicely, maybe I could be an immigrant

Mr T, Trev got me this one for £1000. He knocks them out at his workshop at home, I’ll find out soon if it works or not?

 

[CampervanDora]

We are back. 10 weeks touring Morocco. We took the car as I'd broken the motorhome just before we left. We did about half and half tent camping & accommodation. Camping cost a third of accommodation, circa £300 / £900. But the car was averaging 55mpg, and some trips 62mpg, so we saved some on diesel. The car gave us access to city centres and rough roads, so we both felt having the car enhanced our trip. The mountains were just stunning.
10 weeks was plenty long enough and neither of us can see any reason to return. Fortunately, we don't need to do the Schengen shuffle.

View attachment 138538

This looks awesome guys, what an adventure, well done!!
I have the Santander ferry booked and we are off for 3 months travelling through Spain and Portugal in our 1973 VW Campervan starting out in May. We really want to spend a few weeks in Morocco.
I have insurance and breakdown cover for the EU but I've tried everything to get at least green card insurance cover for Morocco with no joy. I know I can get TP cover at the entry port but I would prefer to have better cover before I go.
Can you tell me what you did about cover please?
Thanks in advance, any advice appreciated

 

[korky]

This looks awesome guys, what an adventure, well done!!
I have the Santander ferry booked and we are off for 3 months travelling through Spain and Portugal in our 1973 VW Campervan starting out in May. We really want to spend a few weeks in Morocco.
I have insurance and breakdown cover for the EU but I've tried everything to get at least green card insurance cover for Morocco with no joy. I know I can get TP cover at the entry port but I would prefer to have better cover before I go.
Can you tell me what you did about cover please?
Thanks in advance, any advice appreciated

Just bear in mind it will be getting uncomfortably hot in many areas of Morocco at that time of year.

 

[Clunegapyears]

This looks awesome guys, what an adventure, well done!!
I have the Santander ferry booked and we are off for 3 months travelling through Spain and Portugal in our 1973 VW Campervan starting out in May. We really want to spend a few weeks in Morocco.
I have insurance and breakdown cover for the EU but I've tried everything to get at least green card insurance cover for Morocco with no joy. I know I can get TP cover at the entry port but I would prefer to have better cover before I go.
Can you tell me what you did about cover please?
Thanks in advance, any advice appreciated

As you come off the ferry at Tangier Med, there are some low buildings on the left, with parking in between. The insurance building is the last ove on the left. The inwi mobile sim, shop is the same side, the other end.
Of course, all very easy when you know how!

Driving fine, Albania worse. But avoid big cities especially at rush hour. Night time a little stressful as bikes have no lights and it can be v dark. Lots of police speed checks. Some signs say to slow down, occasionally Halte ... and you must stop. We both received speeding fines and I whinged out of a you didn't stop fine.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[CampervanDora]

Thank you, that sounds pretty straightforward.
My old bus only does about 45mph so a speeding fine would be a new experience but that's good advice, we'll be careful.
Thanks again

 

[marchie]

Thank you, that sounds pretty straightforward.
My old bus only does about 45mph so a speeding fine would be a new experience but that's good advice, we'll be careful.
Thanks again

You would be booked for loitering with intent, to which the defence would be, 'No, officer, within Motorhome ...'

Steve

 

[Alshymer]

Hi
Just did a trip to Marrakech-supposed to be a week but caught an early flight back, at a cost, but so worth it.
Hated Marrakech.

 

[trevskoda]

Last time i was there a tour guide with armed escorts was the thing, if not you would not get through the towns without being stripped the the undies.

 

[CampervanDora]

We heard many scare stories about Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania before we had 3 months travelling through in our camper on the way to Greece in 2023 but these places were the most interesting, friendly and welcoming of the 18 countries we visited. The only time we felt unsafe was on a campsite where a family in a massive motorhome got gassed and robbed overnight ........ This was on the way back, in Italy, on the banks of Lake Como, of all places!!
Just goes to show bad stuff can happen anywhere......I'd rather live a full life with a bit of risk and adventure than sit at home with the doors locked.
We have always found that, if you are respectful of a countries customs and traditions and make a genuine effort to interact, most people will warm to you.

 

[gasgas]

As in over a million miles?
I knew the old Merc engines were capable of this but that's impressive for a new(er) one.

Absolutely. I was chatting to the owner of CAK tanks. He had one of the old MB vans for his business. At 500,000 miles he thought it would need a top end overhaul. Took the head off, looked at the valve seats, scrubbed them with a wire brush, nothing needed doing so he put it back with a new gasket of course. Valves didn't need bedding in. He then just serviced it, and at 1.5 million he sold it in good running order. A few years later he met the guy he had sold it to and it had just done 3 million miles.
Personally speaking about a year ago I bought a 1983 Mercedes W123. The one with chrome bumpers, chrome door handles made of metal, chrome stripes round the waste line, chrome round the window frames. It has the most basic 2.0 litre petrol engine and runs like a dream. It has only don Ae 198,800 miles so it will last longer than I will. I'm patiently waiting for the 200,000 and I might take the timing chain cover off and see if there's any slack. Then I'll put the chain cover back on because there won't be. Forget your crummy rubber cam belt, these things have a duplex timing chain, i.e. two chains made as one. I'll change the engine oil and probably the Diff oil. I'll look at the spark plugs and clean and gap them. After that I'll go inside and have a cup of tea and a biscuit. The ATF was done just before I bought it, not because it needed new oil but someone had fitted the sump gasket a bit wobbly. The best bit, and the primary reason I bought it is that obviously it has no computers. There are no electrics that Charles Faraday wouldn't understand. Except for the original Bosch electronic ignition that is. It has a distributor but no points. A hall effect sensor (which Faraday would understand) senses when a crucifix bit of metal passes the sensor and sends a pulse to the electronic box (which Faraday wouldn't understand) and that sends a pulse to the HT coil primary.
I paid £4,000 for it. What jelly mould car can you get for £4,000? One with either MOT-failing warning lights on the dashboard, or one that is going to have MOT-failing warning lights on the dashboard next week. And the worst thing about the warning lights is that the garage just does what their diagnostic computer says is wrong. Which, in my experience at a cost of about £3,000 on my last car, were not the faults anyway. Three different garages mis-diagnosed three different faults with their computer systems. I won't have any such bother with this car.

 

[Bat21]

Absolutely. I was chatting to the owner of CAK tanks. He had one of the old MB vans for his business. At 500,000 miles he thought it would need a top end overhaul. Took the head off, looked at the valve seats, scrubbed them with a wire brush, nothing needed doing so he put it back with a new gasket of course. Valves didn't need bedding in. He then just serviced it, and at 1.5 million he sold it in good running order. A few years later he met the guy he had sold it to and it had just done 3 million miles.

Sounds like an early Sprinter with the OM602 engine?

Personally speaking about a year ago I bought a 1983 Mercedes W123. The one with chrome bumpers, chrome door handles made of metal, chrome stripes round the waste line, chrome round the window frames. It has the most basic 2.0 litre petrol engine and runs like a dream. It has only don Ae 198,800 miles so it will last longer than I will. I'm patiently waiting for the 200,000 and I might take the timing chain cover off and see if there's any slack. Then I'll put the chain cover back on because there won't be. Forget your crummy rubber cam belt, these things have a duplex timing chain, i.e. two chains made as one. I'll change the engine oil and probably the Diff oil. I'll look at the spark plugs and clean and gap them. After that I'll go inside and have a cup of tea and a biscuit. The ATF was done just before I bought it, not because it needed new oil but someone had fitted the sump gasket a bit wobbly. The best bit, and the primary reason I bought it is that obviously it has no computers. There are no electrics that Charles Faraday wouldn't understand. Except for the original Bosch electronic ignition that is. It has a distributor but no points. A hall effect sensor (which Faraday would understand) senses when a crucifix bit of metal passes the sensor and sends a pulse to the electronic box (which Faraday wouldn't understand) and that sends a pulse to the HT coil primary.
I paid £4,000 for it. What jelly mould car can you get for £4,000? One with either MOT-failing warning lights on the dashboard, or one that is going to have MOT-failing warning lights on the dashboard next week. And the worst thing about the warning lights is that the garage just does what their diagnostic computer says is wrong. Which, in my experience at a cost of about £3,000 on my last car, were not the faults anyway. Three different garages mis-diagnosed three different faults with their computer systems. I won't have any such bother with this car.

There is certainly something to be said for the old Mercs, there was a reason why 1,000's of Moroccan taxi drivers used to drive them before they were enticed away by amazing deals on Dacia Dusters.

I keep toying with the idea of getting an old 190D with the OM602 motor, simplicity at its best but quite rare to find a good one these days.

My 1991 Land Cruiser has just 1 wire that makes the motor run, well 4 if you include the starter motor, I prefer simplicity over complexity when travelling.

 

[Moonraker 2]

We have always found that, if you are respectful of a countries customs and traditions and make a genuine effort to interact, most people will warm to you.

I hope you have a great time. I have done 3 long trips ( 3-5 weeks) in Morocco back packing not in my van. I have found people kind. Stay away from Marakesh and as you say, respect the customs. They had a clamp down on wild camping because of a sad event when two girls got stabbed and they prefer you to stay on camp sites, but I bet they are cheap enough.
Enjoy it.

 

[Clunegapyears]

Hi
Just did a trip to Marrakech-supposed to be a week but caught an early flight back, at a cost, but so worth it.
Hated Marrakech.

We did too. Totally set up for tourists. Beggars. More expensive menus. Cheap samey tat in the markets.
Would recommend anyone to avoid.