If you read my last post, we are currently on an overlanding trip through Morocco. On Monday, we drove south through the rest of Spain to Algeciras. After a bit of bargaining with the ferry companies, Russ, our trip leader, got us tickets on the next ferry to Morocco.
Arriving at Tanger Med Port
The ferry ride was pretty quick, just an hour and a half! Unlike other international ferries, you get your passport checked and stamped onboard the boat after boarding. After passport checks, we grabbed some food on board and enjoyed the views of Spain, Gibraltar, and Morocco before arriving in port at Tanger Med.
Disembarking from the ferry was straight-forward, but getting our vehicles through customs was an adventure! We proceeded to the appropriate customs checkpoint, where we had to avoid the “expediters,” locals who want to make some quick money by “helping” you through customs. In some countries, these guys can be helpful, but they don’t really get you through any more quickly in Morocco. After getting our D-16 forms stamped and one more final passport check, we were through!
After leaving the customs area, we got cash and car insurance for Morocco and hit the road. It was about seven in the evening and we had about an hour and a half drive to camp.
Cooking dinner at camp
At camp, we cooked some prawn curry for dinner and went straight to bed since we were all pretty tired out. We woke up in the morning to roosters, hens, and baby chicks wandering through our campsite along with some feral cats. After enjoying the antics of the baby chicks and cooking breakfast, we were on the road again for Marrakech!
We made a detour to the Casablanca airport to pick up the last member of our group and arrived at the famous campsite Le Relais de Marrakech.
Camping at Le Relais de Marrakech
After getting set up camp and enjoying some nice hot showers, we grabbed a taxi into the center of town for a night out. After being dropped off near the main town square, we wandered through the souk stands and found a cafe overlooking it all to eat dinner. It was a good opportunity to practice our French since its one of the two main languages of Morocco.
Overlooking the Marrakech Souk
After dinner, we did a bit of shopping in the market before heading back to camp. Today, we have another day to explore more of the city before we head into the mountains for a few days.
Check out my other posts about our Morocco trip:
We went on this trip with Russ, Mark, and Libby from Yorkshire Overland Tours and they were absolutely amazing!
First Days in Morocco: Tanger to Marrakech is an original post from Stumbling upon Happiness which is not allowed to be copied on other sites.