It rained quite heavily most of the night but fortunately the tent held tight and we managed to stay dry. But, the ground was very hard and uncomfortable, the mats made no difference, so not much sleep could be had. At 5 am we decided to get up and get to the port to see if we could find an early ferry (we have open tickets).

Just as we were out of the tent the rain started again ☹ We quickly threw all the loose items into the car and put the tent on top of the load bed and drove slowly the 50 metres or so to the reception which had an undercover area, where we were able to pack the tent and car out of the rain. A quick, hot shower later and we were on the road to the port.

The crossing was quick, about 1h30 and despite it looking calm, the boat rolled quite a bit, to such an extent that things were thrown around in the kitchen (we could hear glass breaking) and the lady in the duty free shop struggled to keep all the stock on the shelves. The immediate thought was that this surely could not be the first time the boat has rocked and rolled. Leaving Gibraltar behind, the lights of Africa were closer than I had expected. On the boat there was a person from passport control and we presented him our e-visas. After a phone call or two and a wait of about 15 mins, he stamped the passports and that was it.

It was a remarkably smooth process at the port, possibly because it was 6 am and there were not that many people travelling the route, about 5-6 vehicles and a few foot passangers. Ferry Tickets were checked, passports exiting Europe stamped and we drove the car onto the ferry and went upstairs for a coffee and muffin. While we may not have taken the kitchen sink with us, our neighbour on the ferry certainly did !

On arrival, we drove off the ferry and were directed along a long route to the customs X-ray scanner where 4 cars were lined up behind each other and a large truck with a scanner slowly reversed down the line. After a few minutes, presumably they were checking the images, we were handed back our car registration card and proceeded to a physical customs check where they also provided us with a temporary import permit for the vehicle. The dog that sniffed around the car was so quick I actually wondered whether he/she could actually detect anything with such a short sniff. After enquiring if we had any weapons (they said our machete was not a weapon !) and then a reminder from another officer to his colleague to ask if we had a drone, we were done. Then we stopped at the insurance office a short distance away to buy 3^rd party insurance for 1 month (a legal requirement) and also bought a local SIM card with data and we were on our way. All in all, from driving off the ferry to hitting the road took about 30 -40 minutes.

Then we took highway all the way down to Marrakech, some 600km, bypassing Tangier city, Rabat and Casablanca. The highways were excellent with lots of road construction/refurbishment along the way. Morocco is really putting a lot of effort into getting their road network expanded and in tip-top condition. We changed drivers a few times as we were both tired.

We arrived in Marrakech around 16h45 and to a parking garage near to the hotel as advised by Ulrich. Parking in Marrakech is a nightmare and, for the driving, I had forgotten our 12 years of experience in Tunis but that came back quite quickly. Now that we are more likely to be pedestrians in Marrakech, we need to remember that a zebra crossing is just a mark on the road, and be careful of the scooters ! That evening we enjoyed a great dinner at the restaurant next door with Ulrich’s parents and friends and crashed into bed for a long desired soft bed and a good sleep.

Our next excursion will be to the Pizzas on the Piste on 21/22 Oct, which will be reported by Ulrich. We will post interesting things in and around Marrakech once in a while as we will be in Marrakech until 31 Oct. We will be leaving on the southbound journey on 1 Nov.