Going to Africa in our motorhome for the first time has meant we’ve had to do a little more preparation than usual, apart from getting insurance for both ourselves and our motorhome and an international driving permit that allows us to both drive legally there.  For more info on how we did this click the link below https://followourmotorhome.co.uk/2019/11/17/morocco-insurance-cover/. We’ve also done lots of other small things to hopefully make our life easier once we are there.

Data

In Europe we have access to data, text and phone calls from our UK package with three mobile. Although we get unlimited data with them at home when roaming in Europe this is limited to 19GB each which is more than enough for us. In Morocco though we will be reliant on buying a local sim and using that instead. For this purpose we have a MiFi device which we can just connect our devices too (Edit Looked for our mifi unit yesterday and it appears we may have left it behind – Ahem, fortunately I brought a couple of old phones with us that still function so we will use one of those to hotspot from instead as we really need to keep our UK sims active in case we have contact from tenants in the UK).

Mapping

As our Aguri Sat Nav does not cover Morocco instead we have opted to use Maps.Me off line mapping app. We’ve been using this app for a number of years now and it has in some instances proved more useful than our Sat Nav (Greece springs to mind), so we have ensured that we have downloaded the Morocco Map and we have also populated it with data of overnight stays. We have loaded it onto several devices just in case and as a back up we have purchased the latest copy of the Michellin Morocco 742 road map, we find a map invaluable for forward planning of destinations.

Guide & Language Books

I don’t know what it is, but although I use a kindle for everyday reading I still like a physical book when buying a guide book. This time though to cut down on weight and clutter I’ve compromised buying the small Marco Polo guide in a handy book I can carry around with me and the Rough Guide on my kindle. One of my early Christmas presents was a language book covering Moroccan Arabic. As their 2nd language is French I also have my trusty French phrase book. Having studied French at night school  for 6 years some 20+ years ago, I’m hoping it all comes flooding back to me. If all else fails we have downloaded both French and Arabic on Google Translate so that we can use this off line.

Camping Apps

As I’ve said previously we’ve already populated Maps.Me with data containing lots of overnight stops. In addition we have paid for the Park4night app which will allow us to use it off line. We already have the Camper Contact App which also covers Morocco so we should be pretty well covered. Of course there’s nothing that beats meeting up with others that have personal recommendations of their own experiences too.

Entertainment

We are not big on watching T.V. but there are occasions where we want to watch a film or get engrossed in a series, so rather than stream which uses lots of data, we have several hundred films etc on a hard drive which should keep us going on the chilly evenings. Whilst away we have also subscribed to Readly an on line app giving access to hundred of magazines (thanks to our friends Jules and Ian for the tip). We have the first month free and then will pay £7.99 a month. This allows up to 5 users, so both of us can use the same account. The titles can be downloaded beforehand so it can also be used off line once there.

Gas

Like lots of motorhomers we’ve had a refillable gas system installed in Boris, which has proved very convenient when in Europe, for just a few pounds we can fill both bottles at numerous petrol stations. As this isn’t an option in Morocco we thought we were going to have to use electric or charcoal to cook and try and make our gas last for the 90 days we are there, but our friends Jan & Trevor at http://overland-rovers.co.uk (they are in Morocco currently and you can read about their adventures by clicking the link) came up with a solution for us. As we have an external BBQ point we can buy a local bottle and feed our system through this…genius!

Cooking

As we have a British motorhome we are lucky to have a full sized cooker with grill, oven and hob (3 gas rings and 1 electric). As at first we thought we wouldn’t have access to gas we invested in a double skillet which would have allowed us much more flexibility when cooking on a single electric ring as it can be used for either layer cooking or as a mini oven. It may be a little surplus to requirement now, but I’ve brought it along for the ride anyway! Our preferred method of cooking though if the weather allows is always outside. With our BBQ point being used there though for feeding our gas, instead we’ve invested in a small Weber charcoal BBQ along with a BBQ charcoal starter which can be used both as a small grill and a device to get the charcoal going (another recommendation from Overland Rovers).

 

Store Cupboard

We are not big on bringing lots of food from home with us, after all part of the experience of going to another country is to enjoy the local cuisine. I do always carry spices that I may not be bale to get hold off elsewhere and of course with Morocco being a mainly dry country we will be making sure we take plenty of booze with us (a quick trip over to Gibraltar has meant we are now stocked up on Gin and the tonic to go in it) . As I’ve read that both chocolate and cheese are hard to get hold of there too, I did sneak a little bit through the checkout!

Medicines

I’ve always been known for carrying a just in case medical kit with me wherever I’ve travelled and so this time is no exception. As well as the normal paracetamol, ibuprofen and anti histamine, I also carry tablets for both the runs and constipation  (well you just never know). My Nana used to swear by eating Arrowroot biscuits if you’ve had an upset tummy so we also travel with a pack of them. Fortunately we don’t have many prescription medicines, however I know from past experience that I can buy the tablets I take for a mere £1.00 at pharmacies in Spain so rather than have them from the UK at £9 a prescription I now stock up when here. I also carry a copy of my prescription in case asked for it.

Other important Items

We always carry alcohol hand gel when traveling and use it very frequently to try and avoid tummy bugs. We also carry Milton Tablets which we use for several functions such as Sterilising our water bottles and grey water tank. As we are hoping for at least some sunny days whilst away, we’ve also stocked up on suncream in the UK as it’s about a 1/3rd of the price of buying it overseas. It may seem strange, but we are also taking an empty egg box! Eggs are sold loose in Morocco!

Items for the locals

When we travel we always like to consider giving back where we can. This may be by simply ensuring we eat and drink out and shop local. Having done lots of reading before this trip though we decided to try and bring some items that may be useful to the locals. My local running group kindly donated kids clothes that would have otherwise gone to the charity shop, and I also went rummaging at a local jumble sale where I picked up a bagful of goodies for less than £2, I’m sure they will find some grateful new owners.

So as you can see we are almost ready to go, we have even given Boris a good clean after our long drive . We are planning to get the ferry from Algeciras to Tangier Med on Sunday, so next time you hear from us it will be from Morocco.

See you on the other side.

Andi