Agadir

Our first night at the Terre d’Ocean campsite was great. Cool and fresh with a gentle breeze. We cooked outside and could hear the breaking waves in the distance. The next day it was a bit hotter but the following day it was already an alarming 36°C at 9am. The air was still and heavy. It was overcast and quite misty. We have a small air conditioning unit in the bedroom. Now seemed like a good time to start it up. Then a text message arrived from GNV, the ferry company, announcing our ferry was cancelled. It was not shaping up to be a good day.

The temperature crept over 40°C by lunchtime and maxed out at 47°C mid-afternoon. This is really, properly hot. Standing outside felt like standing too close to large furnace. Baloo was too hot to touch. The ground was too hot to walk on. Everything inside, the table, the door handles and the cutlery was all hot to touch. In the cab, the internet router shutdown spontaneously and the iPad was showing a warning message. The light from an overcast and dusty sky was diffuse and dull with an odd orange tinge. The air was still and shimmering with the heat. To me it felt quite intimidating and close to a vision of hell. We all hid in the bedroom for most of the day. Me, Diane and Cent. The temperature in the bedroom reached 38°C. Uncomfortably hot, but better than outside. Our other salvation was the small campsite swimming pool. We jumped straight in and lurked there in the water while flames passed overhead. At least, that is what it felt like. Unfortunately, Cent was not allowed to join us in the water.

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By early evening, it began to cool down a little and small breeze started up. Here on the coast, the ocean is the big cooling influence. The first waft of air from the sea brought a blessed relief. We thought we were past the worst and crept out to make tea. It was still hot, in the high thirties, but was getting more bearable especially with the freshening air. Then suddenly, in the space of about ten minutes, it all changed. The wind swapped direction and the temperature shot up. At 11pm, it was 42°C. We crept back into the bedroom. It is noisy with the air conditioning running so we need earplugs to sleep. There is just enough space for the dog to curl up at the bottom of the bed.

Next day things started to get back to normal. I contacted the ferry company and they offered me a sailing two days after the cancelled one. We feel like fish out of water. This is the coolest part of Morocco but it is still too hot for us. So we took the ferry booking despite the additional €150. GNV really have us at their mercy. We cannot change our ticket and they will not give us a refund. If they decide to arbitrarily increase the price of the ticket there is little we can do. It is exploitation.

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On our last day in the High Atlas, I forgot to lower the weather station mast on top of the cab. The predicable result was to smash the weather station into a tree. We collected the bits in a plastic bag. I messaged Gill Instruments in the UK, the manufacturer, to see if they could offer me any guidance in putting it back together. They came back, a few days later, with some brilliantly detailed instructions. I spent the afternoon successfully repairing the sensor head. Made me feel a lot better.

A few days later, we left on the start of our trip to catch the ferry. We hope. First stop, just a little way north, was at Imsouane, location of our long lock down. There are still a few of the people here that we spent so long with. It was nice to catch up with Jean Loup, Steve, Karen, Maggy and Len. They are all getting anxious and twitchy to leave now. Officially, the Moroccan border opens at midnight on the 14^th. Moroccans are free to come and go. Foreigners can leave. We have a ferry ticket for the 15^th to Genova. This morning we said our goodbyes and then drove to Essaouria. More particularly, we went to the big supermarket to stock up. Now we are camped in some quiet woods a way outside of town. Tomorrow we start the trek north.

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