Into the Anti Atlas, Tafraout, Morocco
Zagan the motorhome’s casting a shadow. We’re under a Moroccan sun 1053m high in the Anti Atlas mountains, just outside the Berber town of Tafraout. There are three campsites here, but they’re all small, walled-in and looked packed out when we arrived, so we opted for the huge mountain-backed municipal camping area, along with maybe 200 other motorhomes (N29.723201, W8.985595). It costs only €1 a night, in an epic arena of orange, boulder-clad mountains, but the low price comes at a cost – see below.
The incredible view of Tafraout’s hills from our Hymer’s windscreen
Dawn in the municipal camping area at Tafraout, Morocco
…rewind back to Bouizakaren (the spelling of Moroccan place names in English varies by the way – a casualty of the imprecise way of transferring names between Arabic, Berber and Latin alphabets). A delicious in-van tagine didn’t sway my decision in any way to hand over an old (very old, worthless in the UK) iPhone and iPad to Lahcen. From speaking with him and his son, getting opaque stories of ‘difficulties’ he’d faced, looking at the building work he’d done with his small, rough hands, and just weighing the guy up, I was convinced he was a great recipient. After paying, I gave them to him, and he was genuinely overjoyed, in a quiet way, telling us how important they were to him. I said he could sell them if he wanted, but he told us they could get onto the Internet in the town, and he would keep them. Old tech always seems to go down well in Morocco, even stuff which no-one would touch back home, and I felt very happy at any small contribution we could make to his enterprise and his family.
Ju’d also dropped the bombshell that she, inspired by our friend Ann, would be doing today’s drive up to Tiznit, her first on the African continent! Yeah baby! With my feet up, and hardly a white knuckle in sight, we set off along the 500m of piste back towards the N1, taking a photos and having a laugh.
Back onto tarmac, it quickly became very clear why the lorry lights we’d seen training their way across the darkness last night were going so slowly; we were immediately on a winding mountain road. Hazard avoidance time! Overtaking vans, oncoming lorries and coaches, a truck which had spilled its load of fruit and JCBs sat on the inside of the road hammering away at rock to widen it, Ju handled the lot beautifully, and we cruised the couple of hours north, this time using the out-of-town Camping Tazerzite a few miles south of Tiznit (N29.643300, W9.72252).
Camping Tazerzite
Tazerzite was empty compared with the in-town (or close to town) Tiznit sites, maybe only 30 or 40 French motorhomes compared with the hundred or so in the other two sites we saw. With huge pitches, separated by mature hedges buzzing with bees, a spotless (best yet!) shower block and the protection of a giant walled-in compound, it did the job for us as an overnight stop. If we were staying much longer though, I’d be wanting a second form of transport like the other outfits were carrying on trailers – quad bikes, mopeds, cars, mokes, motorbikes – rigs over 10 metres long are (almost) the norm in some places.
Back in our usual positions in the cab, from Tiznit we headed up to Tafraout on the R104, reputed to be one of the most scenic routes in all of Morocco, and it lived up to the reputation. Leaving the cloud behind as we climbed, the hills were exposed, naked stone dotted with spaced-out trees and shaded by the parallel lines of old, hand cut terraces. Maps.me predicted a 2 hour drive and even on roads almost completely empty of traffic we still took closer to 3 hours, taking into account a crafty nus-nus (milky coffee), tea and cake stop at the Hotel Kerdous, just shy of the Col de Kerdous.
Here the climbing stopped and we started a long descent down into the Anti Atlas. In the end it was an easy drive and despite long sections of second gear pulls, Zagan’s engine barely got hotter than it ever does. The most difficult part of the route was probably the final kms where the tarmac shrank to single width, demanding creeping around corners and over crests, only ever to find no-one on the other side to avoid.
The R104 to Tafraout
Driving into Tafraout we got confused. The location of 200 motorhomes in an open area is never going to be difficult to establish, but the entrance to the area itself wasn’t so obvious. After a drive into the town, through roadworks which appeared to be constructing some sort of star-shaped thing on a roundabout, it became clear the old road to the site was no more, at least not for the moment, as a flood-proof bridge was being built. Ju nipped out on foot and found the way in, after which we drove about among the vans, as you do, and found a great spot to park.
<start of rant> At least we thought it was a great spot, until we discovered the rubble my right foot is pointing at in the above photo hides the sight of a pool of dark, raw sewage. After watching a couple of fellow motorhomers walk over to the rubble, or drive over with their shiny quad, and dump their cassettes behind it, I went to have a look, and came back fuming. I’ve never seen such a thing. The municipality provides rubbish collection here, and a water bowser arrives to bring fresh water, but there is no waste disposal on-site. In response, instead of taking waste to the nearby campsites (at least one of which, Camping Granite Rose, will let you empty a cassette for €2), I’m sat watching Europe’s rich (us), dump shit right next to where we’re camped, not 50m from the edge of the area most of us are in.
Local women, dressed in traditional black, are walking past it with their children. A local out for a Sunday picnic with his family yesterday used his phone to record the filth, and the the Europeans dumping more on top. What does he make of us I wonder? Would we want that footage on YouTube? I’m pretty sickened by it. Although urine is relatively sterile if spread out in small quantities, solid waste stinks, carries pathogens and won’t break down in a desert environment, not to mention the toxic chemicals most motorhomes use to keep their loo smelling nice. GOODDDDAMMIT, WE’RE NOT ANIMALS! An argument goes that the council here hasn’t provided a facility – so what? There are aires across Europe with no facilities, but no-one takes it as an excuse to drop their sewage at the edge of the aire. How would folks feel if someone dumped sewage in their local park I wonder? Another argument goes that Moroccan’s are dirty, dropping rubbish everywhere. Despite the clear stereotyping in such a statement, so what? For one thing, although not a huge percentage of sewage in Morocco gets treated, it does get managed, contained, buried, carried away from people. They don’t have sewage sat in piles alongside towns, unless us Europeans dump it there it would seem. <end of rant>
Despite there being no facility for black waste treatment here, folks are just piling it up behind some rubble next to the site.
After calming down over a couple of beers, fending off the usual array of floggers, we read last night and had a cracking night’s kip. This morning Ju’s been into town and ordered some custom-made leather boots, and I’ve spent a couple of hours climbing a nearby hill for a bonkers view out over the town and wilderness surrounding it. Sat on a rock high in the air breathing cool air under a warm sun, I was refreshed. On the way up I’d seen a Berber tent sat out of sight of the camping area here, folks living an ancient, simple life, herding goats. Another local was washing his clothes in the last remains of flood water, and drying a robe on a tree. A boot-sized lizard scooted under a rock and watched warily as I scrambled past. Just beautiful, and we want to stay longer, so we’ll stay put here tonight then try to get into one of the campsites tomorrow, the setting might not be as amazing, but at least we won’t be party to the growing sewage pile.
Fresh water delivery in the Tafraoute municipal aire
Berber text on a monument in Tafraoute
Get in, the scrabbling about on loose rock was worth it for this view
Go go gadget legs!
Tafraoute mosque from above, with the souk setting up in the foreground
Berber tent just outside Tafraoute. Behind it kids (goaty kind) bounce about in a fenced-in area
Another Berber tent close to Tafraoute
Tafraoute from above
Cheers, Jay
Beautiful Morrocan nature… Filthy European visitors! Oh, dear, I would move too, not wanting to be seen as part of that lot! And maybe I would put up a sign trying to talk some sense into those people.
I quite agree with your outrage at some fellow homers dumping their waste. It is a disgrace and brings shame on all us. Worse still, are the racist generalisations, used by some to rationalise their unacceptable behaviour.
Being able to enjoy another country’s weather, scenery, tolerance and relatively lower cost of living is a privilege and not an absolute right. If one thing has put me off motor homing, it is the attitude of some motor-homers that create an anxiety in me that I will be thought of by locals, as of the same ilk as those who dump their rubbish or generally show no respect to others.
Rant over and enjoy your ethical travelling!
I agree you should move. Some people in Motorhomes either have no respect or simply cannot read. We were recently in the Aire car park in the Sierra Nevada mountain resort. It was clear to us that there was grey waste but no black however people had decided the grey waste which has a grid could be used as the black waste you can imagine the result. It’s unfortunately becoming more widespread and that’s unacceptable in my book. We need to act if we see it being done before Aires start to be closed by the community they are in.
Moved yesterday to one of the campsites. It’s small, crowded, walled-in, next to the road, further from the town and costs 8 times the price of the ‘guarded parking’. It’s also in among the palms, still has stupendous views, and has a number of waste disposal points. Tafraoute is clearly exploding in winter motorhome popularity, which is ploughing money into the remote town, which I doubt the locals have a problem with. In time I’m sure better facilities will be put in place, but until then I’d rather be on a site.
Aires sometimes combine black and grey waste disposal on purpose, with signs to indicate the cassette goes through purpose-cut gaps in the grid. Not a good design usually, but in many countries the service points are artisnal and they do the best they can. It’s up to us to use common sense though, pouring solid waste onto a grid then driving off to leave the mess to someone else is something we’ve seen enough of, but thankfully this kind of behaviour remains very much a minority from what I’ve seen. Most of us are decent, thoughtful folks.
Cheers John, happy travelling, Jay
I have worked in environment protection for the best part of 20 years, don’t be surprised, I’ve seen similar goings on in my own home county of Cornwall. It’s what I call NIMBY Not in my back yard phenomenon, always makes me angry. As someone who frequents campsites where often there is a waste recycling system, it only takes one person to be lazy and screw up the system and everyone else thinks it’s ok to not sort waste properly generally putting food waste in with recyclables. Most people don’t give a sh*t unless it’s directly affecting their quality of life. I could write a lot on this subject of waste but I will stop here. Really enjoying your blog, just the sunny pictures alone are lovely, roll on summer here🌞
Hi Megan. Rubbish. It’s fascinating how being in a country with a less developed way of handling trash make me think about how much of it I make. Plastic bottle for example. We’ve been buying ’em for water, despite the fact some of the water here is potable. The bottles aren’t recycled here, they end up in river beds, beaches, gullies, you name it. We’ve started reusing bottles, like we do in Europe, taking a small risk of a dodgy tummy in return for creating less plastic.
Morocco has banned plastic bags too, and most of the time sellers won’t give you one. They have paper or a kind of fabric bag which looks degradable. Last time we were here 5 years back we saw hundreds of bags clinging to trees or rocks, but we’ve now seen the same level this time. Good news.
Cheers, keep up the good work, Jay
For when you are out and about I recommend this https://www.amazon.co.uk/LifeStraw-Drinking-Backpacking-Emergency-Preparedness/dp/B014R1E6RA/ref=pd_vtph_200_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=KGQJ2VNAZC7XVR9S1A1F worth considering investing in or better still put on a present list. I use mine when I am backpacking on Dartmoor
Hi Jason and Julie, With regard to portable water we use ‘Aqua Mega Tabs’ in our tank and drink from it all the time. The tabs are available from Amazon and cost about 11 quid for 20, and each one will treat 225 litres of water (we use about half a tab per tankful). The product claims to protect against organisms which cause legionella, cholera, typhoid, amoebic dysentery and salmonella and are effective after 30 minutes. And so far we’ve never suffered from any ‘Deli Belly’ so I’m not sure if they actually work or if we’ve just been lucky!
What a great use for your old tech kit……I dread to think how many of us have old phones and IPads stuffed in drawers doing nothing when they could be put to great use by recipients such as the guy you donated yours to….
I really, really enjoy your travels. And thank you for venting about people who don’t do what’s right. This stance of “Oh, they throw rubbish everywhere so it’s all right for me to empty my crap anywhere” is so, so, so inconsiderate, and yet it’s everywhere. Rampant. Sad.
May you come across more considerate people, and most importantly, may you really, seriously enjoy your travels.
Hi Claudia. Thankfully we do meet more considerate people, all the time. In fact, almost everyone we come across travelling in a motorhome or camper follows the ‘leave no trace’ maxim. That’s why I was so incensed to see people blatantly dumping raw sewage on the ground in that way: it’s something I’ve never seen. I have seen the occasional dump of a single cassette on the ground, but never the systematic daylight dropping of tens of cassettes a day. It made my blood boil. Clearly they thought it was the right thing to do or they’d be doing it at night, but even the smallest amount of thinking would reveal the obvious truth in what they we doing: it was bloody well wrong. Cheers, Jay
Unfortunately this seems to be a syndrome of long-termers who park up for the entire winter at minimal cost, won’t consider spending €2 to empty a cassette and are afraid of “losing their spot” if they move. It is a long held behaviour, similar to putting a towel on a sunbed all day and only intending to use it for 1 hour. And Europeans consider themselves to be the superior civilised race? Anyone seen doing this should be forced to park right beside the sewage for a night before being asked to vacate the area altogether.