Let’s Do It Morocco!

They did it. We crossed the Morocco border in just 4 hours today. And this four hours was not waiting, but continuous process of preparing entry papers and checking that all is as it should be. This is all thanks to Simo Benziane, who spent 5 working days in Rabat, and got all permissions and support we needed. All this behind, our joy of continued travel was high. First we closed the loop, so made quick and short journey to the Morocco side of border with Ceuta. Now the journey is integrated again. Then speedway to Kenitra. And Morocco traffic outside of towns is surprisingly peaceful and polite. No big difference to any European metropolis. Speedway was at highest quality and we arrived Kenitra with ease.

What a welcome. We were met by Simo (in the middle on the photo) and escorted to the front entrance of City Hall. Met by city council and government representatives and continuous flow of people asking questions, welcoming us and proposing guarded parking or place for night or all the good wishes from their heart.

Then hosted by Simo Benziane with Otmane Boucharta, Jad El Khadir and Yassir Gourram.

Kenitra is very nice small city, not ruined by touristic services. So you can walk in the market and watch arty crafts with peace. Search for real Morocco authentic moods and walk at the riverside, if you like more privacy.

By the way, hosting here is more than proper. Guest is welcomed, feed, entertained and offered home sleep in luxurious villa. Nothing to wish for more, except time. As ten days behind of schedule, we must run quite quickly to meet our visa periods in coming countries.

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Sightseeng Gibraltar

So far we have talked about Strait of Gibraltar. We took day off and went sightseeing Gibraltar territory also. First surprise at entrance. Road closed to let over the road plane takeoff. There was crossroad of ordinary road and airport runaway.

Tourists are attracted directly to old town. It is actually quite nice.

And you see there people walking their dogs.

Naturally you have to visit Rock of Gibraltar. Monkeys are more peaceful than in a lot of other places in the world. Do not steal your belongings so obviously. But they can make angry face if needed, especially when photographer sets his wide angle so close.

Not totally urbanized, they climb trees.

St. Michaeli Cave was the most impressive of attractions.

Over thousands of years nature has sculptured incredible forms.

Some of these are huge.

Met Estonians guided us to Estonian drink store. Now I understand. The shop sells half liter of vodka for one euro. Not surprising, Spaniards are angry on this kind of injustice.

Shop owner checks the small number on bill. It is correct.

Gibraltar has its soul on everything. Nice small shops with dignity, balanced architecture, charming climate and people. There is feeling of a need to come back later. Hopefully not during this trip...

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Criss-crossing Gibraltar

As we could not get the entry permit from Morocco border with Ceuta we took ferry, back to Algeciras and back to Tangier Med port. In Ceuta border point they said, we can cross the border in Tangier Med. We dared not to use our Amphibian to go into water, as it seemed the wires in heads of officials were crossed from seeing this car on land already. We went to ferry, pretending to be normal car.

We were correct, wires crossed in Tangier Med also. But if severel VIP-s had several phone calls, we were given some hope. Hope freeze for weekend and coming Day of Freedom - no paperwork during holidays. So, we took ferry again back to Spain.

It is cheaper to run Amphibear on water, than use ferry. Amphibear spent on fuel some twenty euros for Gibraltar crossing. Ferry costs are 100-150 Euros dependent on route.

Amphibear pretends to be normal car on ferry.

Mohammed Benziane, shortly Simo from Kenitra was so hardworking, he got Transportation permit for us. However, it is not over yet. We have to get approval for our boating radio equipment from Radiocommuniction agency. And there is no sence to get freezed in port again, so first all papers and then again to Tangier Med port.

Here we can think about alternative, heading Atlantic from Spain also. It is not probable option, but better to be prepared than not. We can take care of Amphibear also. Constant cleaning, checking and repacking is part of this journey. As we have the most important paper, transportation permit our plans are still on crossing Africa. Even if entry problems for any of the next countries, Cabo Verde is close there.

But now in friendly Spain for few days.

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More papers

Although getting the authorization to cross the border takes some of our time, the majority of it is spent waiting. There is nothing we can do while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asks for clarifications through its own channels; Simo has flown from Kenitra to Rabat for the entire day to get approval for our entry. The mobile phone bill is already such that the operator wanted to cut off our access to the service and hence, calling is limited.

And while we wait, the African apathy tends to sink in. You look into the distance, thinking and doing nothing. There are some things that can still be done.

Checking the technology of a car

Keeping a diary

Since we ourselves can go to Morocco, we have spent the last two nights in the affordable Hotel Valencia in Tangier. The hotel looks tired, but there are no bugs and it has Wi-Fi access which, surprisingly, even works most of the time.

Translated by Luisa Translation Agency

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Waiting for the high tide, welcome Africa!

The Strait of Gibraltar is where the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea meet. Therefore, due to cross waves and the tide, the weather conditions can be difficult. That is why the choice of weather for crossing the channel was crucial. And we must say, we chose well. There was undoubtedly a slight swell, and speedboats didn’t make it any easier, but just before reaching Ceuta Harbor the flag was calm due to lack of wind.

We also managed to see our first dolphins of the trip, unfortunately not near our slow vehicle but playing in front of a fishing trawler.

Due to great weather, the weekend brought us a live audience. On Saturday there wasn’t a moment when we didn’t have visitors. And it took the whole day to get into the water. We didn’t manage to find a good freshwater spot to get to get into, so we hauled Amphibear to the shore so the tide could take us in with minimal water damage. Unfortunately, some salty seawater found its way into the car. In the evening the car was in, and we spent the night a few meters deep in the water. We took off  bright and early.


Night lights in every direction.

Of course it’s a bit spooky to maneuver between big ships with such a small vehicle, but either due to the weekend or some other reason, the traffic was minimal.That aside, police control was continual. It started on the shore with checking our documents and making sure (or not being so sure) that we were actually allowed in the water, then being followed by the sea-patrol boat, which couldn’t reach the amphibian at first. After that, we dealt with the next ground patrol AND morning patrol. Everyone was helpful and friendly but still guarded.

Although the morning seemed a lot calmer, the ride began with the sea-control boat following us. We thought they would escort us the whole way across the bay, but at some point they decided to send an inflatable boat to tell us to stay on channel 16 and present documentation on the other side.

We couldn’t even reach the other side yet:  a police boat appeared behind us and checked our paperwork for 20 minutes. Last but not least, after reaching the shore in Ceuta, we had to present our documentation for the 100th time. There’s no doubt that the more south we go, the more helpful the police are, so we had help from a police escort on our way to a hotel and in getting directions for finding a beach. It was Spanish „ordnung“ combined with constant attention and assistance, with presentable paperwork as well.

The police boats here are impressive.

Getting on the other side of Gibraltar was as time consuming as entering the strait. While the front end of the car was on the beach, the back end was in saltwater. Finally we had to hoist ourselves onto the shore. No harm, no foul. Meanwhile we joined in the celebration of Xavier’s 35th birthday. Happy birthday once more!

The audience around the Amphibear

At the hotel we met a French car enthusiast who built a fascinating construction from his Hummer and offered  to inflate our tyres after driving in the sand. He also shared his experiences of Africa. 

A small step on our trip, but nevertheless the first time crossing the sea. Welcome to Africa!

Translated by Luisa Translation Agency

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