10 January - Out of Morocco

What a difference a day makes...

After the freezing cold night in Er Rachidia, we dropped down out of the Atlas Mountains and close to the sea this morning in Tan Tan (Plage Blanche - white beach in English, although on the way in it became apparent that the beach goes about 50 miles inland!), with the change in altitude, a distinct change of temperature. Summer has arrived.

Not an African summer, more like a hot English day - sunny, just in the 70s probably, with no cloud... After days of fleeces, jackets and gloves, it was t-shirts and sunscreen.

There were even showers. Open-air concrete cubicles with a curtain in the doorway - good fun in the breeze - and not-quite freezing water... bracing but managed to get clean, straight after breakfast and visited the airport building to use the toilets. Working, after a fashion, and with a seat, door and everything...

When we arrived, I was astonished to see a huge line of motorhomes against the airport fence. I asked one of the old hands what they were doing here - surely there couldn't be that many wealthy Moroccans on their holidays in one place... in fact, it turns out it's a bunch of elderly, retired French and Germans, who spend their winter months pottering about Morocco in their motorhomes and evey time the rally comes to Tan Tan (last time was 3 years ago) they all congregate to watch the spectacle. There were almost 1000 of them, by all accounts and there certainly seemed to be more retired French holidaymakers than in any Normandy sea-side resort in summer - and that's saying something...

During the day, the breeze picked up a little and by the evening it was quite blowy... In fact, sleeping was disturbed by the whole tent continually flapping like it was about to take off, rather than the cold. It was warm enough to sleep in just a t-shirt and joggers, rather than the 4 layers of clothes for the previous night. Bliss!

Just for Sam, here's a picture of daddy's tent, with Desert Rat Daddy inside...