October 2025 – RV Travels in Europe and North America

October 31, 2025 Grez-sur-Loing FR

Another day focused on driving. Today we covered about 380 kilometers in 6 hours. We made a couple of stops at rest areas. The first stop was to by some LP gas as we will be running the heater over the next few nights as temperatures are going to drop into the low 40’s.

The vines are turning yellow in Burgundy.

I had to go inside and pay for the fuel and all of the staff in the large restaurant/ shop had on really creative and well done costumes for Halloween. I gave a cute witch my credit card to activate the pump. When I got out there a guy in a Dodge Ram pickup with New York plates on the front had pulled up behind me. I asked if he was from New York he looked confused and answered me in French. I pointed at the plates and he responded in very heavily accented English that it was a decoration.

The pump wouldn’t come on so I went back in and asked the Zombie behind the counter to activate the pump, she said she would. I went back out and the pump still wouldn’t come on. New York and I did some troubleshooting together but still couldn’t get the pump to come on. I was going to go back in when he volunteered to go in and explain the problem in French. After a few minutes the witch came back out with him and in about 10 seconds jiggled a couple of things on the pump and it started working.

Both New York and I looked ashamed-she gave us a look of pity which was reinforced by her witches costume as she headed back into the store. Ton wanted to know what all of the fuss was about and I told her, but I also explained about how good the costumes the staff were wearing were, so she was curious and wanted to go in. I parked François and we headed back into the store.

A pretty duck on the river near our campground.

Ton was impressed by the costumes, but she was more impressed by the regional products on sale. After years of driving thru France and seeing regional products displayed, along with all of the other services like fuel, food, and rest rooms you expect in a rest area. She had never been inside to see what was on display in the stores. We ended up with a couple of regional candies and some socks she liked. Later on the drive we saw another rest area with regional products displayed and I asked if she wanted to stop and take a look, she said sure, and then laughed because she knew I didn’t expect her to say yes. This time we ended up with some mustard from the area.

The French like to plant trees on either side of roads so that eventually they form a canopy over the road. It is pretty spectacular in the fall.

We finally got to our campground around 2pm. I went for a reconnaissance to check on the best way to leave in the morning. The route we took in had a big do not enter sign on it, so I wanted to see where to go. I didn’t expect much and then I came around a corner and immediately turned back and got Ton.

France is full of these small riverside villages with stone bridges. It is what makes France special to me.

France is full of picturesque villages. Grez-sur-Loing is one of them. It has a 19th century stone bridge, a 12th century fortified tower, and a 16th century church along side the Loing River. The setting is amazing and exudes calm and history.

The 19th century bridge is still in use today.

When you add in fall colors and evening light it was a magical walk. What added to the magic was we had no idea it was less than 200 yards from where we were parked.

The Loing River from the bridge. The fall colors are at their peak to add to the beauty of the place.

Experiences like this is what makes France magical for me. You never know when out of the blue you will fall into a place of calm and peace that makes you consider moving to some obscure place in a country where you can’t speak the language.

October 30, 2025 Issoire FR

Our plan is to pass thru France quickly and get to Flanders in Belgium to do a little beer tasting. We want to be in Amsterdam on November 4 so we can prep for our departure on November 7. So today we drove 468 kilometers north to the municipal campground in Issoire France.

Ton liked the art on the back of this cattle truck.

Before leaving Spain we made one last stop in a grocery to stock up on some of our favorites. I got some Tortillas, Ton bought a bunch of fruit and vegetables, you can tell who has the healthy diet, Spanish Tortillas are made from potatoes, cheese, egg, and onions. It is a very delicious hash brown.

The fall colors were coming out as we gained altitude and headed north.

Most of the drive today was thru an area of France that is called the Central Massif mountains. It is a part of France we have not explored much. Every time we pass thru we say we need to spend more time here. Hopefully we will one day.

The campground in Issoire is closing for the winter in two days as are a lot of the campgrounds in France and Spain so we have to be careful when picking places to spend the night. Tomorrow will be another big driving day to spend the night just south of Paris.

October 29, 2025 Roses SP

Roses was the first city we visited in Spain and we have had two of our favorite meals in Europe there so we decided to spend the night in Roses before heading into France. We also wanted to visit the Dali Museum which is in the nearby town of Figueres.

François hit a major milestone today on our drive when his odometer hit 100,000 kilometers. We think he had about 18,000 kilometers on him when we bought him used in 2017.

Dali was born in Figueres and died there. In the 1960’s he oversaw the construction of a museum dedicated to himself in a burned out theater in Figueres. It is now an extremely popular place to visit and tickets must be purchased in advance.

A large painting where the screen for the theater used to be.

Neither Ton or I knew much about Dali beyond he was a flamboyant practitioner of surrealism. Whenever his name came up I would always picture in my eye the paintings of the melting clocks that were one of his famous pieces.

There was more variety to his work than we both imagined.

As we were driving across Barcelona Ton read me a bit of his biography. The most controversial thing is that Dali was a supporter of the Fascist dictator Francisco Franco. This cost him his friendship with the other great Spanish artist of the 20th century- Picasso, and caused him to be estranged from his father for many years.

He spent several years in the US during WWII. He moved back to Spain after the war and spent the last years in Figueres. The theater in Figueres had burned down in the Spanish Civil War so in 1960 he began the process of remaking the theater as a museum of his works.

This is one of Dali’s favorite works originally displayed in New York.

The theater was quite crowded, but the number of pieces on display and the diversity of the work was what surprised and delighted us. It was not a museum of paintings of melting clocks, but it contained works from his lifetime including periods when he worked in cubism and surrealism style as well as many three dimensional pieces that were fascinating.

The most fascinating piece to me was a portrait of Lincoln that was holographic. When you look at the painting up close you cannot tell that it is a painting of Lincoln, but when you look at it thru a camera lense, or from a distance you can see it quite clearly.

The same picture from a distance shows Lincolns face.

I cannot even fathom how you envision the concept and have the technical skill to pull it off. Ton and I were truly amazed by this piece of art.

Dali standing in the theater before it was restored.

We spent a couple of hours in the museum before heading to Roses to find a campground. In the spring we had a fantastic sea food meal that remains one of Tons favorite meals in Europe. So we decided to visit the restaurant again for dinner.

Not sure what this painting is about, but I like it.

We headed to town for what for us was a very late dinner, but for the Spanish was an early dinner at 7pm. We replicated the meal but added some appetizers. A couple of hours later we walked out stuffed and glad we had about a mile to walk to try to burn off some of the food. This is the reason this post is a day late.

October 28, 2025 Altafulla SP

It is time to start heading north so today we jumped up the coast about 400 kilometers to a place near Tarragona. The day started with a visit to Lidl to stock up on some Spanish goodies and wine for the long driving days ahead. The wine is for post driving recovery.

After that we got on the AP-7 pointed François north and cruised for about 5 hours. The AP-7 used to be a toll road, but in Spain after the cost of the road is covered by tolls the road becomes a freeway. The AP-7 is now free and we appreciated saving what would have been a €20 or 25 toll in the past.

We had picked out a campground near Tarragona that we had stayed at twice in the spring and enjoyed. To my surprise when we arrived it had already closed for the season. After some quick research I told Ton there was another campground nearby and someone had reviewed it yesterday on Park4Night so it is open. After a 15 minute drive we arrived at the very upscale entryway to Tamarit Beach Resort. By accident we had found the “Best Large Campground in Europe” for 2025 as decreed by our European campground discount card ACSI. It is huge with three restaurants, a giant pool, tennis courts, and about a mile of beachfront.

But none of this impressed Ton as much as the big commercial washer and dryers in the bathroom building. So after getting settled in we spent the rest of the day washing clothes at the best large campground in Europe.

October 27, 2025 Denia SP

The grey weather blew thru overnight and we woke up to a cool morning with very blue skies. We headed down to the bus stop about 10:30 and joined three other couples from the campground at the bus stop. The bus ride to town was uneventful.

The castle in Denia dating to the 12th century.

Our first stop for the day was the castle. Like almost all towns here and in much of Europe Denia started out as a Roman settlement and then changed hands many times in its history. The castle was built by Moors, but in this case Denia came under two different Moorish rulers during its history.

We entered the castle after passing thru this relatively modern tunnel under the castle.

One of the most interesting things about the castle was a tunnel built under the castle in 1936 and 1937. Denia was a Republican town in the Spanish Civil War and an important port and manufacturing site. It was bombed several times by Italian bombers under command of the Fascist forces. It was also bombarded by a Fascist naval cruiser. To protect the citizens from the bombings and the naval bombardments the city constructed several shelters including the tunnel under the old castle. After Denia was captured by the Fascists the entrances to the tunnels were sealed. As the town expanded in the 1960’s the tunnel was reopened to give the citizens of the town a short cut from the old town to the new town.

Looking towards the new town from the castle.

We enjoyed climbing the walls of the castle, and taking in the panoramic view of the town and the surrounding countryside. There were a couple of small museums on the ground that we also spent some time in.

Ton was most excited to visit the central market; she had read that it had a good selection of goods and we were hoping to get a couple of gourmet items. The market was nice but Ton was disappointed with the selection and we ended up leaving with nothing.

After the market we embarked on what we had really come to Denia for which was lunch. One local guide said that you could eat out every single day of the year in Denia and never repeat a restaurant. I can’t confirm that, but for a relatively small town it does have a tremendous amount of restaurants and bars.

Our first stop of the day on our unplanned pub crawl.

The town is known for the number of bars that specialize in vermouth which Ton likes and I love so she had identified a bar for us to try vermouth. Casa Benjamin has been in business since 1906 and their vermouth was outstanding.

This area is a food hall with about 15 different restaurants.

She had picked out three restaurants for me to select from for lunch, but unfortunately they were all closed on Mondays. Instead we went to an area called the Magazinos that had 2 big restaurants and many small restaurants. We walked thru and surveyed our options before selecting the major restaurant. We ordered a local rice specialty which is a kind of poor mans Paella. This time we had beer with our meal.

For once a Spanish lunch hadn’t filled us completely so after spending some more time walking the town we headed to a wine bar. In the wine bar we ordered a tapa with some local wine to wash it down. We hadn’t planned on an afternoon of drinking but a combination of good weather, a nice town, and a little bit of remorse about the trip coming to an end encouraged us to get our moneys worth out of the day.

It is sometimes a small world. When we turned up at the bus stop to head back to the campground one of the couples from the morning was also there. They came up to me and asked about the bus. We began conversing and they were a couple of Dutch sisters. They asked where we were from and I told them. As the conversation continued all three of us began to feel some Deja vu. When Ton joined we all remembered that we had run into them in the spring waiting for the bus back to the campground in Zaragoza on good Friday. We spent the rest of the wait catching each other up on our activities since our last meeting, like old friends do. It is indeed a small world at times.

October 26, 2025 Denia SP

We decided to take advantage of Sunday to cover some miles towards Amsterdam. In Europe commercial trucks require a special (and expensive) permit to operate on Sundays so there are almost no trucks on the freeways. It makes for a good day to cover distance as we are one of the slowest vehicles on the road and I can run on cruise control for long stretches of the drive.

Another reason was the weather was kind of gray, and for the first time in 6 weeks we ran into a couple of rain showers. We selected the town of Denia to travel towards for no other reason than it was about the right distance north and had a good campground.

Part of the plastic corridor along the A-7.

Most of our trip was on the A-7 which follows the Mediterranean coast. As we were driving there was about a 100 kilometer stretch where the fields on both sides of the freeway as far as you can see are covered in white plastic. The plastic covers hydroponic farms. This is the source of most of the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers for Europe. Before the advent of the hydroponic farms this area was considered too dry for agriculture. It is one of the man made objects that can be seen clearly from space, and is referred to by NASA as the sea of plastic.

Benidorm a city of skyscrapers neither of us had heard of.

As we were driving we saw signs for a city called Benidorm. Neither of us had heard of it and didn’t expect much. To our surprise it turned out to be a city of skyscrapers. It is a major vacation destination for Europeans and caters to a middle class consumer with all inclusive stays and other affordable options. Some of the skyscrapers were quite interesting. We are constantly learning how little we know.

As we were driving Ton did some research on Denia and it turns out it is a UNESCO Cultural site for its cuisine. So it is our kind of town. It is also renown for its hiking and bird watching. We still have a little slack in our schedule so we decided after some discussion to stay another day here.

I had to talk Ton into a walk along the beach today as it was a little chilly. But once she got to the beach she enjoyed our walk along a nice promenade. There were a lot of good photo opportunities and she extended the walk far beyond what I intended.

This house was full of different cactus and has an incredible ocean view.

While the town did not make a good first impression on us, the beach front near the campground is giving us hope that the center of town will be nicer than the suburbs we drove thru to get here.

October 25, 2025 Nerja SP

We were up early to look at the sunrise in the mountains. In this case early is relative as sunrise is a little after 8 am. Tomorrow the clock changes here so we will lose an hours sleep.

The sunrise was disappointing as the sky was absolutely clear so basically the sky just got brighter. Since we were up we headed towards the coast to a sea side resort called Nerja.

After setting up François we headed into town along the beach. The beaches are wide and the ocean was dead flat, almost like a pond. We enjoyed people watching and comparing the prices of our favorite dishes in the beach bars as we strolled along.

It was a beautiful day and the high was around 80. The water must have been on the chilly side as few people were venturing out.

The main town of Nerja was prosperous leaning towards posh. A lot of restaurants and bars catering to a slightly younger crowd than us. It wasn’t kids but 30 and 40 year olds who seemed to be doing well.

The church was doing great business and during our turn around town staged one wedding, and was preparing for a second on our way out of town. It is a pretty spot for a wedding.

We spent our time just wandering the streets window shopping and people watching. We had a light seafood lunch, but found ourselves fondly remembering our lunch in Setinel. We have decided that Setinel is our most memorable Spanish meal.

Our walk back to the campground was along this beach.

After lunch we headed back to François to make the important decision about how to head north. After a lot of debate and research we have decided to head north towards Catalonia and exit Spain on the eastern side. We still have a little time to play with but pretty soon going to cool places will be replaced by going to places that are closer to Amsterdam. We hate this part of our trips. The good news is that the next few days the miles north will be alongside the Mediterranean Sea so the views will be good.

October 24, 2025 Antequera SP

Antequera is another ancient city in Andalusia that was a key site in the wars that led to the reconquest of Spain. Like most of the cities it gained prominence as a Roman city, stayed prominent when the Visigoth’s displaced the Romans and then when the Moors came over from North Africa and conquered Andalusia it was an important fortified city that withstood several sieges by the Spanish.

Part of the fortifications built by the Moors.

Conquering Antequera was an important step in the reconquest by the Christians, and the general who led the successful siege eventually became King Ferdinand I of Spain. He was referred to as Ferdinand of Antequerra in recognition for the importance of the conquest of the city to the Spanish.

The castle of Antequera dominates the surrounding countryside for miles.

The city is a prosperous looking place built across several hill tops which we criss crossed walking thru the city. It also has a striking rock formation outside of town called the Pena de los Enamorados which looks remarkably like a face looking towards the sky.

Looking from the castle towards the Pena de los Enamorados.

The town also includes two neolithic burial sites that are called the Antequera Dolmens site. It was a pretty good walk to get there and I debated asking Ton whether it was worth the walk, but in the end we went for it. After a 30 minute walk we arrived at the museum.

We were both pretty tired from the walk and were looking to buy some water, but they didn’t have any. So we were off to see the dolmens. They are two burial mounds with an opening to place the bodies. As burial mounds go they are very important, but for us they were holes in the ground.

The exterior of one of the burial sites.

Ton asked how far to François and I was afraid to tell her that google estimated it would take 45 minutes. Two things about googles estimates, first it is not based on the pace of two senior citizens, but someone much younger and fitter. Second, it does not seem to account for elevation change. Heading back we had to climb two significant hills.

On the way down the second hill we came across this restaurant located in the Bull ring.

About 40 minutes into our walk we both needed a break and fluid so we agreed that we would stop at the next restaurant we saw. We were rewarded for our perseverance by having the next restaurant be inside the Bullfighting Ring.

Neither of us are fans of bullfighting but we have been curious to see the interior of one as they are an important part of Spanish culture. So in this case by having a light meal at the restaurant in the arena we got access to the interior of what is considered to be one of the nicest arenas in Spain. Antequerra’s ring is still used for bullfighting which is unusual as it is estimated that only about 280 of the 1700 rings in Spain are still used.

The safety zone where the supporting cast wait during the fight, and where the matador can flee to if things go bad.

We ended our day by driving a short while to a nice agritourismo in the mountains above Antequera. The agritourismo is run by a nice Belgian couple who made us feel welcome. There are four guests here tonight, one group are a Belgian couple who came over and said they are very confused. We of course are Americans in a French Motorhome, another guest were English in a Spanish Motorhome, and the last guests were Germans in a Spanish car. So besides them no one was driving a vehicle that accurately reflected their nationality.

The view from our agritourismo. A mixture of olive and almond trees as far as the eye can see.

October 23, 2025 Setenil De Las Bodegas SP

Today was the shortest drive of the trip at 26 kilometers to the city of Setenil De Las Bodegas. It is famous for its homes constructed out of caves.

Walking up to the town it looks like a pretty but unremarkable Spanish town.

Setinel has probably been occupied for quite a long time, but there is no evidence of habitation before the 1200’s when it was founded by the Moors. The name is a corruption of the Castillian for seven times nothing. It took the Castillians eight attempts to capture the town from the Moors.

The town is built in close proximity to the Rio Trajo.

The standout feature is the number of buildings that are built into rock faces throughout the town. For about 1500 meters along the river different homes, restaurants, and businesses have a facade covering rooms carved into the rocks.

This is the shady road as the rocks formed a natural arch that allowed buildings to be carved in the rock faces on both sides.

What looked like a run of the mill Spanish town turned into a really interesting place to explore. The whole town is not carved into rock, but a substantial portion is.

The Sunny Road on the right and the Shady Road on the left. The river is in the middle.

Some of the town climbs the cliff faces on either side of the river so for a lot of the town you are either climbing stairs or descending stairs. But it was worth it for the views, and also to get away from the heavily touristed river walk.

The upper town with the castle and the church in the center.

Setinel along with Ronda are part of the day trips out of Seville and Malaga so the river walk was really crowded for a good part of the time we were in the town. But once we started to climb stairs the crowds thinned out considerably.

Looking at the castle and the church from the hill top on the other side of the river.

We spent a couple of hours walking the town and Ton was having a wonderful time with pictures. It was not too stressful for me as the town was small enough that we could just wander aimlessly so I could keep my phone in my pocket and enjoy the town rather than navigate.

This is a new tourist attraction called the kissing rock.

After a couple of hours of climbing and descending we were both hungry and thirsty. Ton recommended a restaurant and we were able to get a table after only a few minutes wait. We both love Spanish food and today was another great meal. We went for the barbecue platter for 2. It was listed as €20 but we weren’t sure if it was per person or in total. When the plate arrived it was heaping with meat and we assumed it was €20 each. We were wrong, our total bill including the food and 3 glasses of wine (I was thirsty) was €27. We love Spain.

Our €20 barbecue plate with Sangria and Vermouth.

We ended the day with a slow walk back to the campground that was located about a mile and half from the center of town. We thought about a taxi but decided we needed to burn off some barbecue.

October 22, 2025 Ronda SP

Ronda is considered one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in Spain. Both Hemingway and Orson Welles were struck by this city and left memorable quotes about its beauty to be printed on walls and t-shirts in the city. Welles liked the city so much that he asked to have his ashes disposed of here after his death.

The Guadelivin River running thru the El Tajo Gorge.

Our day turned into a bit of an impromptu food tour of the city in addition to an exploration of the El Tajo Gorge. We weren’t in a particular hurry to go to the city center so we hung around François until about 10am before heading out. I spent the time unproductively watching “Slow Horses” on the computer, while Ton was much more productive researching places to go in the city.

I think this building is the Artists Society of Rondo located on one of the main squares in the new town.

It is a little over a mile to the center from the campground, but much of the walk is along a pedestrian mall full of interesting shops and little cafes. As Ton was not quite happy with the sky when we were walking we stopped in one of the cafes for a Churro and coffee.

Spanish Churros are quite different than the Churros we are used to in North America. We like them better.

Spanish Churros don’t come with the sugar and cinnamon we are used to in North America. Instead, they come with a thick glass of hot chocolate for dunking the Churro. Ton and I both prefer the Spanish style.

As we were enjoying our Churros the sun started to break thru so we were rewarded for our patience with better skies for photography. We headed to the old town which dates to the period when Ronda was part of the Moorish Kingdom of Nasrid based in Granada. The town was located on one side of the gorge and built with the typical fortified Medina that we saw many examples of in Morocco.

Part of the fortified walls of the old Medina.

We found a trail down into the gorge from the old town and followed it to the Roman Bridge which was the original bridge across the river. They have a beautiful trail system that you can take thru the gorge, but unfortunately (or fortunately) for us was closed for maintenance.

You can see some of the trail system thru the gorge on the right side of the picture.

Instead we had to take a wider and higher trail that traveled across the top of the gorge. It was still quite a climb but wide and well guarded by high walls.

The town from the old bridge which crosses the gorge towards its center.

We spent about an hour walking along the side of the gorge. When we got back to the new bridge we had visited yesterday we were glad we had spent the time down in the gorge.

The crowds in the center of town were double or triple what we experienced yesterday evening. Ronda is a day trip destination from both Seville and Malaga so at mid-day when we returned to the bridge all of the day trips had arrived.

Ton had picked out a wine bar that was supposed to have a good selection of local wines and a good view. It opened at 1pm and we happened to be the first customers so we got the best seat in the house looking out over the gorge. We had a couple of Tapas and two glasses of red wine from Ronda. Both the tapas and the wine were excellent. We had picked a good place because by 1:20 there was not a seat available in the restaurant.

Most mountain cities in Andalusia are painted white. Partly to reflect the heat, and partly because tourists like it.

After finishing our wine and tapas we decided it was time for lunch. We didn’t rush right out for lunch as we have adapted to the Spanish and Moroccan lunch which is eaten between 1 and 3 pm. We first walked to a nice park and having walked off our wine and tapas we now headed to a nice restaurant for a proper lunch.

We passed Ronda’s bull ring on the way to our lunch. It is supposed to be the oldest and largest bull ring in Spain.

Lunch was delicious and again featured excellent wines from the region. Ton surprised me by ordering a hamburger, but she must have had some inside information because it was spectacular.

By the time we finished lunch it was after 3 pm so we slowly made our way back to François. Ton spent a lot of time window shopping and we moved at a leisurely paces as the return trip is up hill. In total for today we walked over 7 miles with a lot of climbing and descending. We took it easy for the rest of the day.

October 21, Ronda SP

We were both up early due to the change of time zone, so we were off to the mountains of Andalusia before 9am. The drive to Ronda involved climbing over 3000 feet in altitude. We were both impressed with the quality of the road. Despite the many switchbacks we still made good time and enjoyed the drive.

Nice murals on a block of apartments near our campground.

We arrived at Rondo about 11 am and went shopping at Lidl. Our refrigerator was pretty empty and we were out of meat. It took us about an hour to complete the rounds of Lidl but we are now well stocked for the rest of the trip, and pork has returned to our diet.

When we arrived at our campground Ton noticed a large washer and dryer so the afternoon was spent taking care of laundry. It was nearly 3pm when we were done with laundry and lunch. The town was well into the three hour siesta so we decided to join them.

The town was just starting to wake up from siesta when we walked to the center at 5pm.

At 5 we decided to scout the center of town. It was about a 30 minute walk to the center, but a lot of it was on a pedestrian only street, and the part that wasn’t still had the wide sidewalks that we love in Spanish cities. Spain is for us the most pedestrian friendly country we have visited.

Ronda is famous for its location on a gorge of the Guadelevin River. Our plan is to explore the gorge in depth tomorrow, but we got a glimpse of it today and we understand the attraction.

The Guadelevin River splits Ronda in half.

The gorge is over 400 feet deep but is pretty narrow. It makes for a spectacular setting.

The “New Bridge” started in 1751 and completed in 1793.

The gorge and the construction around it will be the center of our day tomorrow so I will only include a couple of pictures from today. Also, the photographer in the family is unhappy with the light and is hoping for better pictures tomorrow.

Looking back at Ronda and the surrounding countryside.

October 20, 2025 La Linea SP

Today was purely about travel. We were up early because we wanted to make a couple of stops on the way to the ferry. Our biggest concern was to try to knock 45 days worth of road dirt off of François. The gas stations in Morocco all feature a big bay marked Lavage. Since we had some Dirhams to spend we decided to treat François to a Lavage. The first three gas stations waved us off, so when we saw a Shell I told Ton this would be the last attempt before we headed on to the port. The fourth time was a charm and François looks much better.

The port at Tangier-Med is very new and the infrastructure is first class if a little under utilized. Since they have all of these new buildings and roads they send you on quite a circuit But in the end we were parked and waiting for the ferry an hour early.

Fortunately we did not need to use this boat.

The ride on the ferry was uneventful, but strangely full of Moroccan families traveling with school aged children. Ton and I figured it must be a school holiday this week in Morocco.

Morocco was a fun time for us. It is a beautiful country full of a wide variety of climates. The coastal areas remind you of southern California. The high mountains across the center are spectacular, and the lower but rugged mountains of the Rif make you understand why it was so hard to conquer the Berbers. The Sahara was an experience we will not forget soon. The cities didn’t knock us out with their architecture, but did have an energy to them that was new to us. Part modern and part ancient, and with a happy chaos that was charming.

The cities in Morocco had an energy that was part 21st century and part 14th century.

We were once again one of the last vehicles off of the ferry so we took our place at the end of the line for customs and immigration. Fortunately for us they opened a couple of more lines so we were thru in less than 30 minutes.

We forgot that it was one hour later in Spain than Morocco so by the time we left the port it was after 6pm. On the drive I was worried because the campground we wanted to stay in is pretty small and it was later than I planned to arrive. I was right to be worried as they only had one spot left and they made me go look at it to make sure we would fit in it as “it is quite small.” Fortunately we did fit so our long but drama free day ended with a small bit of good fortune.

October 19, 2025 Chefchaouen MA

Tomorrow we are reentering the Euro zone so our goal for today was to spend most of our Dhirams on gifts for ourselves and friends. After a lazy morning we headed down the path to the center of Chefchaouen.

The merchants of Chefchaouen were ready to take our Dhirams.

In addition to being a beautiful city, Chefchaouen is full of cute cats. Today Ton focused on some of the cats as well as the scenes in the town.

This picture of a mom and her kittens was being well documented as we walked by.

Our tactic was to make one pass thru the market to scope out what we were going to buy, head for lunch to discuss what we should buy, and then after being well fortified by food head out to get the goods.

In the end we successfully spent our Dhirams at a couple of merchants. At this point Ton was beginning to get the hang of bartering so we felt better about the prices we paid here than what we paid in Fez or Marrakech.

This kitten had found a comfortable place to sleep.

We headed over to the Taxi stand with a couple of big bags of clothes. I even got into the hang of things when the Taxi driver quoted us 30 Dhiram’s for the ride up the hill, I countered with 20, and he insisted on 30 so I walked away, when I was a few feet from the cab I heard him say ok 20, a small victory.

These two cats were having a stare down.

We returned to the campground just as about 15 Land Rovers with Netherlands plates had arrived. The campground has gotten a little more crowded each night we have been here. It was a little chaotic but they managed to fit them all in.

This is the entrance near the drop off point for the tour vans, so the stuff is more commercial. Further into the market the stuff becomes more crafty.

October 18, 2025 Chefchaouen MA

We are going to return to Spain on Monday so Chefcaouen is going to be our last stop in Morocco, but it is a good place. We spent most of the morning talking with our Irish neighbors about traveling and life. I’m afraid we may have contributed to their very late departure for Fez.

I raved about the beauty of Chefchaouen yesterday. And today it was just as beautiful. On top of that we have had some of our favorite meals in all of Morocco here. Alas, if they had good wine or beer, it would be a perfect city for us.

I like the contrast of the blue in the shadows with the bright yellow building in the sun.

We spent the afternoon re-exploring the town. Once again we just enjoyed walking thru the town and seeing what was around the next corner.

We have not done any shopping yet, but tomorrow we are setting off to deplete our Dhiram stock.

Ton had picked a restaurant for lunch and when we got there it looked familiar. We had taken a coffee break there yesterday. Once again the food was outstanding and we were able to try some different dishes that we had not experienced before.

Tons Shakshuka, eggs poached in a sauce of tomato, peppers, and a spice called ras el hanout. The name in Arabic means mixed up.

After lunch another turn around town was in order to burn off some of our lunch. For the first time we wandered into the new town to the central market. Unfortunately we were a little late and things were winding down.

This fellow popped into Tons picture at the perfect time.

Once again the climb back to the camp is a chore so we are opting for a taxi. The ride is only 20 Dhiram, and if I was a better bargainer it might be cheaper. But given the climb it is worth every Dhiram. The problem is we didn’t have any change or small bills.

These hats are commonly worn by Berber women, and foreign tourists.

So we headed back to Bilmos for a desert called a ZigZog, which is mixed fruit with cream and avocado blended together. They were happy to see us back for a third time, and when we left one of the boys shouted see you tomorrow.

This area was the tannery for the town until the 1970’s. Now it is a rug merchant.

With change in hand we headed over to the very busy taxi stand near the old fort. The place is a zoo with vans and taxis swooping in to deposit and retrieve tourists, and the occasional Moroccan. The place is well supervised by 3 Moroccan cops who start blowing their whistles at anyone who lingers beyond the time they think it should take to exit or enter the van.

We returned to the campground just in time to watch a parade of 9 huge expeditionary vehicles arrive. We stood with our German neighbors and watched as these behemoths settled themselves into place in the campground before calling it a night.

Looking down on the town from the trail to the campground.

October 17, 2025 Chefchaouen MA

Chefchaouen is known as the blue city in Morocco and is a must see stop on any tour of Morocco. It is not a large city, but based on Tons reaction it is the most beautiful city in Morocco.

The Moroccan flag displayed on one of the blue walls.

Each day when we return to François, Ton spends a great deal of time reviewing the pictures she took for the day. She is very thorough in her reviews and picky about the pictures she sends me to include in the blog. Most days she spends more time picking the pictures than I do writing the blog.

A wall in the souk displaying art and wares for sale.

I can tell how much she liked a place by how many pictures she sends me. Today I received over 40 pictures, which means she enjoyed herself. Chefchaouen is a special place.

The contrast between the beautiful artwork, and the trash on the ground is interesting. Morocco is a land of contrasts.

There are several stories about why the city became blue, one is that the Jews who arrived after they were expelled from Spain in the 1600’s painted their quarter of the town blue to distinguish it from the moslem sections, and eventually the entire town adopted it. The most common story is that the residents painted the walls blue because they believed it kept flys and mosquitos away.

Small arches in the median separate different parts of the city.

The least romantic story is that the city administration ordered that all of the walls in the city be painted blue in the 1970’s to attract tourism. Whichever story you believe the effect is fantastic. A nice but not historically important or architecturally interesting city has been transformed into a magical place.

This cat was minding the store while the owner was away.

The residents of the city have taken the concept and enhanced it by tastefully decorating the walls with art, and displaying their wares for sale to enhance the color. It is not just that the walls are painted blue, but that around every corner is another delight for the eyes based on what is being sold.

The stuff for sale enhances the feel of the medina.

The town was busy, but not overwhelming which is always a plus for us. It is fun to people watch when there are not too many people to watch.

The atmosphere was decidedly more laid back than Fez or Marrakech. While we had a few people approach us to try to sell us something, they backed off immediately when you told them no thanks. So there was no pressure.

Chefchaouen is built on the side of a mountain so you are either going up hill or down hill.

The other interesting thing was that Spanish was the European language used by the locals instead of French. From 1920 to 1956 Morocco was split between the French and the Spanish. This part of Morocco was Spanish so the non-Arabic names for places were generally Spanish and the roads were Calle instead of Rue.

Chefchaouen is a relatively new city as it was established in 1471 by a mix of Berbers and the first wave of Moors who had been expelled by Spain. It was set up as a fortress to protect the interior of Morocco during a war with Portugal.

The Kasaba which was established here during the war with the Portuguese.

After spending a couple of hours walking around town we decided it was time to eat. Ton made me pick a place to eat from a list of 11 restaurants. The place that looked most interesting to me specialized in Tangines, so I was a little reluctant to suggest it. Our experience with Tangines has been underwhelming. None of them have been bad, but all but one of them has been mediocre.

But Sofia restaurant turned the tide. Tons Lemon Chicken Tangine was delicious, and since it was Friday I ordered the Lamb CousCous which was also delicious. Soria has won us over to what a good Tangine can be like.

Today was Friday so a lot of the men were wearing more traditional clothes to attend Friday Prayers at the Mosque.

After the meal we decided to take a taxi back to the campground. The campground is close to the center horizontally, but it about 500 feet above the town vertically. There is a staircase down the hill which we walked down in the morning, but we decided we would spend the 20 dirham for a taxi to go back. It was $2 well spent.

The top of the stairs to the town below.

October 16, 2025 Chefchaouen MA

Today was all about driving. We have relocated to a beautiful mountain town in the Rif Mountains called Chefchaouen. The total drive was about 200 kilometers but it took over 4 hours to accomplish.

The N-13 was our entertainment for the day. If you look in my lane opposite the on coming car- the asphalt is failing, either a pot hole or just deteriorated. It kept the day interesting.

Ton really enjoyed the day as the views were ever-changing and often spectacular. I had a little different view of the drive as I was focused on the road about 50 yards in front of François, or the rear of the vehicle in front of us.

The majority of the drive was on the N-13. Our experience with N roads has been good. They are often up to the standards we are used to in the US or Europe. But the N-13 going north from Fez hasn’t been brought up to that standard.

To show you how focused on the road I was, I never saw this rather large sign welcoming us to Chefchaouen.

Except for a 20 kilometer stretch where the road was extremely deteriorated, the road was ok, but there were enough pot holes or places where the road bed was failing causing the asphalt to appear to be sliding with a groove in it to grab your tire. This kept me on full alert for the drive.

I was mostly driving at about 60 kph so I had time to react to the road. Which means I also had to watch for traffic coming up behind as Moroccans pass very aggressively (sometimes suicidally). Plus there is a wide variety of vehicles on the roads including bicycles, scooters, a three wheeled motorcycle called Docker, old trucks grinding along at 20 kph, donkey drawn carriages, and just donkeys with someone riding on it. It is an entertaining assortment of characters using the road.

The Park4Night report for this campground had a very explicit warning to avoid the center of the city as it was a very difficult place to drive. So of course we ended up in the center of the city, and they are right it is a very difficult place to drive, especially on market days like today. To make it even more difficult I missed the turn to the campground the first time and the only recovery was to repeat the drive thru the center of the town. It was just as much fun the second time.

In the end we made it here fine, once we were settled in, I pulled out a chair and sat looking down on the town and enjoyed a coffee. Part of the fun of these “adventures” are days like today. Tomorrow we will look at the city.

October 15, 2025 Volubilis MA

Our friends Fred and Denise Cook told us not to miss Volubilis. Volubilis was originally a Berber city founder around 300 bc. It was subsequently ruled by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. In the first century AD it was conquered by the Romans and developed to Roman standards.

It fell to the local Berber tribes around 285 BC and was not reconquered by the Romans. About 850 AD it was pretty much abandoned. The city stood largely intact until the 17th century when a major earthquake destroyed a large part of the city.

Unlike most Roman ruins these days, you pretty much have the run of the place.

After the earthquake a lot of the stones were used for the construction of the nearby city of Meknes. During the French occupation of Morocco archaeological digs began in the area and some reconstruction was done.

The arch of triumph was rebuilt by the French.

It is famous for several well preserved mosaic floors throughout the city. These are extensive and while the colors are fading as they are exposed to the sun they are still beautiful.

It is nice to be able to approach these mosaics up close, but Ton and I were wondering if more effort should be made towards protecting them from the elements so the colors don’t continue to fade. Also several of the mosaics were covered in dirt that had blown in from the surrounding fields.

3 Bathing nymphs mosaic in the north bathhouse of the city.

Visible from Volubilis is the white city of Moulay Idriss Zerhouan. It is an important pilgrimage site for moslems as it is the first city that adopted Islam. The mausoleum of the first Islamic ruler of Morocco Idris I is located there. He was assassinated in Volubilis by order of the Sultan of Baghdad.

Moulay Idriss Zerhouan dominates the hill above Volubilis.

As we have travelled around Europe, and North Africa we have visited a lot of Roman sites. Ton asked my favorite so far and it was easy for me. I liked Agrigento in Sicily. She also favored Agrigento. Partly because it is not just a Roman site, but also has Greek ruins in it. We may be biased because the day we went there we almost had it to ourselves. Pompei is another incredible Roman site, but it was so full of people it was difficult to enjoy.

The Decumanus Maximus is the main road running thru the center of town.

Volubilis was never a major city in any of the empires it existed in. It was always a kind of provincial town under the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Berbers, Romans, and Moroccans and was abandoned as a settlement by 850 AD. But the ruins today gave us an appreciation of how people lived in the past.

October 14 Azrou MA

We decided to move on from Fez. On the way over the mountains we had passed thru a town that caught our attention. It had another Royal Palace, but what struck us were the tree lined streets and Alpine buildings. While we were driving Ton discovered the town was Ifrane.

The visitors center in Ifrane looks like it could be in the Alps instead of the Atlas Mountains.

Since it was not that far we decided to double back and check it out. There were no campgrounds in the town but about 20 kilometers further there were a couple of campgrounds near a town called Azrou so after a stop at a grocery to restock our depleted pantries we were off.

The tree lined streets of Ifrane looked like they belonged in France. It turns out the trees were imported from France during the occupation of Morocco.

Ifrane was originally founded during the French occupation of Morocco as a place that the Europeans could flee to during the hot Moroccan summers. They brought in trees from France and built buildings that reminded them of home.

The most famous landmark in Ifrane is the Lion of Ifrane. It depicts a now extinct Atlas Lion that used to roam in the area.

We arrived to a very pretty, but also very quiet Ifrane about noon. We parked François in an empty parking lot near the city center and headed in. The streets are wide and beautiful but also empty. Ifrane is now a resort for the rich and beautiful people in Morocco and even has a ski resort in the winter. But after taking a picture of the famous sculpture near the center of town we were bored, as none of the rich and beautiful were around, just a few other foreign tourists.

So we headed towards our campground. As we were driving Ton read up about Azrou. What she read peaked our interest so before we set up we headed into Azrou.

The mountain valley Azrou is located in.

The campground told us that there was a place we could park by the big Mosque, and that we could not miss it. We were also lucky because today was market day so there was a lot of stuff to see.

As we pulled up to the Mosque we were caught up in a traffic jam as a funeral procession was just leaving. The hearse was driving away at walking pace as the friends and family walked beside it touching the side of the hearse.

As we were waiting for the traffic to clear from the funeral Ton spotted a couple of restaurants she wanted to go back and check out. So after parking François and paying the guardian of the parking lot, (almost every parking lot has a guardian who you pay to watch your car) we headed into the market.

Azrou wasn’t a large town but it was much more interesting than Ifrane.

We headed to the restaurants across from the Mosque and selected one. Ton had grilled fish, and I had skewers of beef. They were both excellent, Ton was delighted and proclaimed it the best meal in Morocco, and one of the cheapest.

She was so happy that she ordered a rotissery chicken meal to go for a later meal. When we checked into the campground we were the only ones, but when we returned the French couple who parked next to us in Fez had turned up, and a German couple we have chatted with in Mohammedia and Marrakech were also there. As far as camping goes Morocco is a small world.

These three cats had turned up as soon as we arrived and patiently waited for an hour. When Ton started de-boning the chicken the meowing was non-stop. Ton finally caved and gave them skin and a little bit of the breast.

October 13, 2025 Fez MA

Today we tackled Fez on our own and had a much better day. There were two main sites we had not seen on Saturday so we had the taxi drop us off at the Kings Palace.

The main gate of the kings palace in Fez.

The kings palace is still a royal palace and not open to the public. The walls are massive and covers almost 200 acres in the center of Fez. It is surrounded by high walls and has 7 gates to enter the compound. Apparently which gate you are allowed to enter by tells you how important you are to the royal family.

Details of the main doors to the palace. They look like they are made of bronze. The door knockers work as some Americans were trying them out until their guide hastened up to stop them.

Next to the main entrance to the palace is the Mellah which is the old Jewish quarter. Jews have been a significant minority in Morocco up to recent times. In 1950 there were 250,000 Moroccan Jews. The community had been a prominent part of Morocco back to the 3rd century AD. In general throughout history they were segregated in Mellahs in large cities, or in their own villages in the countryside.

Buildings on the main street of the Mellah.

The Mellah in Fez is from the 19th century as a large fire destroyed the old Mellah. The new Mellah was established adjacent to the royal palace to give protection to the community. Unfortunately the longstanding community has dwindled to about 1000 people today due to emigration to Israel, North America, and Europe.

People are not allowed to enter the palace, but you cannot keep the Storks out.

After the Mellah we headed down the hill to the Medina for another walk thru. We had not entered thru the main gate of the Medina on Saturday so it was our first stop.

On the way to the Blue Gate of the Medina we found a nice park to enjoy. We really liked this fountain.

Our first experience in the Medina had not been great so we were looking forward to doing it on our own. We dived in and it was much less crowded on Saturday because while the tourists were out in force, most of the locals are at work today.

We enjoyed a nice stroll thru the souks of the Medina with only one purchase in mind, a tube of superglue to make a repair on François. Google maps works well in the Medina, though you have to trust that the dark 4 foot wide alley it is telling you to turn down is the road it means.

The souk is a great place for people watching, I’m on the hunt for superglue.

Otherwise it was people watching and lunch on the agenda. Ton tempted me to a Moroccan/western fusion restaurant. I always feel guilty eating hamburgers outside the US, but this time the burger was made from camel meat so it was guilt free. By the way camel meat tastes like beef.

Every foot of space in the souk is used to display goods.

We were half seriously looking for a water clock that is difficult to find. We can attest to the fact that it is difficult to find as we did not succeed in finding it.

We didn’t realize that the Medina was built on a pretty considerable hill until we turned around and started walking back to the gate. It turns out we had a pretty good climb going back.

Looking into a Madras or Islamic school.

The day had gone well but it ended on a sour note when we stopped to buy a coffee from a street vendor. We have been in Morocco long enough to know coffee is 15 to 20 Dirham. So I didn’t ask the price before drinking it. When I went to pay the guy wanted 40 per cup. I was unhappy, he could tell, but he stuck with the price when I asked again. I was in a bad position because I hadn’t confirmed the price before taking the coffee so I had no leverage except anger, and to be truthful I was just tired of the place so I paid up. The difference is about $2 per cup from what it should be and that doesn’t bother me, it is the disrespect to rip us off like that with a straight face that does. So once again Fez has left a bad taste in our mouth. The coffee was mediocre also.

We had a good day in Fez until the very end.

October 12, 2025 Fez MA

Following up on yesterdays blog, before we went to bed and before she read the blog, Ton said-“I am done with guides”. She read the blog while I was asleep and agrees with what I said yesterday. Some people may enjoy the shopping experience here, but it definitely is not for us. The negotiations and the pressure of bargaining is a chore. We walk away from every transaction feeling like we lost somehow. Fortunately, at this point we are done purchasing anything so we can relax and enjoy Morocco.

Cats are everywhere in Morocco. This tabby looked like it was ordering fish.

We took today off to try to shake our colds. We both relaxed and worked on recovery.