14th until the 17th April
14th April
So here we go again! We had decided to leave the palmery this morning and move on to.....? Well, I had checked oil and water levels as is normal before setting off and had found that the water level was low! Now between you and I, I still had a nagging doubt about the fix the other day in Tiznit. Nobody had actually found a leak or why the water level was low! A new thermostat was convenient and has seemed to solve the issue. But, as the day unravelled we were to find out that there was more to it, a lot more!
So, the campsite man had told us that it's the Guelmim Camel Souk today and with Guelmim being only 10 miles away, it was definitely the choice for where to go. Topped up with water, we drove to the souk and checked the water level. Low again! We have a problem. What to do is the question?
We leave the souk and drive for 2 minutes before pulling off the road to ponder our situation. As I open the bonnet a man approaches from a building and asks ' What is the problem' It turns out I've pulled off right next to a garage and we think our luck is in. It is the start of a very long day!
So Ali scarface pretends to be the owner! Sala is the mechanic and various other people hover around. Sala is a mechanic and he diagnoses fairly quickly the problem while ali scarface rattles on about good relations and under the eye of Allah all will be seen! The problem is the heater system we are told, a little radiator many of us would not know exists, is leaking? I know this radiator and it does not make sense, where is the leaking water? Sala points to a place and I am told that it is the evidence. Ali scarface says 400 dirham and we go ,'wow thats not cheap for what you have done, undo the little radiator and join the two pipes!' £35 !
Off we drive to give it a test run, I'm not happy, I know something is wrong and I find water is still disappearing somewhere, so again, what to do. Drive north hoping it won't get worse? Or go back to the garage and say, hey what's going on. It's still leaking.
Now a series of events takes place over the coming hours which on reflection could have been avoided with the ''right'' decision. Always easy to say afterwards what we should have done but at the time you do your best and hope it's right.
Ali scareface is nowhere to be seen and from here on Ali refers to another man, this scareface fellow is just a tout and has made a quick 17 quid and given Sala the other half! He is not the boss man but I don't find this out until much later. Nor do I find out that Sala has taken money from scareface and must know he's a tout So a new Ali is there and his friend Chou Chou, both able to speak ok English.
Sala says, it's the thermostat? I say not. He takes it out and we still find the problem persists. It's the water pump he says and I know that he's working through each option in turn. The water pump was replaced two years ago. So he takes it off and we are dismayed to see our engine dismantled. There's nothing wrong with the pump on inspection! It is reassembled. Confusion is setting in! We take the van for a 20 kilometre run south into the desert to test all the work. On returning, the water level is low. It's the head gasket says Sala! This could be true, I know. Water indeed could be leaking through this gasket and it would explain the mysterious loss of water but is this man up to the job and can we get another gasket here in Morocco?
Sala takes me to a parts shop to see if we can get another gasket. The shop says that they have to see the gasket. At this point Ali and Chouchou turn up at the shop and are quick to interpret into English that this is a big job and a specialist is needed. They have a friend who is just this man?
Back at the garage, Sala assures me that he is the man for the job, no problem. Ali says think carefully and also quizzes Sala as to his ability for the job. Our heads are swirling and the job must be done. Is Sala up to the job? Is Ali just trying to get a friend the work? We are being put to the test, we have no idea who these people are. Who to believe.
We stay with Sala who has his 'lads' take apart our engine, this turns out to be a big mistake! This we fully realize when the gasket is in our hands and the parts shop man says that there is nothing wrong with it! at least not that he can see. Ali takes me to 'his' man Amine in one of those tiny workshop units so many Moroccans do all sorts of work in. Amine also says there is nothing wrong with the gasket!!! Ali says 'you should have listened to me my friend' Ok, but what do I do now?
The choices are, either we get Sala to reassemble the engine and hope it still works or get the van and all the 'bits' to this little garage on the outskirts of town, somehow!! This is an epic decision. And right or wrong, I go for Sala to reassemble. This was not the right decision! He did put it all back together again and eventually by midnight did get it going. But after a short test run it was evident to me that the engine was very unhappy, black smoke pouring out of the exhaust and not firing on all cylinders! We need to try Amine in the morning and see if he can salvage the problem.
Ali and ChouChou take over, 'we told you, you must go to Amine in the morning', so we are advised to go and sleep outside Chouchou's house and have a quiet night! Chououia, his proper name, comes with us to show the way, black smoke belching out of the exhaust and running like it's going to stop any moment. The streets are quiet and we end up in a narrow alley next to a fish market and there is a wedding in full swing!! So much for a quiet night! but we settle in and lie awake all night wondering what to do and how will we do it as the music is too loud to sleep and when it stops, my brain is too loud to shut down.
So on to Sunday 15th April.
Breakfast with Chouchou and his family in this friendly part of town. then off to the new mechanic, Amine. He listens in horror to the sound of our engine and quickly diagnoses a broken head gasket, if it wasn't broken before, it sure is now. what damage has been done by Sala is yet to be seen, but all is not well and things could be bad or worse!The wind is howling today, full force, which adds to the tension. Sand in the air and plastic blowing everywhere. How is Amine going to work outside as his garage is not big enough to work inside! Well he does everything from inside the van, The head comes off in a jiffy with hands of obvious experience, he takes no time at all to reveal the knackered gasket and filthy kaylass ( cylinder head ) . Sala has put the gasket back in upside down and the tension on all the retaining bolts is wrong. We are lucky not to have broken the whole engine and with a new head gasket he feels sure he can fix us up, Insha'allah.
So off Ali goes with the old gasket in search of a new one and the long wait commences. He returns and goes again, no gasket. returns and goes again, no gasket. A man he knows will have to go to Agadir where he might find one. But that will be tomorrow, so we will stay here tonight, guarded parking. And the gasket will be expensive, we are after all broken down and at the mercy of peoples integrity. That is everybody we are meeting, from sala and scareface to Ali and Chouchou. We have to trust in people and we have to pay for what we deserve! There are a lot of lessons to be learnt here. Perhaps that's why we come.
Monday 16th April
Another very long day of waiting, waiting and more waiting!! Patience and faith. Everything's going to be all right!! And it always will be, whatever the outcome. Things always work out!
So todays problem, we are told, is the availability of the new gasket. Very difficult to find says the man who is in Agadir getting other things as well as our gasket. Have not found it yet, one more garage left! Will be more expensive than he thought! It's all a scam we are told, just stringing us out to get more money out of us. Who is exactly scamming who is a total mystery and will always remain one.
Ali is the man in charge and he is a guide as is Chouchou, without them we would not be in this place. Ali talks a lot and constantly reminds us that we should have listened to him in the first place while Chouchou is a charming gentle man. Total contrast.
Chouchou sells jewellery amongst other things. He has a lovely nature and treats us well. He is the sort of guide you are lucky to have been picked up by!! Ali talks a lot and will reasonably take you for what he can get!
They are good people and this is Morocco, they will have to be paid like everyone else. They have families and need money. We need them as we are so vulnerable because the rules are different here. Looking at Amine and his garage, you would never guess that we are in the right place. He drinks from about noon onwards and openly admits to it being necessary to kill the pain of constant work. His work is not easy and yet he is a fine mechanic. He makes no excuses for his drinking, he just tries not to let the young apprentices see him! We are in his hands and it feels right. He's a lovely man.
As the long day turns into night the gasket still does not appear. Amine is willing to do the job well into the night if the gasket appears. We would rather he didn't as he is well oiled and tired. So we give in to the inevitable, no gasket will arrive but one has been found! It will be more expensive but nothing in comparison to flying home to get one.We are promised a new one by morning. Insha'Allah
Teusday 17th April
We wake early and both of us have the same feelings. Who is taking who for a ride? We want to pay for what is done but we don't want to be taken for fools. We know that we are paying over the odds for the gasket and we know Ali will want his cut! We know that Sala and scarface ripped us off and yet we know this is not about money. We need to have our vehicle working and today is the day! Ali turns up with the gasket!! and our suspicious minds evaporate into expectation of success.
Chouchou arrives with bread, eggs and tea. He is a dap hand in the kitchen and prepares traditional Moroccan tea for us all.
Amine starts work on our vehicle as well as two others, both with similar problems. He stops and starts as callers want his attention and his need for a drink grows!
He cleans the engine until all the parts are sparkling. He has found problems and has fixed them and he assures us all will be well.
Once cleaned and oiled, the gasket and then the head are replaced confidently. He smiles as he swigs his beer and puffs on his cigarette.
Adjusting bolts and tappets is done with feel and touch, he knows what he's doing and we are in his hands.
He quietly asks me to start the engine and to our great surprise..........it starts straight away. First turn of the engine. No black smoke and a confident purr of the engine is music to our ears. The radiator system still has to be connected but once that is done and the engine is running well, he says, ' it's fixed and sounds good, no leaking water from now on too '
We are obviously delighted if not a bit shocked. Is this true, are we roadworthy? A test run says yes even if I still can't believe it.
We make a price and leave him to go into town and a bank where we agree on payment for the lads too. And we drive back to the Fort Akabar campsite to shower and do well needed chores. We are very tired and need to relax and of course I need to write this blog as some of you might have been wondering where we are and what's been happening to us!
The van is back on the road and tomorrow we shall.................. well let's see what tomorrow brings
Sleep well as we shall
love
Ted and Krysia xxx
14th April
 |
| Choices |
So, the campsite man had told us that it's the Guelmim Camel Souk today and with Guelmim being only 10 miles away, it was definitely the choice for where to go. Topped up with water, we drove to the souk and checked the water level. Low again! We have a problem. What to do is the question?
We leave the souk and drive for 2 minutes before pulling off the road to ponder our situation. As I open the bonnet a man approaches from a building and asks ' What is the problem' It turns out I've pulled off right next to a garage and we think our luck is in. It is the start of a very long day!
So Ali scarface pretends to be the owner! Sala is the mechanic and various other people hover around. Sala is a mechanic and he diagnoses fairly quickly the problem while ali scarface rattles on about good relations and under the eye of Allah all will be seen! The problem is the heater system we are told, a little radiator many of us would not know exists, is leaking? I know this radiator and it does not make sense, where is the leaking water? Sala points to a place and I am told that it is the evidence. Ali scarface says 400 dirham and we go ,'wow thats not cheap for what you have done, undo the little radiator and join the two pipes!' £35 !
Off we drive to give it a test run, I'm not happy, I know something is wrong and I find water is still disappearing somewhere, so again, what to do. Drive north hoping it won't get worse? Or go back to the garage and say, hey what's going on. It's still leaking.
Now a series of events takes place over the coming hours which on reflection could have been avoided with the ''right'' decision. Always easy to say afterwards what we should have done but at the time you do your best and hope it's right.
Ali scareface is nowhere to be seen and from here on Ali refers to another man, this scareface fellow is just a tout and has made a quick 17 quid and given Sala the other half! He is not the boss man but I don't find this out until much later. Nor do I find out that Sala has taken money from scareface and must know he's a tout So a new Ali is there and his friend Chou Chou, both able to speak ok English.
Sala says, it's the thermostat? I say not. He takes it out and we still find the problem persists. It's the water pump he says and I know that he's working through each option in turn. The water pump was replaced two years ago. So he takes it off and we are dismayed to see our engine dismantled. There's nothing wrong with the pump on inspection! It is reassembled. Confusion is setting in! We take the van for a 20 kilometre run south into the desert to test all the work. On returning, the water level is low. It's the head gasket says Sala! This could be true, I know. Water indeed could be leaking through this gasket and it would explain the mysterious loss of water but is this man up to the job and can we get another gasket here in Morocco?
Sala takes me to a parts shop to see if we can get another gasket. The shop says that they have to see the gasket. At this point Ali and Chouchou turn up at the shop and are quick to interpret into English that this is a big job and a specialist is needed. They have a friend who is just this man?
Back at the garage, Sala assures me that he is the man for the job, no problem. Ali says think carefully and also quizzes Sala as to his ability for the job. Our heads are swirling and the job must be done. Is Sala up to the job? Is Ali just trying to get a friend the work? We are being put to the test, we have no idea who these people are. Who to believe.
We stay with Sala who has his 'lads' take apart our engine, this turns out to be a big mistake! This we fully realize when the gasket is in our hands and the parts shop man says that there is nothing wrong with it! at least not that he can see. Ali takes me to 'his' man Amine in one of those tiny workshop units so many Moroccans do all sorts of work in. Amine also says there is nothing wrong with the gasket!!! Ali says 'you should have listened to me my friend' Ok, but what do I do now?
The choices are, either we get Sala to reassemble the engine and hope it still works or get the van and all the 'bits' to this little garage on the outskirts of town, somehow!! This is an epic decision. And right or wrong, I go for Sala to reassemble. This was not the right decision! He did put it all back together again and eventually by midnight did get it going. But after a short test run it was evident to me that the engine was very unhappy, black smoke pouring out of the exhaust and not firing on all cylinders! We need to try Amine in the morning and see if he can salvage the problem.
Ali and ChouChou take over, 'we told you, you must go to Amine in the morning', so we are advised to go and sleep outside Chouchou's house and have a quiet night! Chououia, his proper name, comes with us to show the way, black smoke belching out of the exhaust and running like it's going to stop any moment. The streets are quiet and we end up in a narrow alley next to a fish market and there is a wedding in full swing!! So much for a quiet night! but we settle in and lie awake all night wondering what to do and how will we do it as the music is too loud to sleep and when it stops, my brain is too loud to shut down.
So on to Sunday 15th April.
Breakfast with Chouchou and his family in this friendly part of town. then off to the new mechanic, Amine. He listens in horror to the sound of our engine and quickly diagnoses a broken head gasket, if it wasn't broken before, it sure is now. what damage has been done by Sala is yet to be seen, but all is not well and things could be bad or worse!The wind is howling today, full force, which adds to the tension. Sand in the air and plastic blowing everywhere. How is Amine going to work outside as his garage is not big enough to work inside! Well he does everything from inside the van, The head comes off in a jiffy with hands of obvious experience, he takes no time at all to reveal the knackered gasket and filthy kaylass ( cylinder head ) . Sala has put the gasket back in upside down and the tension on all the retaining bolts is wrong. We are lucky not to have broken the whole engine and with a new head gasket he feels sure he can fix us up, Insha'allah.
 |
| Amine with our engine |
Monday 16th April
 |
| Guelmim from the garage |
So todays problem, we are told, is the availability of the new gasket. Very difficult to find says the man who is in Agadir getting other things as well as our gasket. Have not found it yet, one more garage left! Will be more expensive than he thought! It's all a scam we are told, just stringing us out to get more money out of us. Who is exactly scamming who is a total mystery and will always remain one.
 |
| Ali and Chouchou |
 |
| Chouchou keeps us company |
 |
| my word you talk a lot Ali |
 |
| Amine at work |
Teusday 17th April
We wake early and both of us have the same feelings. Who is taking who for a ride? We want to pay for what is done but we don't want to be taken for fools. We know that we are paying over the odds for the gasket and we know Ali will want his cut! We know that Sala and scarface ripped us off and yet we know this is not about money. We need to have our vehicle working and today is the day! Ali turns up with the gasket!! and our suspicious minds evaporate into expectation of success.
 |
| Bare engine |
Chouchou arrives with bread, eggs and tea. He is a dap hand in the kitchen and prepares traditional Moroccan tea for us all.
 |
| Chouchou the tea maker |
Amine starts work on our vehicle as well as two others, both with similar problems. He stops and starts as callers want his attention and his need for a drink grows!
He cleans the engine until all the parts are sparkling. He has found problems and has fixed them and he assures us all will be well.
Once cleaned and oiled, the gasket and then the head are replaced confidently. He smiles as he swigs his beer and puffs on his cigarette.
Adjusting bolts and tappets is done with feel and touch, he knows what he's doing and we are in his hands.
He quietly asks me to start the engine and to our great surprise..........it starts straight away. First turn of the engine. No black smoke and a confident purr of the engine is music to our ears. The radiator system still has to be connected but once that is done and the engine is running well, he says, ' it's fixed and sounds good, no leaking water from now on too '
We are obviously delighted if not a bit shocked. Is this true, are we roadworthy? A test run says yes even if I still can't believe it.
We make a price and leave him to go into town and a bank where we agree on payment for the lads too. And we drive back to the Fort Akabar campsite to shower and do well needed chores. We are very tired and need to relax and of course I need to write this blog as some of you might have been wondering where we are and what's been happening to us!
The van is back on the road and tomorrow we shall.................. well let's see what tomorrow brings
Sleep well as we shall
love
Ted and Krysia xxx
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