Touring with a frock in a landrover !
Well we actually left home on Dec 20th in our Landrover camper, ‘Poppy’, and headed to Dover at the start of our overland adventure. The UK was bracing itself for some severe weather and we managed to miss most of it by fleeing East.
We arrived in Dunquirk and headed over to the Netherlands, aiming for Maastricht, home of Andre Rui, and we had booked to see his last concert of the year on the 22nd.
We found a nice little campsite just outside the town which was ‘rustic’ to say the least ! the ground was very soggy and the owner had a tractor .. just in case !
We awoke to snow falling and quickly scurried around getting our posh outfits on and then drive out of a muddy site ! (it’s a site to behold watching the two of us rummaging around in the back of the landrover getting ready – trying not to get mud on our clothes or ladder our tights ! )
Packing the landrover for an extended trip is a challenge, where we need winter clothes, jackets and footwear for the start and end of the trip, then summer wear for the southern part in the desert. We also needed to have some smart outfits for the events we would be attending.
For Andre’s show, I had packed a lovely red dress with matching heels and a warm scarf to wrap round my shoulders. My partner had a glittery jacket and top with some smart black trousers and funky sparkly shoes. We felt festive and comfortable, fitting in with the rest of the audience.
The show was great fun. The venue was a large conference centre like the NEC in the UK, very grand and with lots of doors in and out.
We eventually entered the arena, only it wasn’t the arena but a whole winter village area with stalls selling hot food, mulled wine and some craft products .. there was even an ice rink where some ice dancers where giving lessons.
All round the area were lots of people dressed in ‘Edwardian’ era outfits with mufflers and warm capes, top hats and bonnets! All adding to the winter charm of the event.
After a while we entered the main auditorium, which was vast! We were sitting in the middle at the front of the second section – a great place to be!
The stage had a moving presentation of a winter scene, complete with mountains and snowscapes, a train making its way across the scene and even Santa flying over head every now and then.
The show was spectacular, the orchestra was amazing in their ballgowns and diner jackets, lots of humour from the various musicians – with little flicks of the dresses in time with the music from time to time.
There were guest singers who sang all the festive favourites such as white Christmas and all I want for xmas … and an amazing gentleman who played the pan pipes – despite missing both his arms.
The orchestra was joined by 400 marching band musicians who added a ‘sass’ to the event with brassy overtones to the sound.
Later about 100 ballroom dancers and a group of ice dancers joined in the show, including several wheel chair dancers. Even the ushers got in on the act with some slick coordinated moves !
As the finally drew close, balloons and feather snow cascaded down from the roof and merriment ended the show!
Overall a well worthwhile experience.
To round off the day I had booked us both into a posh hotel a little way out of the city which was an old coaching house with lovely food and great surrounds.
The next day saw us driving though Germany and Austria in the snow on our way to Slovenia. The roads were very busy with snow spay all over the windscreen all the time. That night we camped in a forest rest spot and put the heater to very good use !
Slovenia was clear of snow on the low lands but lots on the mountains, which suited us!
Family festive fun started on our arrival, as we had lots of food which you couldn’t get in the country, as well as some presents for all the family. It was a busy time with two under 5’s to keep amused but there were lots of adults to share the work load.
Some great times were had out in the local town were the festive spirit was in full swing. Winter stalls, live music and lots of food and drink available under the festive lights.
Soon we were back on the road having had a fun break and we headed west into Italy, stopping in a site next to a view of St. Marks square across the lagoon. We had an amazing sunset that night with large boats passing very close by our spot !
Onward we went and headed down to the south of France dodging the winter showers on the way. We found some lovely spots to camp but quite a few of the sites were closed for the festive time.
We passed though the eastern end of the Pyrenees into Spain, where the snow risk receded, but the wet and windy conditions continued. We had several stops on the route, and found some amazing locations where we had some magnificent views of the plains and coastal region.
From here we continued along the coast though the mass of white buildings which stretched the length of the coast. This seems to be an everlasting construction site adding villas and hotels to the already overflowing urban strip. However once the road moves away from the coast, the scenery becomes amazing with wonderful views of the mountains and forest areas.
Eventually we wind our way to the outskirts of Gibraltar and find a spot to wait for out friends in their 110 Defender called Dora.
The drive to the ferry port was simple and as we were now in convoy we were able to use our CB radios to keep in contact, this made things much easier when negotiation traffic and multiple turnoffs.
The boarding was painless and not too busy. Once on the ferry we had to fill in the arrival paperwork and passport formalities straight away which was a simple process.
The crossing was smooth and only took a couple of hours, and then we were in Morocco !
Arriving was straight forward with passport control and then customs … this took the longest time were we were waiting for a couple of hours while our paper work was checked and the vehicle was inspected by various officials – and even a very large dog was sent into the back to have a sniff around!
After customs we made our way to the next point where we changed money and bought a sim card for both phones, and Paul was able to buy insurance for his time in the country.
We had arrived in Tangier Med port which was out side of the city so saved a lot of navigating busy streets and mad traffic on day one !
Our first night was at a pleasant campsite about 80ks south in the centre of the country with a town full of fabulous blue buildings called Chefchaouen. The camping aera was at the highest point of the town in a wooded area overlooking the valley.
After a couple of nights we made our way to Fez to explore the city and check out the medina
The city was a full on traffic mayhem ! with a scant following of traffic rules other than might is right ! it was easy to manage when you understood that everyone was driving the same was and gave you space if you just progressed to the point you wanted to go to.
We used a taxi service from the campsite to the old town, which was a good option as we didn’t have to worry about navigation or parking.
On arrival the whole area was alive with Hussle and bustle of the market selling everything you could think of in a fashion that probably hadn’t changed since the city was first built ! Our senses were attacked by smells of spices, bread and leather, the colours of all the items on display and the noise of the sellers and metal workers plying their craft to make tea pots and bowels.
As we jostled along the narrow passages we found quiet aeras of accommodation and storage, and then found the food quarter. We had a meal in one of the restaurants with a small wooden door that opened up to a large lavish room with high domed skylights and hanging lights, low cushion seats and marble walls … we had arrived !!
After leaving Fez, we headed south towards TanTan using the route plans we had from our trip to the desert last year.
We continued south along the coast and followed the Atlantic until we joined up with the offroad section on our maps and turned off into the desert.
Time to lower the air pressure in the tyres for the first time to allow better traction in the sand .. this became a frequent task over the next few days.
The lovely smooth roads gave way to gravel and sand then dunes and large waves.
This was what we had come for !
Flowing the tracks we had on our navigations devices from last year, we took time to drive along the beach. The Atlantic surf was breaking on the right and there was a wall of sand on the left … and the tide was coming in !
We kept moving knowing that there was a wider section a couple of miles ahead, but the sand was very soft, being more of a beach than the desert. So much so, Dora became bogged down trying to find a firm route higher up towards the dunes.
Luckily they were able to self extract with swift use of the gears and power, and lowering the tyre pressure a little more.
A couple of miles later found us in the big dune area, where there were some very large steep dunes which we had climbed last year.
However, the sand was much softer this year and had been added to with the recent storms.
We had numerous attempts to get to the top of the big dune using all the skills we knew, but to no avail. We both reached the same spot before losing momentum and traction, forcing us to retreat back down to the beach. We watched as a long line of quad bikes simply zoomed up the dune with no issues … pahh!
We looked for a route round the big dune and found a shallow climb that took us to the back of the dune, but again the sand was very soft and Dora quickly sunk to her axles.
No amount of driving skills could get the vehicle unstuck, so we had to resort to manual labour and get the shovels out and boards to help provide a ramp out of the sand.
Strategically retreating back from the dune area, we made our way out in to the desert again, following the gravelly sandy roads to a village in the middle of nowhere. There were lots of tracks in and out of the village, leading to all points of the compass and it took a few goes to select the right track heading the way we wanted to go.
The village centre had a mini-roundabout that was fashioned out of an oil barrel, which hid a group of Kid goats who bounced into view when we swung the landrovers round it !
The next day saw us back on the road heading towards TanTan following the coast once again. Our goal this time was Tafnudilt, a venue about 10 km into the desert built in the traditional style and specifically catering for overland vehicles.
This was one of the highlights of the trip as we had missed visiting this last year on the Sahara challenge.
The site was built in the form of a traditional fort in 2000 using all the traditional techniques, taking 3 years to complete. It is overlooked by a 17th century fort high on the hill opposite. The site provides accommodation for guests and overland vehicle parking with showers and fresh water. The food is amazing with a wide ranging menu of local dishes including an amazing array of fish choices!
We settled here for a few days to catch up on the laundry and tweaks for the landrovers. Our friends were going on south from here and we were heading back north, so after a slap up meal with one of the biggest fish dishes I have ever seen, we said our goodbyes and headed off.
About an hour after we hit the main road south we were engulfed in a sand storm which brought the visibility down to a few yards in places and blew sand all over the road.
This went on all day and most of the next, so we had to ensure that we picked a good camping area to point into the wind to save sand getting into the back of Poppy.
Our destination was Casablanca and I had arranged for us to stay in the Marriot hotel and have a night out at Ricks Café, made famous from the Casablanca film. The original café was only a Hollywood set, but an American fan of the film raised the capital through crowdfunding and recreated the café in the city about 25 yrs ago.
After touring around parts of the city, it was back to the hotel and we got ready in our smart clothes on and headed to ‘Ricks’. It was a pleasant evening and not to cool, taking about 15 mins to walk there.
On arrival we were asked to que next to a sign that segregated booked and non-booked customers, then after a while we were lead in to the middle of the floor and sat next to the piano at one of the best tables!
The venue was well done with great décor, and a very retro feel. Palms and screens around the walls, and a long high bar with places to sit and drink if you didn’t want food. But the food was amazing and the music was laid back and relaxing, with ‘You must rember this..’ being played a few times over the evening.
Upstairs was set out with a ‘gambling room’ and a roulette table set up with some chips on 22… a vintage telly was playing the film, and there were original posters from the film on the walls, even an original cast list showing who was on set that day and their costings … !
Needless to say we had a great time and eventually made our way back to the hotel via taxi!
The next day saw us make our way north to catch the ferry to Spain again, with a couple of overnight stops on the way.
Leaving Morrocco was a straight forward affair and we planed to stay next to Gibraltar for the night. I had noticed that one of the batteries in Poppy was only charging to 10volts for a few days, and wanted to have this sorted before we needed to use the heater when going though the cooler parts of Europe, so we popped into Gibraltar and found a battery specialist who had 2 heavy duty batteries which fitted our vehicle, which I was able to fit while sitting out side the shop on the side of the road!
Driving in Gibraltar was an adventure of its own ! Entering the city we were advised not to use our UHF or CB radios as these could interfere with the military telecoms systems, and the currency was UK pounds !
The narrow streets, tall buildings, numerous roundabouts and frantic traffic populated by numerous scooters and motorbikes made navigating interesting ! not to mention the frequent road works that slowed the traffic to a crawl. One advantage nowadays was there is a tunnel under the runway so there is no longer a need to que when flights are landing or taking off.
Once back in Spain we headed to Seville, which was one of the cities which my partner wanted to see. We were fortunate that we found a good camping area next to the river which was free. It was a sandy area which was the venue for an annual fiesta which was taken over by campers when not in use. It was in easy walking distance of a great shopping street and we soon found a nice spot to have lunch and watch the world go by.
The shops included some that sold flamenco dresses, so we had some fun trying on some of them before we settled on a lovely purple one with matching shawl.
The following day we dressed up in our smart clothes again, as I had arranged for us to attend a flamenco show with a meal in the old part of the city. We had been shopping this time so had some different things to wear. I had a pair of boot cut green jeans and a matching blouse for the day with my scarf, which was both practical and comfortable for the day out in the city.
The dance venue was about a 20 min walk from our camping spot, so we took a leisurely walk along the river before finding a restaurant next to the old bull ring with memorabilia from the matadors on the wall. We took a walk round the bull ring, which was very majestic, with posters from the 1800’s and 1920’s on the wall, advertising bull fights, some were to raise money for the city orphans.
The flamenco show was in a very old taverna, and we had booked for a full meal as well. The staff were all wearing formal dinner jackets and all looked like James bond! The food was really good and the venue soon filled up with a wide variety of nationalities. We found ourselves sitting next to some American and German guests.
The show was a very traditional flamenco, with a male and female singers accompanied by a guitarist. The singing was almost Arabic in its melody and sound. But the dances were pure raw emotion. There were 3 dancers, 2 women and one man, and they presented some different styles of dance with energetic clapping and footwork. The noise and movement was mesmerising to watch and made us feel exhausted just watching !
After Seville we pushed on north through the centre of the country, stopping off in small towns and villages for coffee and food, with some lovely camping spots found on the ‘park for a night’ app.
After a few days, we crossed over into France again where the weather was much cooler. Having the new batteries was a large benefit was we were able to run the night heater to keep us warm while the temperatures dipped in to the minus numbers !
It was also difficult for me to keep up with the languages as we had French in Morrocco then Spanish and now back to French .. it seemed that I was always one country behind when trying to buy food!
We wandered up though France using the motorways and I am sure we now own one ! The tolls cost more than the total fuel costs we had crossing the country. Next time I will plot a route which keeps us off the motorways to save the large cost!
Eventually we arrived back at the ferry port to cross the channel, and eventually arriving home on 8th February 2025 after 50 days on the road, a little shorter than we had planned but Jules had some medical concerns which I wanted reviewing sooner rather than later, so we meandered our way back slowly.
So, I presented fem in three countries and had no issues at all.
I was slightly concerned about dressing in Morrocco, as they have very little tolerance for LGBT individual, but we actually had no issues or comments. However, we didn’t wander into the city too far off the main route. The hotel staff treated me very professionally, addressing me as Miss, and holding the door open for us. The staff at Ricks looked after us very well and we were treated like special guests all night. So, all in all we had a great time.
Andre Rui’s show was very diverse, with some of the ushers being TG and the dancers having same gender couples dancing together. The Netherlands has great LGBT support and we felt very comfortable wandering around.
Spain has a lot of positive LGBT diversity policies and loves the Drag community, so I was not concerned to be out and about en-fem in Saville. Again we were treated very well and had no issues being fem out anywhere in the city.
All in all we covered 6,939 miles, 11 different countries, 2 deserts and numerous mountains with only a battery issue with the landrover.
So we are now planning our next trip for the summer … possibly heading up touring Scandinavia, possibly with a stop off to see Amsterdame Pride.
