Tuesday 19 January

By breakfast time, the sun was hot and the solar panel had fully recharged the batteries. Someone please remind me it's January!

Our plan today was to revisit this attractive town and have lunch at the restaurant we used before. We left Jamie in the van with plenty of water and ventilation then strolled along the longish promenade with friends Derek and June, who had not visited here before. Some money changed – the rate is the same everywhere – then through the outer and inner walls to tiny streets and alleys with a myriad of small shops selling almost everything; rather like a large souk. There are also a good few touristy shops selling souvenirs, the carved wood objects being very nice and very inexpensive. And no, they don't have “Made in China” stamped on them!

Up onto the fort walls giving views out to sea before plunging back into the maze to work our way towards the restaurants. We noticed that, despite it approaching lunchtime, it was a lot quieter than we remembered although once we'd found our way to the main street it was busier.

Arriving at Marche des Grains at the time we'd agreed with the rest of the group, it was then down to choosing which of the several restaurants to patronise. In reality, they were all the same, the only apparent difference being the colour of the chairs. It was funny, then, to notice that everyone else who came into the square all chose the same restaurant!

A good choice of menu and excellent attention from the young waiter meant an enjoyable Moroccan meal at a very reasonable price. We all had different things, although we'd forgotten about the appetiser of layers of puréed beetroot and carrot served in a small glass topped with yoghourt – an unusual and delicious taster. The large glasses of cold freshly squeezed oranges also went down rather well. The final touch was the mint tea, served with ceremony by our waiter.

Well sated, we ambled slowly to the van in the hot sunshine, to find Jamie impatient to welcome us back – although 28 deg the heat did not seem to bother him. Another of our original group had arrived while we were away then yet another who were staying at a nearby campsite called in to say hi. We've not heard anything about the last couple though since we left Assilah.