Life on the Road during Covid-19 - Part 1
Here in full is the first part of the article I wrote for Gonzo Weekly magazine that was also taken up by International Times and Peppermint Iguana Zine:
I’ve
lived in vehicles for the past ten years, for the twenty years before that I’d
had links to the New Traveller scene through friends, festivals and raves. In
this thirty years I’ve seen this lifestyle become trendy, become criminalised,
become unpopular and become trendy all over again with a new wave of travellers
that call themselves vanlifers as well as far more retirees in motorhomes, some
worth in excess of £100,000.
This
article is about my personal experience during the Coronavirus crisis and about
how the wider New Travellers, Vanlifers and Motorhomers reacted to it and are
coping with it, it is not about gypsies as I have no links personally to that
way of life or its people.
In
the last decade there has been a sharp rise in people living on wheels again,
some of these people would identify as New Travellers but there are a huge
amount of people now identifying as Vanlifers as well as a massive increase in Motorhomers,
the retired Northern European sun seekers who spend the winter months in
motorhomes in the South of Europe and North Africa. Some of these people live
in their campervans or motorhomes permanently, and so have no other place to
live. A lot of this group call themselves ‘full-timers’.
In
the ten years I have lived on the road I have spent a lot of time travelling in
the UK, Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. I have travelled and explored but
have also spent long periods of time parked in one place, on various illegal
traveller sites and at times on friends land. My partner and I had been
planning for the last few months a trip to Morocco and in mid-February 2020 we,
and some of our friends also in vans took the ferry from Algeciras to Tangier
Med port to explore the country. We were a mixed group, some of us New
Travellers, some of us Vanlifers and some of us Motorhomers.
I
had been working in the UK in the last two weeks of January and like everyone
else had heard the reports of Coronavirus in Wuhan and how it was spreading
through China. In the first two weeks of February we heard the news of a few
cases outside of China and the infected people on the Diamond Princess Cruise
ship. As it got closer to our day of departure cases were increasing but it
seemed like something happening elsewhere, something that was unlikely to
affect us.
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| Our proposed route around Morocco |
With
hindsight it is easy to say that we shouldn’t have travelled, it is easy to
point the finger at the authorities and say we should have been told not to
travel. It’s easy to say borders should have been shut by then, movement of
people should have been curtailed by then but we didn’t have that benefit. We,
like many other travellers and holidaymakers didn’t want to abandon our plans
for something that was probably being blown out of proportion by the media and
that probably was no worse than the flu.
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| In the queue at Algeciras waiting to board the ferry to Morocco |
On
the 20th of February we took our ferry and drove to the lovely town
of Asilah in Northern Morocco, where we spent a couple of days before heading
on down the coast. We didn’t all stay in one big group, we split off into
different groups depending on who wanted to see or do what. We met up with some
of our fellow travellers at various points. Some of us came for the sun, some
for the surf, some to make travel blogs, we came to explore, to embrace the
culture, to sample local food and to hopefully pick up some Arabic.
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| Our first stop, the beautiful town of Asilah |
By
the end of February there was more Covid-19 cases around the world but it still
seemed like most of the cases were a long way away and although there were some
other countries with multiple cases it seemed a lot of the other countries had
just one or two cases. We, along with many others still believed we would be
fine, that we would be able to continue on our trip and that we wouldn’t be
affected.
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| Us enjoying travelling in Morocco |
As
we entered March things started to get more serious. On the 2nd
Morocco reported its first case of the virus, a man who had flown in from
Italy. Then on the 4th of March the Moroccan government banned large
gatherings of people. This included the Nomad Festival on the edge of the
Sahara that we were heading to. On the 10th Morocco reported its
first death from Covid-19, an elderly woman who had been the second reported
case a few days before. By the 11th March there was five cases,
flights had been suspended to Milan and Venice and Morocco suspended all
ferries to Italy.
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| The great markets of Morocco |
Also
on the 11th March the advice from the head of government in Morocco
was to avoid over reacting and not to panic. We hadn’t heard any advice from
our respective countries at this point, in our group were people from the UK,
Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. We had travelled down a lot of the coast and had
made our way inland to a Southern town in the Anti-Atlas Mountains called
Tafraoute. It was here we had planned to get some work done on our van as my
partner had been before and seen lots of campervans getting work done. So on
the same day as being told not to over-react we did just that, got on with life
and organised the work on our van.
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| A market we caught just before lockdown |
The
next day work started on our van and for the next five days we were parked at
the garage with some other people in vans also getting work done. Every day
there was a new development in the pandemic sweeping the world, ferries and
flights between Morocco and Spain got suspended and schools got shut. More and
more flights got suspended until it was all international flights. On the last
day we were at the garage the government ordered the closure of all mosques,
cafes, restaurants, hammams, gyms and clubs.
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| A meal with friends before we go separate ways |
It
was a strange evening that day as cafes and restaurants started to shut. As
anyone who has ever visited Morocco knows there is a massive café culture here,
with the daily drinking of some mint tea while watching the world go by almost obligatory!
There was still lots of people about but there was an air of uncertainty now
among locals and tourists alike.
The
embassies in Morocco started to advise holiday makers to get home and were
giving details of repatriation flights. The FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth
Office) were also starting to advise tourists to return to their home country.
Ferries were still running to mainland Europe from the Spanish enclave Ceuta on
the Northern Morocco coast and so some people in campervans and motorhomes decided
to go back to Europe.
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| An archway in Morocco |
Rumours
were going round on social media that Morocco were going to go into lockdown
sooner rather than later. The official line from the government was that they
had implemented phase one of the fight against the virus and they would not
implement phase two until there was 500 cases of covid-19 in the country. There
were also rumours on social media that locals were getting wary of Europeans
and some tourists had suffered verbal abuse. Despite this everyone in our
group, who were scattered all over the South of the country were more than
happy to stay until it was all over.
We
decided that as the advice from the FCO to leave, was to holiday makers and
short-term travellers that we did not really fit into that category. We intended
to be in Morocco for the three months of our visa and so thought of ourselves
as long-term travellers. We don’t have a house to go back to as our van is our
home so why drive hundreds of miles risking spreading the virus to go and live
in our van somewhere else? Added to that where would we even go, I am
officially a UK resident but with no actual home there and my partner is
officially an Irish resident in the same situation.
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| Getting our van doors made in Tafraoute |
Some
of our group were in a village on the coast, we had visited the same village a
couple of weeks earlier and liked the place. They offered that we could come
and park up there with them until the ferries were back to normal. It was
outside a hostel that had shut due to the virus but we could have use of the
facilities there, toilet, shower and WiFi for a very reasonable price.
On
the 18th March we drove six hours to get to Imsouane, the village
some of our friends were already parked at. The day before some of our other
friends had made a seemingly sudden decision to leave Morocco and the next day
some more of them made that same decision. It was a hard choice and not one
that anyone really had time to think through. Rumours were now rife about
border closures, lack of ferries, campsites possibly not allowing new patrons
and an increase in abuse towards tourists from locals.
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| The final journey for a while, driving to Imsouane |
What
was really lacking and still is at the time of writing is specific advice for
long-term travellers in campervans and especially those where their van is
their only home. I understand the advice to tourists staying in hotels,
guesthouses and other short-term accommodation that have taken a flight to
another country to get back to their home country and their normal home. What I
was not understanding is on the one hand the advice is to stay in one place and
avoid all unnecessary contact but on the other hand there were thousands of
campervans driving across North Africa and some of the worst hit countries in
Europe, why?
There
are many reasons that I can see from friends and from reading about different
experiences of people in campervans online. Firstly, no clear and concise
advice from any government specific to our situation. Secondly, the people who have
a house and so are not living in their campervans full-time only see themselves
as short-term travellers and so felt the best place for them was to be back at
home with more space and more home comforts. Thirdly, rumours with little basis
for truth on social media were a very good way of making people panic. Stories
of cases of the virus in certain towns, internal travel bans, ferries stopping,
campsites shutting and of people being threatened with violence from locals all
fed a sense of fear that was rising in some people. This seemed to pray on the
minds of some of my friends and I even heard someone say they were worried that
if food ran out what locals would do to us as tourists.
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| The local shop well stocked thankfully |
While
some of these stories became fact they were all rumours on social media days
before they happened. Morocco have been very strict on tackling any fake news
appearing in the country via social media and one such piece was the reports of
two cases of Europeans with the virus in a small town on the edge of the
desert. A friend of ours was there and heard the rumour from people in the
town, I read it on Facebook and it sounded like it was false. Two people were
being hunted by police for spreading this fake news on social media.
Another
reason that I think some people left is that there seemed to be a strongly held
belief among many people that we, as Europeans, would be happier and healthier
amongst our own. There was the view that our healthcare systems were better and
that to be around other Europeans would be better for us. As someone from the
UK who works in the care industry, I am well aware of the failings and
underfunding in the NHS. I have nothing but admiration for the front line
workers, the doctors, nurses, porters and cleaners, who are under massive
pressure under difficult circumstances. Due to years of underfunding I
certainly don’t feel I’d be better off there if I got ill. I’m not saying I
would be better off here either. I don’t really know much about the healthcare
here although one of our group did have to go to hospital before the virus got
to Morocco and he was treated well and quickly in a modern accident unit. What
I do know though is there is this kind of innate response from many people that
they are better off in their own country and sometimes the reasons stem from a
kind of exceptionalism and are borderline racist.
Our
group had at its strongest been twelve people in seven campervans, one
motorhome and one tent. Some with homes in the UK and Portugal but most with
only their van as their home. By the time of writing all have left Morocco
except me and three others. All of the group that left made a quick dash to
Ceuta driving many more miles in a day than they would usually. They all had to
pay extra to change their tickets as the port where their return ticket was
originally for was now closed. They faced long queues on the border of Ceuta
and queues at the ferry port.
The
motorhomers of our group were a retired couple with a home on the Algarve so
they made it back to their house without too much travelling once they docked
in Algeciras. There they were able to self-isolate and had family nearby to
help them if needed. I can understand their want to get home. Some of our group
got back to the UK after long drives and more ferry crossings. A couple of
others who seemed to have genuine reasons to get back to their country of
origin are now parked up in Spain and it seems that really they just wanted to
get out of Africa and back to somewhere they could get free healthcare if need
be.
After
two days in our new park up there was still only 66 cases of Covid-19 in
Morocco. Despite the official line of a few days earlier the government moved
into phase two of the fight against the virus and announced a state of
emergency starting from 6pm that night. This meant that only essential shops
would be open and only until 6pm every day. It also meant that people were to
stay indoors apart from getting medical help or supplies, essential shopping
and work. Exceptional movement permits were required for everyone, these are
forms provided by the local authority giving you the right to be on the streets
for various different reasons. Ours gave us the right to be out for essential
shopping.
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| Our host, Hicham who has let us park up outside the hostel he runs called Action Point |
Internal
travel ground to an almost halt, public transport was much reduced, even
newspapers stopped printing. The village was on the whole quiet but not
everyone was taking the lockdown seriously. No children or Moroccan women were
out and about but plenty of local men and tourists were still out enjoying the
sunshine and socialising. Many were not keeping a 2 meter distance for each
other and were still sharing bottles of water, cups of tea, food and
cigarettes! Imsouane is a surf resort and quite a few locals and tourists were
still going out surfing. All this is still going on at the time of writing and
is frustrating when you are doing your best to keep to yourself and to keep
away from others.
Repatriation
flights were still going on although they were getting less and less and by the
22nd most repatriation flights had ended. A few people in Morocco in vans
decided to leave their vans and get flights home instead. Europe was on
lockdown and restrictions getting tougher as each European country brought in
more measures to fight the spread of the virus.
In
Europe campsites were shutting down with all apart from permanent residents
given five days’ notice to leave. Someone I know who was on an aire in the
Algarve was told to go back to her home country, I think the trouble was that
campsites are seen as housing mostly short-term holiday makers with homes to go
to. In other parts of Portugal I am aware of other people in small groups free
camping who have had no trouble with the police. In fact the police have been
helpful and understanding.
A
friend free camping in the South of Spain was moved on by the police but I also
know someone elsewhere in Spain who has had no issues. Moving people on seems
against the advice for people to stay in one place and you have to wonder what
the thinking is behind this. Like in many other countries the instructions
given to the authorities are not always clear and can be interpreted by the
police in different ways. This can be frustrating and dangerous as my friend in
the Algarve ended up driving all the way back to the UK after being evicted.
In
Morocco campsites shut to only new people so at least the people already there
didn’t get kicked out. All the shutting down of campsites and aires and the
moving on of some free campers has left many ‘vanlifers’ suddenly faced with
the very real problems New Travellers have had to deal with for a long time.
Where to safely park up without fear of eviction, where to get access to clean
water and waste disposal. What started as a fun lifestyle of adventure and
freedom has turned into a nightmare for some. In my experience so far the New
Travellers seem to be coping a little better, in terms of not panicking so
much, than the Vanlifers and Motorhomers.
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| Van dwelling during lockdown |
A
few days ago the border between Morocco and Ceuta closed leaving approximately
500 vans in a queue waiting to get in to get ferries back to Europe. Many
people were literally trapped with no way to turn round to get out of the
queue. There was no access to clean water, waste disposal or toilets. Some
people spent 48 hours in the queue. Tempers were fraying and some cassettes
(the waste part of a campervan toilet) were emptied onto the pavement. The
Moroccan authorities could see something needed to be done and so they provided
all those in the queue a huge carpark equipped with a couple of porta cabins,
one housing toilets and one a shop selling essentials. There was also clean
water provided and waste disposal.
At
the time of writing some of those waiting have returned to Europe. There has
been a ferry for campervans only put on between the Moroccan port of Tangier
Med and the French port of Sete. There is another ferry due to depart tomorrow,
2nd April. Most people taking these ferries would have normally
returned by the much quicker ferry crossing to Algeciras in Spain and so they
had a much longer and much more expensive crossing. On board people stayed in
cabins and had to have their temperature taken twice during the crossing.
Here
in Imsouane we are now on day eleven of lockdown, it is the last day of the
month and there are now 602 cases of Covid-19 in Morocco. The hardest thing for
me personally has been watching some of our group not taking the social
distancing as seriously as we are. Different countries have put different rules
in place and because in some European countries it has been stated that people
can go out once a day for exercise people here are doing that even though
that’s not actually been advised by the Moroccan government. The rule here is
no-one outside except for essentials, some would say exercise is essential but
can be done at home. It’s a toss-up between using a bit of common sense and
obeying the government exactly.
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| Surfers in Imsouane before lockdown |
Like
all major disasters this pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in
people and it has been no different among the travelling community. Just like
house dwellers some travellers will get too involved with the negative aspects
and rumours on social media and the lack of human contact may bring depression
and anxiety. On the other hand many will be used to spending their time being
creative at home or working from home, for example the digital nomad has taken
off in recent years. Many vanlifers will still be able to make the videos they
have taken on their travels into watchable YouTube content and many bloggers
will still be able to write accounts of their travels.
As
for keeping myself occupied I, like a lot of people, have been doing some things
I’ve been meaning to get round to for ages. Some of those things are odd jobs
which once done are done but also more long term things which I think are
really important like reading and writing more and learning to play guitar. I
feel blessed to be in a good place and lucky that I am quite used to being at
home doing my own thing which often involves creative things I can still do
now. Obviously only time will tell the effect of long term living like this.
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| Us during lockdown playing music |
What
will be the hardest for those living roadside will be getting moved on by the
police and no access to water and waste disposal. The UK and Ireland have put a
temporary stop on evictions for those living roadside or on illegal sites, but
there are still some open loopholes that could mean people still get moved on.
If you are in the UK or Ireland then it is worth reading the latest advice from
gypsy traveller organisations, they can also offer help if you are faced with
eviction.
What
people living roadside or free camping in other countries do if moved on
especially if their van is their only home, I have no idea. I have not been
able to find any concrete information on whether the police have any right to
move people on at this time. I have also not been able to find any charities or
organisations that can give up to date help and advice for full-time vehicle
dwellers outside of the UK and Ireland.
The
state of emergency or lockdown here in Morocco officially ends on 20th
April, a month after it was implemented. Time will tell whether it is lengthened
but I hope to bring you another article at around the end of April. For now
stay safe and stay at home!
Sam
Wilkinson - 31 March 2020
If
you are a New Traveller, Gypsy, Vanlifer, Motorhomer, Nomad, Van or Boat
dweller and need help and information during this time try:
There
is also a dedicated Facebook group called Nomads, New Travellers, Van &
Boat dwellers Covid-19 Support & Information.
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