Morocco 2004

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0408dfc3.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id195.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adventures"><U><B><IMG SRC="5838c370.jpg" border=0 width="140" height="55" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="156" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 70 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Keelby Village located in North East Lin"><U><B><IMG SRC="5768c370.jpg" border=0 width="140" height="55" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="150"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="150" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 16 WIDTH="150"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="16" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="150" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0418dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>Keelby Village located in North East Lincolnshire,  England </B></FONT><B>     </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0418dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Morocco 2004</I></div> <div> <I> </I></div> <div>  <I>Moroccan Trip December 2004 on the Bike "Honda XRV750 Africa Twin" </I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> <div> <I>For a quite a while I had this dream of taking a motor bike down to the Sahara Desert and </I></div> <div> <I>sleeping out under the stars with a good bottle of Irish Whiskey and maybe trying my hand </I></div> <div> <I>at some desert riding. So, after almost a year of planning and modifications to the Bike, </I></div> <div> <I>a Honda XRV750 “Africa Twin” I finally managed to get away on my trip on the 7th December </I></div> <div> <I>2004. After all the waiting about and the delays due to work commitments I ended up </I></div> <div> <I>completing the trip on my own, as the others fell by the wayside for various reasons. This </I></div> <div> <I>decision was really down to me being, over prepared and the feeling of loosing face </I></div> <div> <I>along with the fear of letting my enthusiasm drain away. It is quite a scary trip to carry </I></div> <div> <I>out on your own so it helps if you tell loads of people that you are going to do it, </I></div> <div> <I>so it makes it harder to back out!. I'd been ready since March but I was kept busy with </I></div> <div> <I>work and in the end I bit the bullet and took the month of December off work to </I></div> <div> <I>complete the trip. The only other limiting factor was catching the return ferry on </I></div> <div> <I>the 21st December to be home to spend Christmas with my family. I was tempted to </I></div> <div> <I>stay into January 2005 and watch the Barcelona -Dakar rally pass the big dunes at </I></div> <div> <I>Erg-Chebbie on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The route, which I planned to take, </I></div> <div> <I>was to include a ride down to Portsmouth to catch the Ferry to Bilbao in Spain. </I></div> <div> <I>Then there after, I planned to ride straight down to southern Spain and on to the </I></div> <div> <I>ferry port at Algeciras. There I planned to catch the Ferry to Cueta in North Africa. </I></div> <div> <I>After that it would be all add hock and planned on a daily basis, but I eventually </I></div> <div> <I>wanted to spend a night under the stars at Erg Chebbie on the edge of the Sahara </I></div> <div> <I>Desert and celebrate the fact that with a few drinks of Jameson's finest Irish whiskey. </I></div> <div> <I>For all the gory details, they are listed </I></div> <div> <I>in the route log at the bottom of this page</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</I></div> <div> <I>The Route down through Spain</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="88be8b20.jpg" border=0 width="488" height="690" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> To the west of Vitoria pick up either the N1 or the A1/E05/E80 which is a toll road and </div> <div> follow signs for Burgos. As you approach Burgos pick up the E05/N1 which should </div> <div> be sign posted Madrid. </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="88df3c20.jpg" border=0 width="499" height="706" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> After Burgos pick up the E05/N1 which should be sign posted Madrid. Keep on </div> <div> this route all the way to the northern outskirts of Madrid. Once you hit Madrid it </div> <div> all gets a little hectic. The main ring road is the M40 this goes clockwise. </div> <div> Stay on this until the turn off for Cordoba on the E05</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="88ff9ca0.jpg" border=0 width="505" height="714" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Stay on the E05 until you see sign post for Granada and Jaen on the N323. </div> <div> Leave at this junction and head south towards Granada N323. The country </div> <div> is around this area spectacular with all the vineyards and olive groves.</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="891ffd30.jpg" border=0 width="511" height="723" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> As you approach the north of Granada follow the signs for Antequera/Malaga on the E502. </div> <div> Also sign posted airport. Before you reach Antequera pick up the N321/E905 towards Malaga. </div> <div> As you approach the north of Malaga take the E15 by-pass sign posted Algeciras/Gibraltar </div> <div> towards the west. After this you have a choice of either the coast road or a toll road going west.</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89300d40.jpg" border=0 width="512" height="724" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Same as above, but after using the toll road or coast road you'll end up on the E15/N340. </div> <div> This will take you all the way to Algeciras.</div> <div>  </div> <div> =========================================================================</div> <div>  </div> <div> <I>The route taken through Morocco</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89501d50.jpg" border=0 width="513" height="725" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Take the road south towards Tetouan, after the ring round, take the N13 to )-N2 towards Tanger- </div> <div> turning onto the R417 towards Larache and Rabat I pulled over at a rest stop on the R417 in the </div> <div> hills near El-Tieta -Jebal-el-Habi. Continue on the R417 all the way to the free campsite at Larache. </div> <div> I headed down the N1 towards Souk-el-Arba-du-Rharb , then on to the R413 towards Sidi-Kacem </div> <div> passing the Roman ruins at Volubilis, then along the N13 towards Mekes. </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89707de0.jpg" border=0 width="519" height="734" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Then I continued along the N13 towards El-Hajeb, then on to Azrou, taking me over the Upper Atlas mountains, </div> <div> beautiful countryside and stunning mountain ranges. I carried on the N13 towards Boulojoul onto the Plateau </div> <div> de Arid toward Midelt</div> <div>  </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89918f60.jpg" border=0 width="536" height="758" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Continued along the N13 through the J Ali-ou-Rbeddou towards Rich , then through the Tunnel du Legionnaire, </div> <div> then onto the Gorges du Ziz, which gave some amazing scenery as you passed along the Gorge and a great </div> <div> photo opportunity. After the Ziz du Gorge I passed the beautiful lake “Hassan Addakhil Tirhiourine” which is the </div> <div> source of the “Blue”. I continued along the N13 towards Erfoud, then towards Merzouga the last town before </div> <div> you hit the road towards the desert dunes at “Erg Chebbi”. I continued along the N13 towards Erfoud, then </div> <div> towards Merzouga the last town before you hit the big dunes </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89b2d140.jpg" border=0 width="557" height="788" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> Back up the N13 towards Merzouga. after a couple of Km's I took a left turn towards Tazzarine along the N12. </div> <div> The N12 being the most southerly route takes you along some beautiful rock escarpments, with lots of stops </div> <div> for photos In Alnif I decided to take the piste route north towards Tinerhir ( this is not signposted but it's a right</div> <div>  turn on the apex of the only left handed sweeping bend in the village) along R113 which turned out to be a </div> <div> gravel/sand track weaving through little villages and tracks through the mountain passes. Thankfully and with </div> <div> a great sense of relief I arrived at the N10 just as expected just short of Tinerhir. Then it's up for a ride up the </div> <div> Gorge du Torda, Then it was back onto the N10 towards Ouarzazate. The next stop was Boumaine Dades </div> <div> followed by a ride up the Gorges du Dades and more breath views for taking the opportunity for a photo shoot. </div> <div> It's back on the N10 riding towards Ouarzazate, on the road about 10miles short of Ouarzazate I stopped for a </div> <div> photo shoot of Ait-Benhaddon the mud kasbah's that featured in the Gladiator and numerous movies over the </div> <div> years.</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89d270b0.jpg" border=0 width="551" height="779" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> On the road from Ouarzazate along the N9 towards Marrakech, snow covered mountain to the </div> <div> north. From Marrakech it's out along the N9 towards Casablanca, making good time as the </div> <div> roads are good and fast, as it turned out too fast!!.</div> <div> I was stopped for speeding in Skhour-Rehamma, another tourist tax</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="89f290e0.jpg" border=0 width="553" height="782" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> From Marrakech it's out along the N9 towards Casablanca, after Casablanca it's all toll motorway back </div> <div> up to Larache.</div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8a1260a0.jpg" border=0 width="550" height="778" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> As you come of the toll road just beyond Larache it is sign posted to Tetouan and after that its post </div> <div> Cueta and the Spanish border..</div> <div>  </div> <div> <I>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</I></div> <div> <I>                                     Trip Report, "as rough as it comes!!"</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Moroccan Trip December 2004</I></div> <div> <I>Mileage at start of trip was 2,958 after a 4,000 mile service on the bike, prior to starting this trip ( Speedo Odo)</I></div> <div> <I>Mileage at end of trip is 7,113, on completion of trip. ( Speedo Odo)</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Modifications carried out on the bike prior to this trip.</I></div> <div> <I>1. Datatool stealth alarm system fitted.</I></div> <div> <I>2. Progressive fork springs fitted</I></div> <div> <I>3. Desert engine crash bars</I></div> <div> <I>4. Scotoiler fitted</I></div> <div> <I>5. Bark busters fitted to bars.</I></div> <div> <I>6. Pipe bending springs fitted inside bars to reduce bending in an accident.</I></div> <div> <I>7. Garmin 3 handle bar mounted GPS fitted</I></div> <div> <I>8. 2x power points fitted</I></div> <div> <I>9. Mobile phone carrier and charger fitted</I></div> <div> <I>10. Lockable sump guard tool box manufactured and fitted.</I></div> <div> <I>11. Rim lock fitted</I></div> <div> <I>12. Continental TKC 80's fitted</I></div> <div> <I>13. Tubes filled with Slime</I></div> <div> <I>14. Alloy boxes fitted c/w home made locking straps</I></div> <div> <I>15. 40 litre top box fitted</I></div> <div> <I>16. High screen fitted</I></div> <div> <I>17. Heated grips fitted.</I></div> <div> <I>18. U-lock fitted in carrier behind number plate and mounting mountings strengthen.</I></div> <div> <I>19. High Visibility tape fitted around bike for night riding.</I></div> <div> <I>Saturday 4th December Day 1</I></div> <div> <I>15:45hrs Left home, late, due a problem with getting the handle bars changed out.</I></div> <div> <I>Unfortunately after several delays on the M25 I arrived at Portsmouth at 19:50hrs only to find </I></div> <div> <I>that the doors to the ferry had just closed and I was turned away. I collected my tickets for the </I></div> <div> <I>following Tuesday, the 7th and I Left Portsmouth around 21:00hrs, arriving home at 01:30hrs the</I></div> <div> <I> following morning. 252miles wasted but I had chance to check out the route and to picked up my </I></div> <div> <I>tickets. It also gave me another chance to fine-tune on the packing front.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8a32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Leaving home </I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Tuesday 7th December Day 2</I></div> <div> <I>14:50hrs I left home, I was running on time until I hit the M25 where there was a truck on fire which had </I></div> <div> <I>caused a 30mile tail back. I ended up filtering along in 1st gear until I managed hit the footplate on an </I></div> <div> <I>HGV truck which put me into a bit of a wobble. We had a chat but I suspect he may have been pissed of </I></div> <div> <I>with the bikes riding down the centre gap. I suffered a slight dent in the large pannier but I was quickly back </I></div> <div> <I>on my way again. I lost over an hour but I managed to get down to Portsmouth at 20:10hrs. I was sure that I </I></div> <div> <I>had missed the boat again but by a stroke of luck, the boat was running late due to strong tides. I was on the</I></div> <div> <I> boat and secured for sea by 20:30hrs. I quickly got settled in to the nice single standard cabin for 20:45hrs. </I></div> <div> <I>After a quick shower, I was in the bar for a couple, quickly followed by a slap-up meal. A bottle of red wine and </I></div> <div> <I>a few shots of Jameson's finest Irish whiskey, courtesy of the duty free shop, and it was off to bed at around </I></div> <div> <I>01:00hrs. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8a52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>This ferry lark not's so bad!</I></div> <div>  </div> <div> <I>Wednesday 8th December Day 3</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs Up and about</I></div> <div> <I>10:00hrs I attended the Whale and Dolphin presentation followed by a full English breakfast, lovely!.</I></div> <div> <I>18:00hrs Off to the pictures to see Chue Guevara's Motorcycle Adventures, a must on a run down to Morocco. </I></div> <div> <I>A Spanish film with English sub-titles to set me up for my personnel motorcycle adventure. It's an early night </I></div> <div> <I>after another bottle of red and a couple of shots of the Irish. </I></div> <div> <I>Thursday 9th December Day 4</I></div> <div> <I>06:00hrs Up and about, pack my gear and a quick cup of tea. Drag all my gear down to the car deck ready for </I></div> <div> <I>the off. Perhaps I should have checked and planned the route better!! Instead of relying on Microsoft Auto-route </I></div> <div> <I>Express, time will tell?</I></div> <div> <I>The clocks went forward 1 hour, the vessel is due in at 08:00hrs local 07:00hrs UK.</I></div> <div> <I>On the road for around 09:00hrs, onto the other side of the road scary! I was right out into the rush hour traffic </I></div> <div> <I>through Bilbao, apart from one wrong turn, which cost me about E2 (2x 96 cents) to get off and then back on </I></div> <div> <I>the toll road. All seemed plain sailing until I reached the toll motorway southeast of Bilbao where I dropped my </I></div> <div> <I>glove at the tollbooth and then dropped the bike trying to catch it. Wanker!!!, well I'm sure it amused some Spanish </I></div> <div> <I>people waiting at the toll booths. A young guy in a BMW jumped out of his car to help, which nice of him but just </I></div> <div> <I>added to my embarrassment. I was soon back on track again on route to Madrid and dreading the drive through </I></div> <div> <I>without getting lost, only a few days previous it had been in total gridlock due to an ETA bombing campaign.</I></div> <div> <I>I seemed to be overtaking most of the people from the ferry, which was good but I wondered whether they had found </I></div> <div> <I>a quicker route through Bilbao. . I bumped into some Brit's at a filling station, a group of cars with the lead driver car </I></div> <div> <I>playing up. It seemed to be running OK after a short break at the rest stop. He had only just bought the car the day </I></div> <div> <I>before leaving UK and was planning on selling it on in Spain, but unfortunately he was supposed to be guiding another </I></div> <div> <I>couple in a Honda HRV around Madrid as apparently it can be scary the first time. I was tempted to join them but I left </I></div> <div> <I>them awaiting the Spanish AA to arrive. Thankfully I managed to get around Madrid without too many hiccups </I></div> <div> <I>(just keep heading for Cordoba). I kept riding until around 19:00hrs when I managed to find a truck stop where I </I></div> <div> <I>could secure my bike for the night. </I></div> <div> <I>Most of the riding north of Madrid was quite cold due to a damp fog which seemed to sap the heat out of you. The scenery </I></div> <div> <I>south of Madrid seemed to improve when you could actually see it, as the fog cleared.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8a72be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The Hotel La Nava ( at junction 179 just north of Granada)</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8a92be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>This hotel larks not so bad.</I></div> <div> <I>The Hotel La Nava (at junction 179 just north of Granada) at E28 was a little basic but they let me </I></div> <div> <I>place my bike in the Dinning room, safe and sound. It was a little tricky getting it in for the night. </I></div> <div> <I>Round the car, up the ramp (boxes off not enough room) and reverse it into the banquet room, </I></div> <div> <I>placing some paper to catch the oil drips from the chain lube. I managed to charge all the food </I></div> <div> <I>and beer to the room. I noticed in the morning that they had a cash machine in the lobby!! The </I></div> <div> <I>food was similar to the food in Brazilian truck stops. It should be only about 250km to run down </I></div> <div> <I>to Algeciras. </I></div> <div> <I>TTD 753miles</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Friday 10th December Day 5</I></div> <div> <I>0745hrs Up and about repack gear, coffee for breakfast and pay by Visa. Wheel bike out and refit </I></div> <div> <I>boxes etc.</I></div> <div> <I>0930hrs Take pictures and depart.</I></div> <div> <I>I stopped off to take some pictures and have a drink just north of Malaga and I bumped into an </I></div> <div> <I>English couple in a French registered Camper, on route to Morocco. They treated me to a coffee </I></div> <div> <I>and some French toast. A nice couple, we exchanged email address, as he was interested in most </I></div> <div> <I>things GPS.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8ab2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Just north of Malaga</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8ad2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>A mountain pass just north of Malaga.</I></div> <div> <I>They recommended that for the first night in Morocco I should stay at the free campsite </I></div> <div> <I>(run by the ferry companies) at Larache, which is about 2 hrs south of Tangiers.</I></div> <div> <I>13:49hrs I arrived at the ferry port in Algeciras but decided it was a little too late as I had </I></div> <div> <I>just missed that ferry and what with one thing and another I did not want to be arriving in </I></div> <div> <I>Morocco when it was dark. So I decided to go across to Gibraltar for the day.</I></div> <div> <I>1200hrs I was over in border into Gibraltar, which gave me a chance to ride around some </I></div> <div> <I>old haunts from my Army days. I stopped off at the last café/lighthouse in Europe for a snack, </I></div> <div> <I>some postcards and to take a photo opportunity. Then I took a lazy ride around, followed by a </I></div> <div> <I>trip to a local cash point to get some English pounds. I managed to miss the post office and the</I></div> <div> <I>chance of posting the cards, which was too cost me a lot of wasted time later. I was chatting to a </I></div> <div> <I>girl on an old Motoguzzi motorbike c/w her ill pussy cat returning from the vets in Gibraltar, we had </I></div> <div> <I>a chat about Morocco whilst waiting at the border. I lost her when I popped into the Sky shop for </I></div> <div> <I>stamps. That left me stuck in the rush hour traffic over the border, bummer!!. I stopped off in La-Lina </I></div> <div> <I>to for a photo opportunity. I then travelled out on the road to Tarrifa/Cadiz looking for a hotel with a </I></div> <div> <I>secure lockup garage for the bike. The first one, a truck stop which did not have a secure lockup so </I></div> <div> <I>I moved on. About 8 km's out of Algeciras I found the Hotel Meson de Sancho c/w roller door lock up </I></div> <div> <I>garage perfect. It had all the Christmas decorations up and it was styled on a German hunting lodge </I></div> <div> <I>and it was only E38 to boot. It had a lovely restaurant, which seems to attract the Brit's from Gibraltar.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Looking towards Morocco from Gibraltar, the last café in Europe </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8af2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>TTD 992 miles</I></div> <div> <I>Saturday 11th December Day 6</I></div> <div> <I>07:30hrs Up and about, repack my gear and a quick coffee.</I></div> <div> <I>08:20hrs Depart for the ferry port.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8b12be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Next stop Cueta in North Africa</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>The high speed ferry to Cueta, north Africa</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>08:45hrs Arrive at the ferry port, just in time to rush and catch the next ferry</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs Depart Algeciras for Cueta</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8b32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Bye Bye Spain</I></div> <div> <I>10:30hrs I arrived in Cueta, I had to check the bike out because the trip meter seemed to have reset itself, so I had the large pannier off to check the battery connections. I then realized that it resets itself as it goes through the 1,000 miles. I also took a drive round looking for a post office to send the post cards from Gibraltar, another 30mins wasted with the post cards.</I></div> <div> <I>Moroccan time is 1 hour back, same as UK.</I></div> <div> <I>11:15hrs I arrive at the border, disorganised chaos. I like so many others where pounced upon by willing helpers. They kept an eye on my bike and helped me with the French forms which was very helpful!!. . That cost me MD 100 and E5 in donations but it potentially saved me a lot of grief.</I></div> <div> <I>12:15hrs I was clear of the border and on route to the Larache campsite. Via N13 to Tetouan ( a little hassled with kids on a motor bike trying to con me to visiting the local market)-N2 towards Tanger- turning onto the R417 towards Larache and Rabat </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8b52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The outskirts of Tetouan</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8b72be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The outskirts of Tetouan</I></div> <div> <I>13:15hrs I pulled over at a rest stop on the R417 in the hills near El-Tieta -Jebal-el-Habib as there </I></div> <div> <I>was a UK registered Camper Van. I got catching to Mike and Irene (2 early retires from the banking world ) </I></div> <div> <I>who where also on route to Larache campsite. We chatted for a while I got some better directions and set </I></div> <div> <I>off with a view to meeting them later at the campsite. I nearly dropped the bike in the lay-by whilst turning </I></div> <div> <I>the bike around, on soft sand and gravel.</I></div> <div> <I>When I arrived in Larache I decided to pop into town to look for a post office to post the cards, which turned </I></div> <div> <I>out to be a mistake. I ended up on the outskirts of town riding through a rather unpleasant neighbour hood </I></div> <div> <I>having Allah Achbar shouted at me. I took me by the cemetery riding through some very deep water filled </I></div> <div> <I>ruts praying slightly to my own god, not to fall off or stall the bike in the deep water filled holes. They seemed </I></div> <div> <I>not to be that friendly and I suspect that they may even have thrown a few stones, if I had fallen. I used the </I></div> <div> <I>GPS to find my way back to the main road where I ran into Mike and Irene, who were just about to turn into </I></div> <div> <I>the campsite. Those bloody post cards again!!!!.</I></div> <div> <I>16:00hrs We all pulled into the camp site and I eventually parked next to their van and set my tent out for </I></div> <div> <I>the night, There was a nagging doubt, that I may have forgot the poles for a little while, lovely fibreglass poles. </I></div> <div> <I>There was a young French lad (22ish) who had an old Yamaha c/w home made rack, water, fuel cans, spares </I></div> <div> <I>tyres and just the bare essentials for a trip down to Mali. His English was as bad as my French but he seemed</I></div> <div> <I>pleasant enough. He seemed a braver man than me, but he was edging his bets by sticking to French speaking </I></div> <div> <I>countries.</I></div> <div> <I>I placed all my gear in Mike and Irene's Van for the evening and we all went to the restaurant for a meal. I had </I></div> <div> <I>the chicken Tajine, which was lovely with no ill after effects thankfully. I suspect loose bowls and motorbikes </I></div> <div> <I>make for a miserable trip. We chatted about most things in general and they seemed to be having a great </I></div> <div> <I>time touring annually in their Camper. Up to around 45,000 miles since they bought their new van. They even </I></div> <div> <I>seemed to make a profit by rented their home out for 6 months every year whilst they tour Europe and Africa.</I></div> <div> <I>22:05hrs In to the tent for the night, I wish that I had a decent pillow. Unfortunate for everybody a Dutch couple </I></div> <div> <I>had a little rat type dog, which barked all bloody night at the guard dogs which in turn did the same. I did not </I></div> <div> <I>sleep very well as I was worried about my bike and gear!. I'm sure I'll learn to relax a little of personnel security soon.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>TTD 1,101miles</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8b92be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Mike and Irene, many thanks for the great hospitality and good luck with your travels</I></div> <div> <I>Sunday 12th December Day 7 </I></div> <div> <I>06:30hrs ..After a restless night of barking dogs and worrying about the bike I was up early washed </I></div> <div> <I>and dressed, I packed away the tent, I forgot to take a picture of the tent. I unfortunately had to wait </I></div> <div> <I>for Irene and Mike to wake before getting away. I had the usual wobbly start manoeuvring the bike </I></div> <div> <I>around with the full load on. It's true what they say about the XRV750, it will cross continents trouble</I></div> <div> <I> free but it's very top heavy to manoeuvre about, but it's no good having a bike which doesn't make </I></div> <div> <I>the distance in the first place.</I></div> <div> <I>08:00hrs ish. I managed to get away after I gave MD 20 for the camp guardian as a sign of goodwill. </I></div> <div> <I>I headed down the N1 towards Souk-el-Arba-du-Rharb , then on to the R413 towards Sidi-Kacem </I></div> <div> <I>passing the Roman ruins at Volubilis, then along the N13 towards Mekes. Where I was pulled over </I></div> <div> <I>for speeding, but after using my worse English/French he let me off as the Moroccan speeders were </I></div> <div> <I>starting to back-up behind me. Very nice hand held Laser speed guns, which unfortunately I was to </I></div> <div> <I>come across several more times during my visit. Then I continued along the N13 towards El-Hajeb,</I></div> <div> <I> then on to Azrou, taking me over the Upper Atlas mountains, beautiful countryside and stunning </I></div> <div> <I>mountain ranges. I carried on the N13 towards Boulojoul onto the Plateau de Arid toward Midelt. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8bb2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Plateau de Arid on the road to Midelt</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8bd2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Plateau de Arid on the road to Midelt</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8bf2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>An old Legionnaire Fort</I></div> <div> <I>This section seemed to be devoid of traffic and gave the appearance of continually going down hill . </I></div> <div> <I>Quite disconcerting really as the journey was still taking me away from home and it seemed so isolated </I></div> <div> <I>and also, as elsewhere in Morocco every 15 to 20 miles there seemed to be a lonely Arab tending his goats. </I></div> <div> <I>These Shepard's seem to be in the middle of nowhere and where normally accompanied by dogs. These </I></div> <div> <I>dogs I assume are to ward off the numerous wild dogs, which seem to inhabit every rocky outcrop. </I></div> <div> <I>Once again I continued along the N13 through the J Ali-ou-Rbeddou towards Rich , then through the </I></div> <div> <I>Tunnel du Legionnaire, then onto the Gorges du Ziz, which gave some amazing scenery as you passed </I></div> <div> <I>along the Gorge and a great photo opportunity.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8c12be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Ziz</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8c32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Ziz</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8c52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Ziz</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8c72be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Ziz</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8c92be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Ziz</I></div> <div> <I>After the Ziz du Gorge I passed the beautiful lake “Hassan Addakhil Tirhiourine” which is the source </I></div> <div> <I>of the “Blue”. The lake seemed so refreshing located in the barren landscape. I was tempted to swim </I></div> <div> <I>but some of these lakes can carry some nasty water borne virus. Sadly even the smallest of villages, </I></div> <div> <I>had the local police equipped with hand held Laser speed camera, another tourist tax.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8cb2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8cd2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Hotel Kenzi Rissani Errachidia</I></div> <div> <I>18:00hrs Arrived in Errachidia (last major town before the desert) passing a guy on a GS coming </I></div> <div> <I>in the opposite direction (up from the desert) but I lost him and so I went off in search of a decent </I></div> <div> <I>hotel with a secure lockup for the bike.</I></div> <div> <I>It was getting dark now so I pulled into the Hotel Kenzi Rissani Errachidia . I pulled my bike right </I></div> <div> <I>up to the glass front doors under the light and locked it to a post. The guardian was told to keep </I></div> <div> <I>an eye on the bike for the night and I hope that he would. It is a lovely 4 star hotel with pool, satellite </I></div> <div> <I>TV, cheep beer and local wine. I had to have another couple of tots of the Irish to help me sleep and </I></div> <div> <I>stop worrying about the bike security. </I></div> <div> <I>22:30hrs off the sleep, not looking forward to the hangover in the morning.</I></div> <div> <I>TTD 1,425miles</I></div> <div> <I>Monday 13th December Day 8</I></div> <div> <I>07:15hrs Up and about repack, and it's time for the usual strong coffee to shake the booze away.</I></div> <div> <I>08:45hrs Back onto the road towards the desert dunes at “Erg Chebbi”. I continued along the N13 </I></div> <div> <I>towards Erfoud, then towards Merzouga the last town before you hit the big sand pit.</I></div> <div> <I>I can't believe it more speed cameras, these located just on the outskirts of the town. The con is </I></div> <div> <I>that they seem to reduce the speed limit quite a distance from town so people tend to leave their </I></div> <div> <I>speed reduction until they see the buildings and the pedestrians, so there fore they are done for </I></div> <div> <I>speeding before the built up area. The fixed price fine is MD 400 but this is quickly reduced to MD200 </I></div> <div> <I>with no questions asked. . Morocco must have received a cheep job lot of hand held Laser guns, mind </I></div> <div> <I>you they do kill loads of drivers every year, so they do need to slow down but most the crashes seem to </I></div> <div> <I>be head on smashes during overtaking out of town. It must be a culture shock, going from a donkey </I></div> <div> <I>driven plough to a new Mercedes. </I></div> <div> <I>11:30hrs Shortly after passing through Merzouga I pulled of the tarmac road and headed down a track (piste) </I></div> <div> <I>towards the desert area at Erg Chebbi. It was just a couple of miles across country to the dunes, giving some </I></div> <div> <I>spectacular panoramic views of the desert.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8cf2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the piste with Merzouga over the horizon.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8d12be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Oh! The desert Dunes, bring out the whiskey!!</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8d32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>I wonder where that goes?, what that does?. How soft is that sand, very soft. All stop in the dune, the bike is</I></div> <div> <I>far too heavy when loaded up.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8d52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>All stopped!!, the sand is very fine as you try to ride up the dune, the bike is just to heavy when </I></div> <div> <I>fully loaded.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>12:00hrs I arrived at the Erg Chebbi, an amazing sight, a huge sand pit to play in complete </I></div> <div> <I>with the 150m high sand dunes in an area of 25km x 5kms on the border between Morocco </I></div> <div> <I>and the Algerian minefields. I foolishly tried the bike on a dune, very soft sand and the bike </I></div> <div> <I>just sank, a good photo opportunity though. I rode around the village, being chased by dogs </I></div> <div> <I>and young kids try to sell me junk, it all seemed a bit primitive with mud buildings, but great </I></div> <div> <I>for desert tourists. </I></div> <div>  </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8d72be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The Desert Inn, looking towards the village?</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8d92be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>A view from the tent, looking towards the big dunes.</I></div> <div>  </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8db2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The Germans down for 3 months camping while Germany freezes over.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8dd2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>My one star tent, but what a location for drunken stargazing, under a cloudless blue sky. </I></div> <div> <I>Location, Location, Location!!!</I></div> <div> <I>12:30hrs I pulled into the Desert Inn camp as there where 2 German registered Vans </I></div> <div> <I>located in the grounds. A nice looking camper and a Land rover Discovery with a desert </I></div> <div> <I>secure caravan. I think that I disturbed their afternoon siesta but they were chatty enough </I></div> <div> <I>for me. They both seemed happy to see another European and even nicer to see an </I></div> <div> <I>English biker and they where full of advice, tea and the offer of food. I sadly forget the </I></div> <div> <I>name of the guy who spoke the better English of the two. We got on quite well as he had </I></div> <div> <I>been in the German army and he had been posted just down the road from Hamlin, where </I></div> <div> <I>I had spent some during my army days. The other guy Hans with the new camper was on </I></div> <div> <I>his first winter trip here. The ex forces guy was a bee keeper so he comes down every year </I></div> <div> <I>after Ramadan and leaves here to catch his bees waking up in the spring, what a life. I </I></div> <div> <I>pitched my tent and had a bit of a walk around site and then arranged a meal for the evening </I></div> <div> <I>with Hasen the camp administrator/cook/bottle washer etc. and an all round good egg. </I></div> <div> <I>18:00hrs Hansen cooked a chicken Tajine and we finished off the Jameson's</I></div> <div> <I>20:00hrs I had an early night in the tent under the clear blue desert skies, an amassing blanket </I></div> <div> <I>of stars with a belly full of whiskey GREAT!!. Unfortunately it was be another restless night under </I></div> <div> <I>the stars, as I had all my gear in the tent, along with the blankets and the mattress that Hansen </I></div> <div> <I>me because of the cold nights. I had a wonder around the campsite in the early hours then I started </I></div> <div> <I>nodding off. Shortly after that the wild dogs where out barking and scavenging for food. They where </I></div> <div> <I>being driven from one house to another, by the locals banging drums. These noises seem to carry </I></div> <div> <I>for miles in the quite desert night, so it did not help me sleep.</I></div> <div> <I>Tuesday 14th December Day 8</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8df2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>A Touareg chappie Muhammad, come to sell me souvenirs.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8e12be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>I'm all packed ready to go. Mohamed hands holds £20 of mine for fossils, a good cause I'm sure.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>06:45hrs Up and about, an early hot shower after lighting the gas boiler. </I></div> <div> <I>As soon as I started packing I was inundated with souvenir sellers. I bought a couple of fossils </I></div> <div> <I>(£20 note) as an act of goodwill, after a photo opportunity I managed to get away. I paid for the </I></div> <div> <I>campsite and the food MD 100, ( MD 75 but I gave him a tip of MD25 ) good food and a great f</I></div> <div> <I>riendly service.</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs I said my goodbyes and departed, I stopped just down the road for a photo opportunity. </I></div> <div> <I>I set off back up the N13 towards Merzouga.</I></div> <div> <I>10:00hrs I stopped of at Merzouga for fuel and was collared by a Berber/Touareg souvenir sales </I></div> <div> <I>man at the petrol station. I bought a couple of pieces of Touareg jewellery. Then it was out of </I></div> <div> <I>Merzouga on the N13 towards Erfoud, after a couple of Km's I took a left turn towards Tazzarine </I></div> <div> <I>along the N12. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8e32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road towards Tazzarine along the N12</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8e52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road towards Tazzarine along the N12</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8e72be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road towards Tazzarine along the N12</I></div> <div> <I>The N12 being the most southerly route takes you along some beautiful rock escarpments, </I></div> <div> <I>with lots of stops for photos. Unfortunately these pictures don't really let you appreciate the </I></div> <div> <I>scale of the country side. I stopped off on route for a fuel top up, more bloody speed cameras. </I></div> <div> <I>In Alnif I decided to take the piste route north towards Tinerhir ( this is not signposted but it's a </I></div> <div> <I>right turn on the apex of the only left handed sweeping bend in the village) along R113 which </I></div> <div> <I>turned out to be a gravel/sand track weaving through little villages and tracks through the mountain </I></div> <div> <I>passes. This route had some beautiful views of breathtaking scenery, no photos will ever do it justice. </I></div> <div> <I>At the same time it was a little worrying because the route was not marked at all and pot marked with </I></div> <div> <I>ruts full of soft sand which could mean a very dangerous get off in the middle of nowhere. GREAT! I </I></div> <div> <I>relied on the GPS to keep me heading in the right direction “N-N-W”. As I passed through the smaller </I></div> <div> <I>and more remote the villages the more hassle and insults I seemed to receive from the young kids. </I></div> <div> <I>Perhaps is was the black bike/helmet or just general hassle for the European bikers or the Paris Dakar </I></div> <div> <I>rally which seemed to get some bad press here. Lots of money passes by as the rally races past at illegal </I></div> <div> <I>speeds and very little seems to make its way down to the locals on the street. It's more than likely just the </I></div> <div> <I>fall out from our participation in the Iraq war. As the only news they receive are via the teachings in the</I></div> <div> <I> local Mosques.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8e92be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8eb2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8ed2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8ef2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8f12be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8f32be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8f52be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8f68f140.jpg" border=0 width="399" height="532" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Route piste R113 which turned out to be a gravel and sand track through the mountain passes</I></div> <div> <I>The track seemed to go on forever, I ran into 2 bikers from Wilderness Wheels c/w a 4x4 backup </I></div> <div> <I>vehicle. I later learned that they where French camera crew out on a jolly which probably </I></div> <div> <I>explained why they did not want to give way on track with their Honda XR400's but all worked </I></div> <div> <I>out well. I must pop into the shop to see about a day out with Wilderness Wheels whilst I'm in </I></div> <div> <I>Ouarzazate, that's if I can find the shop.</I></div> <div> <I>Thankfully and with a great sense of relief I arrived at the N10 just as expected just short of </I></div> <div> <I>Tinerhir, praise to Allah!!. </I></div> <div> <I>13:00hrs ish I arrived in Tinerhir and went for a ride up the Gorge du Torda, absolutely break </I></div> <div> <I>taking scenery and a great photo stop. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8f82be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8fa2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8fc2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="8fe2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9002be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9022be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorge du Torda</I></div> <div> <I>Then it was back onto the N10 towards Ouarzazate. The next stop was Boumaine Dades followed by </I></div> <div> <I>a ride up the Gorges du Dades and more breath views for taking the opportunity for a photo shoot.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9042be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9062be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9082be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="90a2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="90c2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="90e2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9102be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9122be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9142be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Gorges du Dades</I></div> <div> <I>14:00hrs It's back on the N10 riding towards Ouarzazate, the road seemed to run along the southern </I></div> <div> <I>base of the Atlas mountain range with more spectacular views. Offering some stunning snow capped </I></div> <div> <I>mountain views towards the north of the road. This was broken up with the urban sprawl along the road </I></div> <div> <I>which seemed to go on forever. On the road about 10miles short of Ouarzazate I stopped for a photo </I></div> <div> <I>shoot of Ait-Benhaddon the mud kasbah's that featured in the Gladiator and numerous movies over </I></div> <div> <I>the years.</I></div> <div>  </div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9162be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Ait-Benhaddon the mud kasbah's</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9182be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Ait-Benhaddon the mud kasbah's</I></div> <div>  </div> <div> <I>16:00hrs ish I arrived in Ouarzazate, after a quick stop for fuel it was in to the town centre. </I></div> <div> <I>I stopped of at Wilderness Wheels and had a chat, I was looking for Pete but he was out </I></div> <div> <I>with the 4x4 pickup and the two French camera men which I pasted on the piste R114. </I></div> <div> <I>I spoke to a young guy, to get information on hotels and cash points. He put me on my </I></div> <div> <I>way to a rather posh hotel, which wanted to charge me MD 700 for the night which would </I></div> <div> <I>have been OK, but they would not let be wheel my bike around to the secure garden. So </I></div> <div> <I>I decided to go for Marrakech and stop on the route for the night. I may be able to stop on</I></div> <div> <I> route at a hotel or truck stop in the mountains as the daylight was fading which would mean </I></div> <div> <I>that I could get some photos before day light went.</I></div> <div> <I>16:30hrs I left Ouarzazate along the N9 towards Marrakech, following the urban sprawl along </I></div> <div> <I>the road out of Ouarzazate never seemed to stop and I was still a little weary of speed cameras.</I></div> <div> <I>I unfortunately ended up riding through the mountain pass during the hours of darkness therefore </I></div> <div> <I>missing out on the beautiful scenery and the chance to take photos. Sometimes you never </I></div> <div> <I>actually find a safe place to pull over for the night, a night in Marrakech to look forward too. It seems </I></div> <div> <I>like there was a special offer on tarmac on that section of the road and they managed to get the </I></div> <div> <I>maximum amount of road into the shortest distance. </I></div> <div> <I>There where a lot of blind corners and I was hoping that the on coming traffic was going to have </I></div> <div> <I>it lights on. I found it quite worrying that when you where riding in the dark and the locals where </I></div> <div> <I>trying to flag you down for a lift, by jumping out in the bike in the dark. Um-Shala . The fuel stops</I></div> <div> <I> in the villages on the mountains passes looked more like run down shacks in a cheap Mexican </I></div> <div> <I>movie with a single road Wild-West towns full of dodgy looking truckers. It was less than appetising </I></div> <div> <I>with the Mosque blaring out prayer time in the back ground. There were no obvious signs for a petrol </I></div> <div> <I>station or a hotel, so I continued on towards Marrakech for the night.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="91a2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road from Ouarzazate along the N9 towards Marrakech, snow covered mountains. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="91c2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road from Ouarzazate along the N9 towards Marrakech</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="91e2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>On the road from Ouarzazate along the N9 towards Marrakech, snow covered mountains</I></div> <div> <I>20:25hrs I arrived at the outskirts of Marrakech, I kept going west using the GPS until I found </I></div> <div> <I>the road north towards Casablanca.</I></div> <div> <I>21:00hrs I arrived at the Hotel Le-tafilalet on the road to Casablanca. I secured the bike in a </I></div> <div> <I>little alcove and the guardian kept an eye on it during the night. After a nice meal and a few </I></div> <div> <I>local beers to bed, overlooking the swimming pool. I wondered about venturing out to town but</I></div> <div> <I>it was late, so we'll see what tomorrow brings?.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9202be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Hotel Le-tafilalet on the road to Casablanca</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9222be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The bike is starting to look little tired at the Hotel Le-tafilalet on the road to Casablanca</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9242be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Hotel Le-tafilalet on the road to Casablanca</I></div> <div> <I>TTD 1,872 miles ish!!.</I></div> <div> <I>Wednesday 15th December Day 9. </I></div> <div> <I>0715hrs I was up and about, I repacked my gear, a strong coffee for breakfast.</I></div> <div> <I>0830hrs I depart the hotel and Marrakech out along the N9 towards Casablanca, </I></div> <div> <I>making good time as the roads are good and fast, as it turned out too fast!!.</I></div> <div> <I>12:00hrs I was stopped for speeding in Skhour-Rehamma, another tourist tax. </I></div> <div> <I>He flagged me down in the middle of town saying that I was speeding coming </I></div> <div> <I>into town. I was just maintaining the traffic flow. He had no radio contact and seemed </I></div> <div> <I>to be just flagging down random traffic for money. He had all by documents and asked </I></div> <div> <I>for MD400 but in the end he took MD200 sharing it with his mate. Bummer there goes </I></div> <div> <I>most of the petrol money. Well it was probably over due a ticket.</I></div> <div> <I>Just beyond Settat I joined the toll motorway towards Casablanca / Rabat. I will try and </I></div> <div> <I>make it to Chefchaouen and stop the night there. I had to pull of the motorway at Kenitra </I></div> <div> <I>to get some more dosh for the tolls and to fill up the bike. First off all I needed to get some </I></div> <div> <I>money so a bank was the next stop. I pulled over on the high street to use the cash point </I></div> <div> <I>and a young very well dressed local who was totally stoned out of his head on weed walked </I></div> <div> <I>over to the bike and tried to get on it. He did not even seem to respond to be shouted at him </I></div> <div> <I>to fuck off!!!! and leave the bike alone. He just did not seem to even see me there, so I had </I></div> <div> <I>to pull him away from the bike and aim him down the road. A bit of a crowd was starting to</I></div> <div> <I> form so it was a very quick trip to the cash machine and away. The most worrying thing was, </I></div> <div> <I>was this guy was very well dressed and belonged to somebody of influence and I felt like </I></div> <div> <I>smacking him which would have probably had me locked away. It made me realise that I </I></div> <div> <I>may be pushing my luck with the solo run through Morocco, so I decided that if I could make </I></div> <div> <I>it back to Ceuta I would try for the ferry tonight and get back to civilisation..</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9262be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The room with a lovely mini-bar</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9282be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Not a bad view from the window either.</I></div> <div> <I>1700hrs I arrived at the border and was helped by another local chap, who helped me with </I></div> <div> <I>the paperwork and showed me which windows to wait at. He also kept an eye on my bike, a </I></div> <div> <I>bargain for around MD 100.</I></div> <div> <I>18:00hrs I was waiting in line for the next ferry, it is such a relief to be going back to Spanish </I></div> <div> <I>soil again, proper insurance, proper recovery, price tags, no hassling and the evil Euros again.</I></div> <div> <I>18:45hrs I'm on the ferry, going back to civilisation at last great, a chance to relax, sort out the </I></div> <div> <I>newly acquired farmer giles and make sure I'm on the ferry on the 20th December.</I></div> <div> <I>19:00hrs I depart Morocco. 20:00hrs Spanish time.</I></div> <div> <I>21:00hrs (Spanish time) I'm offloaded and back in Europe through proper customs and immigration. </I></div> <div> <I>RELAX!!. </I></div> <div> <I>21:30hrs I rebooked into the hotel Meson De Sancho again, this time for 2 days to rest up and soak </I></div> <div> <I>up the Christmas atmosphere. Another lovely meal with many drinks, and a nice chat to an old </I></div> <div> <I>English couple to chat up on the news.</I></div> <div> <I>TTD 2,268 ish!!</I></div> <div> <I>TTD 1,268 in Morocco ish! </I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Thursday 16th December Day 10.</I></div> <div> <I>08:00hrs I'm up and about, coffee, catch up on the Spanish news.</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs Out the hotel and in to the lock up garage, check out bike, oil chain, unpack all my gear, </I></div> <div> <I>air-off gear and repack ready for the next run.</I></div> <div> <I>11:00hrs I catch the Bus into Algeciras, 2 cash machine runs E150 and E50, I bought cheep 7 band </I></div> <div> <I>radio. I had a look around town, popped into Moroccan café for a coffee and a snack. I also popped </I></div> <div> <I>down to the ferry for some photos that I missed on the route out. It was really chucking it down with rain </I></div> <div> <I>so I popped into a café for another snack.</I></div> <div> <I>14:30hrs back to hotel for afternoon drinks and general lazing about, sort out those pesky farmer Giles, </I></div> <div> <I>wash my hands. An early evening meal which was followed by too many nightcaps.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Friday 17th December Day 11</I></div> <div> <I>07:15hrs I was up and about, strong coffee, pack-up pay bill.</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs I departed the hotel, then its back on the route to Malaga via the toll motorways. Lovely weather, </I></div> <div> <I>I should be able to get some good photos on the return trip as it was rather misty on the route down, in places.</I></div> <div> <I>13:00hrs I stopped off just south of Jean for lunch, a lovely chicken with garlic and onions with chips. </I></div> <div> <I>I then carried on up for the road for a while and decided to phone the office and check if Nik was at home. </I></div> <div> <I>15:00hrs I spoke to Nik and turned around and headed back south towards Granada and to Nik's place.</I></div> <div> <I>It turned out to be 130miles down to Nik's making a </I></div> <div> <I>18:30hrs I meet Nik in the pub and we had a drink and I was introduced to a couple of his mates.</I></div> <div> <I>19:15hrs I arrived at Nik's place, a little too isolated for my liking, especially as I had to leave my bike and </I></div> <div> <I>walk along the water ditch in the dark with all my gear in the dark for about 15mins. </I></div> <div> <I>01:00hrs We finished drinking, a good laugh and it was nice to see Nik again.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="92a2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The car park</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="92c2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The view from Nik's place.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="92e2be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Nik's water tank, pool.</I></div> <div> <I>Saturday 18th December Day 12</I></div> <div> <I>01:00hrs I finished drinking with Nik.</I></div> <div> <I>07:15hrs I was up and about, I was worried about my bike being left at the end of the dirt </I></div> <div> <I>track so I retraced my steps in day light, there are some quite deep drop offs to be seen </I></div> <div> <I>in the light of day.</I></div> <div> <I>09:00hrs I received the guided tour from Nik in daylight. There was some lovely scenery </I></div> <div> <I>to be seen in the light of day, along with some scary drop offs. </I></div> <div> <I>11:30hrs I depart Nik's place and back track up north again, a nice little 260miles detour </I></div> <div> <I>by the time I'd finished but well worth it to see Nik. . I'm hoping to get clear of Madrid and </I></div> <div> <I>park up north of Madrid for the night. </I></div> <div> <I>18:30hrs I pulled over about 30mile north of Madrid in to the Hotel Mavihotel S.L. c/w lock </I></div> <div> <I>up garage. It cost E45.39 for the night complete with the evening meal. Not a great room </I></div> <div> <I>but the food was OK. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9302be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Hotel Mavi</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Sunday 19th December Day 13</I></div> <div> <I>08:00hrs I had a bit of a lie in as I've only got a about 3 hours lazy ride up to Bilbao for the ferry.</I></div> <div> <I>08:55hrs I departed the hotel and I realised that the lockup garage was not that secure as when </I></div> <div> <I>I opened the door to get the bike. The adjacent garage doors blew open with the wind, bummer </I></div> <div> <I>but all safe and sound.</I></div> <div> <I>13:35hrs I arrived at the ferry terminal and decided to have a bit of a ride around and look for </I></div> <div> <I>some accommodation for the night. I took out E70 at the local cash machine on the route, I had </I></div> <div> <I>a nice ride along the coast and finally decided on the Apartment-Hotel La Arena with some lovely </I></div> <div> <I>views of the coast and a tank farm. </I></div> <div> <I>http://www.laarena.com Tel: 94 636 54 54. </I></div> <div> <I>16:00hrs I checked into the hotel, I had a quick shower then down to the bar for food and drink. I took </I></div> <div> <I>a quick walk about but it was chucking down with rain and the wind was howling. </I></div> <div> <I>23:00hrs Off to bed full of booze, an early night ready for the ferry to UK in the morning.</I></div> <div> <I>Monday 20th December Day 14</I></div> <div> <I>0715hrs I was up and about, repacked my gear and reload up bike in the underground car park ready </I></div> <div> <I>for the off. The news was full of the reports of the bad weather and all so a report of a local ferry being </I></div> <div> <I>run aground in Santander, just down the coast, fingers crossed for mine.</I></div> <div> <I>08:30hrs I Depart the hotel and I was off up the coast towards the ferry. It turned out that part of the route </I></div> <div> <I>was under road works and a Spanish gate watch man "jobsworth Toser" would let me cut through a truck </I></div> <div> <I>stop to bypass the road works so I had to go all the way back passed the hotel and along the motorway </I></div> <div> <I>which had a 20 mile tail back, I filtered through the traffic which added another 30mins to the route but I </I></div> <div> <I>had plenty of time.</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9318f140.jpg" border=0 width="399" height="532" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Nearly home, waiting in line for the ferry at Bilbao</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9332be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The Pride of Bilbao</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9352be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>The last cars boarding the ferry</I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9372be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Bye Bye sunny Spain</I></div> <div> <I>09:30hrs I arrived at the ferry port and started waited patiently in my lane, I bumped into </I></div> <div> <I>another 2 bikers, one a yank that had been working in Spain for a year and he was going </I></div> <div> <I>back to UK (another yank who managed to get a UK/Irish passport via Irish relatives 3 </I></div> <div> <I>generation back). The other biker was an English guy who was biking back from the States </I></div> <div> <I>to UK, who was hiding from a messy divorce with his American wife. He was on a lovely new </I></div> <div> <I>but well battered BMW GS</I></div> <div> <I>11:00hrs We where all loaded onto the ferry. TDD 3,626 miles</I></div> <div> <I>12:30hrs The ferry sailed from Bilbao into a force 9/10 gale. After a quick tidy up, it was into </I></div> <div> <I>the posh restaurant for an all day breakfast followed by Apple and blueberry crumble. I bought </I></div> <div> <I>another bottle of Jameson's, which went down nicely with the coffee. I spent about £27.66 at the </I></div> <div> <I>duty free and I took £100 (plus £3 commission) from the purser cash machine.</I></div> <div> <I>I went to the movies and watch the movie The Incredible's , then I bumped into the plastic yank </I></div> <div> <I>in the bar but he was not very sociable for some reason!!. </I></div> <div> <I>23:00hrs off to bed for a Jameson night cap, clocks went back 1 hour.</I></div> <div> <I>Tuesday 21st December Day 15</I></div> <div> <I>08:00hrs I was up and about, off for a full English breakfast. Then it was off to the cinema to watch </I></div> <div> <I>Finding Neverland which turned out to be a good film, although a bit of a weepy.</I></div> <div> <I>The latest news is that the vessel is going to be a couple of hours late getting in to Portsmouth </I></div> <div> <I>due to the bad weather. I watched Bridget Jones II while I waited.</I></div> <div> <I>17:45hrs The vessel is almost along side in Portsmouth and people are crowding the corridors.</I></div> <div> <I>18:30hrs I finally departed the ferry terminal, about 2 ½ hours late. The weather was freezing and </I></div> <div> <I>I was not looking forward to the ride north. </I></div> <div> <I>22:00hrs I had to stop for some warm coffee as I was freezing, I stopped at the OK Diner that I </I></div> <div> <I>normally stop at when running up the A1. </I></div> <div> <I>23:30hrs I finally returned home, bloody cold. </I></div> <div> <I><IMG SRC="9392be00.jpg" border=0 width="299" height="224" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>Home at last....Get me off this bike it's freezing.</I></div> <div> <I>Mileage summary </I></div> <div> <I>The mileage on the bike at start of trip was 2,958 miles recorded at the full service immediately prior to </I></div> <div> <I>trip using the bikes speedo odometer and not the electronic trip meter.</I></div> <div> <I>The mileage at end of the trip was 7,113 miles recorded using the speedo odometer, this included the </I></div> <div> <I>dry run down to Portsmouth when I just missed the 1st ferry. The daily mileage and the TTD (total to date) </I></div> <div> <I>was, taken using the bikes electronic trip computer.</I></div> <div> <I>Trip Summary.</I></div> <div> <I>It was a fantastic trip, which I look forward to repeating soon, but next time not on my own, as in retrospect I </I></div> <div> <I>realise that I was lucky to get away with it as a lone biker.</I></div> <div> <I>I took too much gear and probably carried more spares than I needed on the trip!!</I></div> <div> <I>That's all down to Murphy's Law because the stuff you leave behind is always the gear you need in anger. </I></div> <div> <I>Unfortunately because I had travelled on my own, I spent too much time worrying about the security of my </I></div> <div> <I>bike and gear. When camping I always tried to edge my bets by camping next to European registered campers, </I></div> <div> <I>safety in numbers I suppose.</I></div> <div> <I>Next time don't go alone if possible.</I></div> <div> <I>.</I></div> <div> <I>Having said that I'm currently planning a solo run through the Scandinavian countries, which will include ferry </I></div> <div> <I>to Norway then up to the Artic circle, then onto Sweden then onto Finland and then a run down the Russian </I></div> <div> <I>border and back towards the west and catch the ferry back from Norway.</I></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>