Pedro

So, waking up excited for a ride, and realizing it's not raining again is a great feeling. We put both cases on the bike and go for breakfast, I remember plenty of fruit and a big cup of coffee. From near Midelt, we left for Er-Rich ... Nothing really special about it, just a sort of outpost place surrounded by lots of space, but also very typical down to the shop style carpentry, give it a look as Maria navigates us out of there in 20 seconds after I've been ending up at the same dead end for the third time and thus started a great ride, from there to the Gorges du Todra. First stretch is as flat as flat gets My face is already dry, even though we didn't face lots of heat in this trip, so as the sun starts to come out Maria makes me stop to put sunscreen off. I take the chance to document something very weird that happens in Morocco. In medium to big towns, in a country where "nobody" drinks alcohol, there is this circle of broken beer and whiskey bottles surrounding said towns. Magic, aliens must ditch their booze bottles here. This plateau eventually leeds to the most scenic and bucolic stretch of road ever I'm so happy to be here that when one girl out of a group of kids fails to slap my hand as we ride by, I stop, backtrack, and go for a second run, everyone thought it was funny and both we and the kids got a real kick out of it, that made my day. She's wearing the red shorts/pants in this picture, just look at her smile: Backtracking and going for the second run: And this mini ninja almost took my hand off on the second run And just like that we are out of that magic little canyon/valley ... Happy days: We spot some squirrel like creature, spot it in the next three pictures: A brief stop at the canyon touristy spot, would be rude not to A short stop a few miles on just before the canyon ends and we face the heat while making a dash for the dunes, to our special place. I don't remember why, but I ended up tasting one of those leaves ... it was awful.... Quick enough, and we're there with sand under our feet! This might be repetitive, but it is an amazing place ... Most of the ride that day was from places where we had been before, to places where we had been before, and yet we were surprised at how amazing the ride was.

Indeed she does.

It's not that it's professional, the BMW GS assembly video is very professional, it's just something about a japanese guy searching for flaws that is really reassuring.

Now you're getting exercise!

Morning, Fes, we decide to not go for the overpriced breakfast in our hotel and instead head out on the bike, knowing that there were a few cafes in our avenue. Few minutes later, and we're having great french style croissants, awesome orange juice and expresso. Take that Paris! We're next to a BNP, so Paris wins the big picture Efficiently, we make our way to visit our monkey friends. On the way there I stop to put on my shirt, it was a little cold and proper windy Today, we had shelled peanuts, and here I am taking the shells of peanuts to them hand them over to a monkey, I swear it's the same one from the first time. After sharing some snacks with my friend, we went on our way heading to Midelt via Itzer and Boumia. Weather threatened rain and it sure wasn't hot, I was glad to have been inspired by Rui to buy a more substantial jacket. Boumia is a small town in a pretty barren place, windswept high hills, but today was market day and you got people clearly coming from surrounding villages coming in, it was booming with trade. We stopped for lunch in a small cafe and had chicken, roasted on the rotisserie. If you're ever in Morocco in small villages in the middle of the mountains or desert, and are faced with a choice of what to eat, just have an omelette or the poulet roti. You'll eat the kind of chicken meat you used to get everywhere in Europe before it all turned to industrialized shit, it's amazing. We were very well greeted by a couple of traders having lunch on the table next to ours, and they liked it when I got up and went outside to start the bike and help some kids climb on it and give it a little honk. Made my day, and theirs as well. Coming in, we further impressed our next table friends by eating the chicken Moroccan style, meaning you peck at the meat with your fingers, dip it in the little sauce dish they serve next to it, and eat it with your fingers like that. I swear it tastes better that way. Didn't take pictures of that delicious lunch to try and not look like tourists Near Midelt, we tried to go to the Cirque de Jafaar again, but those dark clouds you saw in the previous pictures decided to open up with pretty strong rain and thunder. We didn't want to be stuck in a small flood or mud, so got out of there: On the first chance we had, we stopped under a gas station cover and sheltered for the worst if it. We were already in plastic overalls and properly wet outside, so no pictures. It was getting to mid afternoon, and we were a little damp, so headed for the same hotel we had visited before. Even though it wasn't very hot, the rain had passed, the skies opened up a little, so I went for my afternoon dip in a pool, trying not to loose the tradition. That water was cold, like you'd expect. Having a stroll through the property, we might have encountered relatives of our dinner: Donut remember what we had, but Maria had recently taken off her teeth corrective braces and was delighted at her perfect bite mark. We slept soundly, like you do when it's a little cold at night. The day after we would have one of the greatest biking days ever, with everything I love about riding in Morocco in one single day.

If we have another tie I vote for someone to get shit in the mail as a gift.

Getting up in Al Hoceima felt great, we were eager to go inland. People are friendly in most places, but we do prefer to be farther south where there are less tourists, and somehow the more south you go the less treated as a tourist you are. Maybe better put, would be that I feel that as we travel south I see less of a need of people to act fake, makes me feel more at ease. Today, we're heading to Fes Taza was a very cool mountain town, where we stopped for a walk and a very proper expresso. Wouldn't mind coming back. Between Taza and Fes, we went the long way south via Sefrou and passed a mountain range with very cool passes, already in our favourite kind of riding after having breakfast looking at the Mediterranean, high passes and big views. Not sure if the video translates how it felt. We make it to Fes after a great bit of mountain roads, feeling like we're well on it now. That night we couldn't get a room in our regular hotel, we tried another and although it did ok, but just wasn't the same. It was more expensive and not as nice a place to be, a little disappointing. It wasn't all bad, we checked in pretty late so it didn't matter anyway as we had had a full day and were feeling quite tired, and the bike was in a guarded garage. In the morning, I had a date to visit some furry friends!

Tangier's waterfront has changed quite a bit in the three years we've been coming here We were headed to Al Hoceima, which is on the Mediterranean coast. It's a short ride, but still took longer to get there on account of a couple of detours. for @XTreme: See you in a bit, Tangier, we've got a nice coastal road to do We stopped at a fish grilling place right on the beach, and ordered whatever they had, sardines. They didn't speak any french, and a communication error meant that I ordered two doses of fish instead of fish for two, we had a huge amount of sardines to eat, the cats went home happy that day. They brought another portion right after this one Best sardines I've ever had, though, and it was quite cool to be there. Goats don't care if you're growing decorative bushes or gardens Al Hoceima looked like a paradise with little people about and the Mediterranean sea. We stayed by the sea and went to the beach, a pattern was emerging One of the ways we pack light, being a couple and using just one case for all our clothing for two weeks, is that we wash clothes frequently. Most of the places we sleep in are warm and breezy during the evenings, whenever we get somewhere we usually do our clothes in the sink, and by the time we go to bed they're dry. If you carry three sets you're almost always golden. If you carry a fourth you're safe. One o With nightfall, peaceful Al Hoceima came alive, noise and traffic, and lots and lots of people. We had a nap after the beach and went out to eat. Who says you can't have class on a street hole in the wall in Morocco? Another great day

We slept with the bags almost packed, in the morning just had some light breakfast and we were off quite early. It was all fast flowing motorways and nice weather to get to Tarifa. We boarded the ferry early and still went to lunch in Tangier, who says we can't cover ground when we want to? Stopped by Cappuccino and had a couple of tasty sandwiches. Then, living large for the rest of the day Visited the caves next to the hotel, on foot And generally had an amazing day

Earlier that year we had spent my birthday in June at the Nurburgring, with @Sofia: On August we took the GS to the Algarve for some sunshine And in the meantime we did plenty of short rides on weekends, life was good even though work was pretty tough. After ending our 2016 on a high, Maria was intent on us taking a two or three year breather from Morocco and trying other kinds of trips, be it on bikes or not, but to other locations. Me? I was keener than ever on going again as soon as possible! We were getting to know the place, and feeling at ease with the people, the food, the traffic, the amazing roads, and now I had a bike I trusted to be a reliable vehicle for us, although we don't do serious offroad on it our trips do search for the smallest roads we can find and as far as roads go they're pretty tough. There is no destination that is so culturally different and makes you feel like on an Adventure, and so close and afordable to get to than Morocco. Part of me wanted to try and go alone, almost exclusively to do that offroad piste between Merzouga and Mhamid, and I knew it would be too much for my skills to do it with a passenger, as well as not fun at all for Maria. But more than that, I wanted us to go again together. I came up with the excuse that we should do it on the new bike before the warranty expired, and she let me think I conned her. I think that by late August, riding the bike through Alentejo, she started to miss it too Our goal for this trip was to revisit some of the places we loved, but also to see some of the mediterranean coast, spend a day on the Merzouga dunes again, to go as far south as Tan Tan, to cross the Atlas on a different route than before, mostly without skipping on swimming pool relaxation moments and most of all go with the flow and enjoy. All of this meant we would probable be on the longest ride we ever did, but considering that on all previous years we had spent a couple of days after returning before going back to work, we were pretty safe. The previous week a set of new Heidenau K60 were put on the bike, on friday I joyfully left my mobile with my brother, and on the 23rd of September 2017, we left Azambuja heading south. There are no pictures of me fueling the bike up that day, in fact there are a lot less pictures this year than on years previous, I guess we were more relaxed and enjoying the trip more instead of worried about the camera, you miss a few pictures but the enjoyment you get at the moment is a lot more. Our plan of getting our move on was foiled as soon as we got to the Algarve, with great September sunshine, and Maria felt like having a grilled fish lunch at her favourite place, obviously this led to some glasses of wine, the beach, going out to dinner and sleeping in Faro. Didn't take much to convince me! The plan had lasted for 3 hours ... fuck the plan!

I meant while riding, @Tym He'll be carrying these in his topbox

You have to factor in that it is an all black bike, and Pete lives in a dusty place. It'll drive him mad

Yes, even better!

That guy with the flashlight at 2:05, he makes me want to buy an Africa Twin

It was a great trip, and Morocco is really interesting. In a couple of days I'll post our last trip there, in 2017.

Rui worked as a paramedic and driver for fast response emergency vehicles, it's always a nurse/paramedic/driver like him and a doctor inside those cars, like a Passat or Audi A4 or something like that to get to accident scenes in a hurry. A week after coming back he had an accident while attending an emergency, against a drunk driver, and the other driver was killed while doing something completely unpredictable. The doctor sharing the car with Rui was also president of the emergency services, so that attracted a lot of media attention and even though they were not at fault the media still put them through the ringers for a while. We went to dinner at Rui's house with him and his family about a month after. We showed up with a couple bottles of nice wine, and not very surprisingly he hadn't even told his wife we were coming, nor was he home, very typical of him! After a moment or two of being pissed off she started to lighten up, eventually he arrived, and we ended up having a really nice evening together. It was always a pleasure sharing time with him as we pretty much had the same sense of humor. For whatever reason, we never met again even though he spoke to Maria a few times. He was found dead by his wife in 2018. He struggled with some stuff, for sure. He will be missed, and his memory treasured.

After a pretty sad meal the day before, only made better by the staff's enthusiasm over having Portuguese guests, we slept quite well listening to the sounds of the ocean. We left our hotel at our usual, not too early not too late, time, and made our way up the coast to Casablanca. Safi, a nice town with a huge refinery, not my kind of tea but people have to earn a living somehow. Never stop: we share a stoplight with this cool dude and his BMW (sound system properly on!) We get to Casablanca for an early afternoon snack instead of lunch, with Portuguese espresso We tried to visit Casablanca's mosque, apparently one of the world's most impressive religious buildings, it was closed for visitations and too foggy to even see the top It's so tall that it's got a laser that manages to be pointed and "making contact" with the minaret in Meca, and the inside is known to be amazing. I'm not one to visit buildings, so I wasn't too bothered by the fact it was closed, but the outside is impressive and beautiful. Instead we focused on finding a good deal on a hotel in the center. Casablanca is the city I've ever been in with the highest concentration of brand new Range Rovers per 100 cars, including London, but I sort of hagled a room price down. We had a nice bed and a guarded parking, that's all I need. We went out after dar for a walk and a meal, and saw a Morocco that was nothing like what we new, with neons and franchise food places, and cabarets We sat outside at a nice restaurant and had pizza and pasta, I don't remember who had what but I remember it was pretty nice. I get excited when I see a cocktail menu so ask for the wine menu, and the waiter tells me all cocktails are non alcoholic, and just that easily he breaks my heart ... Next morning we bug off early in the morning, just in time to catch rush our. It was raining drizzling, so instead of riding on and get wet I stop to look at cars for 20 minutes, it was pretty obvious why we had stopped so we got a good smile from the salespeople And off we go to Tangier But since I'm a sucker for a marina, we stop for a coffee instead ... took us AGES to leave Casablanca Somewhere, we stop for lunch in the sort of place we usually stop for lunch at. A cafe or cafe/restaurant at the side of the road, we figure that since this would be our last lunch in Morocco we might as well go native: Maria goes for the omelette with minced meat, a bold choice! She proceeds to eat it like a local, with her fingers and bread to help along, which I loved watching I have the skewers with a side of hot sauce to dip them in while eating. Onwards, because a 5 star hotel awaits us, we shall splurge! The roads aren't special at all in this area, the traffic sometimes reminds you you're still in Morocco though, but in a good way. I was feeling nostalgic during this last couple of hours of riding before Tangier. Maria asked if everything was ok with the bike, but no, it was just me trying to make it last a little longer. I love the way this people drive and treat the road and other users with respect. They don't really care for rules but at the same time will move over for a faster vehicle, will expect you to move over if they need to avoid a big pothole, if the road can fit three cars then there is no problem in fitting three cars even though there might be some random theoretical line in between, I get along with road traffic in Morocco a lot better than in Europe. This attitude to driving with survival and cooperation makes it simple. I don't get along with big city traffic, though, that is just random As we arrived to the most posh part of Tangier the sole focus is to enjoy the afternoon and evening, before going back home. Early morning and go to Tangier for breakfast, and quickly catch the ferry. This time we rode straight home, stopping right at the border between Spain and Portugal to put our rain suits on. Riding those last few hours in the rain, with the last 2 or 3 hours being already dark, and arriving home to a cold October night was a shock compared to the previous two weeks. We had little to eat at home, so did the smart thing, had a hot shower, and went out to eat while leaving the heating on to come back to a cozy house. We had grilled meat and drank wine in the only place still open in Azambuja!

You're a star, @Tym

TV?

In the morning me and Maria were back on our own and moving at our own pace. This means that although not in a hurry we ended up doing things in less time, like a well oiled machine. One packs this while the other brushes his teeth, then one grabs this while the other does that, I go for the cases while she goes for the helmets, etc We have breakfast, pack the bike and leave and wave at Rui's bike. I can't lie and say there wasn't a lump in my throat as we left it there. Morning traffic in Marrakech isn't as bad just because the heat hadn't arrived yet, we just moved along with traffic heading out of the city onto the coast. As we move further away from touristy and "cosmopolitan" Marrakech: Lanes? Were were going we don't need lanes! The dial... Morocco is known for it's Argan trees, and with Argan trees come the famous goats that climb trees to eat the organ fruit, some moroccans being the clever dudes that they are, see this as a way to squeeze a couple of coins off tourists, and force goats up a tree and keep them there for tourists to snap pictures with them, while asking for a fee. This is the result, just a sad spectacle, the real thing doesn't compare to this, this is demeaning to the goats and to a proud people. A few kms further on we see the same thing but non orchestrated, but that still doesn't compare to what we saw the year after on the mountains. At the end of the morning we reached the coast at Essaouira The Portuguese had been here before, a long time ago We interrupt our walk for some lunch in a great little restaurant We had orange with cinnamon as starter and fish soup, it was tasty as it should in a fishing town. If you've never tried slicing an orange (a proper orange) and just sprinkling it with a healthy (more than this) amount of cinnamon, do it. It's exotic, very healthy, and will make you look like a chef. After our lunch we just sat inside sipping a little coffee and looking at life going about it's business outside, before carrying on with our walk back to the bike. And thus started our ride back north I don't think any of us enjoyed this part of the ride very much. We were coated with muckyness from the ocean, salty and moist, wasn't very pleasant at all. Eventually we found a place to stay, quite cheaply to be honest, with breakfast included and a swimming pool. Couldn't be any better so we stopped quite looking forward to have a swim and relax. This was is October 2016, yearlier that year Portugal had won the Euro football championship with a goal scored on the last minute, against FRANCE, and they had been pretty sore loosers. We had been getting compliments throughout this trip because football is very big in Morocco and there are few things a Moroccan likes more than to embarrass France. As soon as we presented our passports the reception guy came to hugg me and we were instantly treated like long lost relatives of his Our room's view: Our rooms view within seconds, before Maria could even find her bikini The downside to being treated as football allies against France was that in order to indulge us, the hotel staff simply went on youtube and put on portuguese folk music on a loop. We were tortured by that shit wherever we went, swimming pool, lobby, restaurant, and whenever we told them to turn it off all we got in return were big smiles, a thumbs up and an exclamation of "viva Portugal" They later confessed that Portugal beating France was celebrated on the streets with gunfire to the sky and fireworks, we should have been in Morocco that evening!

After a great night's sleep, we woke up rejuvenated and happy. After a nice breakfast with some proper dark coffee, I took the bike out to the street with a smile. We were off to Marrakesh via part of the High Atlas. It looked promising of great roads and views, we weren't disappointed, but first a stop by the local post office so that Rui could send his daughter's school class a postcard from a small forgotten village in Morocco written in berber. Took him long enough, weather actually changed from morning crispness to hot while he was inside , and we're finally going again! After a while we reach the mountains. Road porn? We were passed by two road bikes going way faster than I wanted to, Rui couldn't hold back any more and went in pursuit About an hour or so of pretty boring riding later, and we're entering the outskirts of Marrakesh A door into Marrakesh We rode around Marrakesh's wall, and visited the reservoir. This reservoir was built in the 12th century to water the Menara gardens and olive trees, it's impressive that it brings it's water from the high Atlas, way in the distance. We were all pretty hot and sweaty now, and negotiated past Marrakech's traffic to get to our hotel and freshen up. And refresh we did Reaction to whatever joke I just finished as always, Rui turned up just in time, just in time for us to go out After a nice shower and some clean clothes, we were eager to go out for dinner in a city where we had spent a few days the year previous, and show it off to our new friend. Rui was going to part ways with us on the next morning, he was supposed to be at work in three or four days, and still someone to visit before being home, so time was ticking for him. Me and Maria were to ride from Marrakech to the coast, and then follow the coast up to see Casablanca and then a stop at our favourite luxury hotel in Tangier before heading home. On our way to Jemaa el-Fna square (look it up) we came accross @Tym's paradise You want to taste something truly great? try one of these orange juices: They're squeezed from cold oranges and a full glass costs pennies, the orange flavor in these is nothing like you can taste in the UK. Jemaa el-Fna is busy, lots of people, lots of food stall, lots of coal grilling, lots of smells and then there's Marrakech's Medina, which branches out from the square. Good thing they don't serve alcohol there because it's easy enough to get lost sober. We found a 1st floor balcony to have some dinner while looking at the bustling square below: Walking back to the hotel after dinner and a few drinks (of coca cola ) we were happy but also sad to be ending ou trip together. In the morning Rui would be getting on the motorway and go at Mach5 on his way to Portugal, at least that was his plan but you know how things went with him We made plans to see each other often.

It's got a center stand and everything, so you can clean and lube that chain after every ride or every 117km, whatever comes closer, perfect!

Pete on a BMW again!

Thanks, Pete, that brought a tear to my eye. It has taken me years to be able to go through these pictures myself, and it was brought on by the fact that it was 6 years ago on the 27th that we bought our first ferry to Morocco. Also, the end of September or early October were the weeks I had destined for this trip because of the weather and work. In a way I'm looking at what I should be doing anyway. It's not an easy thing to do but I'm posting this more for myself than for anyone else, and posting pictures without telling the story wouldn't make sense to me, so I'm telling it.

I might have ingested some of those pool water during the day, and felt a little nauseous as well from some lip balm Maria made me wear on account of my dry and cracked lips, the result of said events was that I slept like crap and felt like throwing up throughout the night. We were supposed to sleep in Zagora that day, but I really didn't feel able to get on the bike. Rui was an EMT and had come prepared with some magic stuff, a quick injection, some light breakfast, and an hour later I'm on the bike feeling great. To this day I don't know what it was he gave me. Off we go And just like that, 400km later we're having cold water in Mhamid, no sandstorm drama this time Back in Zagora, for some reason we have no foots of that hotel and evening, it was quite nice sitting outside under some thick trees. Only picture I have is of the concierge's assistant Before heading off to Ouarzazate, in the morning we visited the friendly mechanics and put a sticker on my new bike. Off we go back north, our destination was Marrakesh but first we would sleep somewhere as we were going through the Gorges du Dades and that means a lot of mountain roads, not fast going like here. Stopping to take in the views, we were approached by this guy whose name I was unfortunate enough to forget trying to sell dates (the fruit). We bought some but then he invited us for some tea. His dad did maintenance on cell or tv signal towers there, and he spent a lot of time up there selling dates to tourists. He was pationate about football, and new more about the portuguese league than I did We said our farewells, and got going. Judging by our current location, I wanted us to sleep at the rock hotel built on top of the Gorge du Dades, so we covered ground to get there still with daytime enough to enjoy the place. A brief stop in Oarzazate for something to eat and Rui dropped his bike taking it off the center stand, to receive a few laughs by people sitting in the restaurant. Had we not lightened his gin and vodka load it would have been even harder to pick up Roads were pretty great getting there, although not as dark as on these pictures. Up there would be our accommodations for the night These switchbacks are nothing special as a road, but the place itself is worthy of a good 10 minute stare. We explored the area a little bit, just trying to be good hosts to Rui as he hadn't been here before. And back to our rooms for the night Our meal didn't get on camera, however it was simple and delicious. As the evening was getting cold, a hot meal does wonders for you. There was not much in the way of entertainment, no internet, and 15 minutes after we made it to our rooms the generator was off and we were in complete darkness. The drone of a couple of trucks negotiating the hairpins made us feel sorry for those poor guys driving old-fashioned trucks with no assisted steering and little in the way of lights on that road, but after two or three trucks traffic stopped completely and we slept soundly. Bed was hard but comfy, with heavy whoolen covers. We woke up rejuvenated.