Morocco 2017 - second trip on the R1200GSA

[Pedro]

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! 

 

[Pedro]

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

 

[XTreme]

Nice one Pedro.......looks fantastic!

It's nowhere I'd choose to go.......I'd just feel uneasy in a Muslim country!

Apart from that I've never even been able to see anything in Spain because of the responsibility of work commitments.

[Pedro]

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

 

[Pedro]

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!

[Pedro]

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.

 

[XTreme]

The Monkeys are back! 

[Grasshopper]

Fun place to ride, looks like some badass coffee you were drinking.  Maria has a beautiful smile, getting braces off is such a good feeling, her teeth look lovely. 

[Pedro]

1 hour ago, Grasshopper's Ride said:

Fun place to ride, looks like some badass coffee you were drinking.  Maria has a beautiful smile, getting braces off is such a good feeling, her teeth look lovely. 

Indeed she does.

[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.

[Pedro]

So, we woke up quite early, I always feel like staying here but Maria felt like we should give other places a chance.

 

The day before had been amazing but a little tiresome, regardless off we went heading to Tata, which was halfway to Guelmim, which was near Tan Tan. 

 

First stop was not even an hour in, for face sunscreen, she made me 

 

We had a lot of this 

 

An omelette for lunch

 

 

That day was pretty tough, in the afternoon. The roads weren't very inspiring, it was pretty boring, hard, traffic was too heavy and for whatever reason I was annoyed. Eventually we didn't make it to Tata, but stopped a little before in a very small inn.

After a short conversation I realize that I had been feeling like coming on this trip for a while, and there was some pressure on seeing everything we wanted before having to go back home, together with a few worries regarding work I was actually stressed out today. After a while, everything was fine, we decided to carry on and go till Tan Tan, and take our time even if that meant having to rush for two days on motorways to go home. Allowing that accumulated stress to come out instantly made me feel great, and we were ready for dinner and adventures. And the view?

Our hotel was a little simple and sparse, the only one person on staff when we arrived was very hospitable and nice and the smell outside was amazing, smelled like wet desert and adventure. During dinner there was no lighting for pictures, but we ended up having one of our best Moroccan meals ever, it was about a third of a country chicken cooked with onions and preserved lemons. It was amazing, and the effort those dudes made to make us feel welcomed was surreal.

We had a great night's sleep, I was exhausted.

 

[Pedro]

In the morning we had a little but very tasty breakfast, said goodbye, and off we went in search of the Desert

 

 

 

Let's go to Guelmim!

 

 

Schools are usually the most colorful buildings you'll ever see

 

 

 

 

 

Heading from there to Guelmim we had one of this trip's best memories. We finally felt like being close to the Sahara as I imagined from reading books, it had just gotten proper hot and I decided to stop and drink some water, when a few camels appeared, and then continued to appear, must have been over 50 all scattered into smaller herds, it was pretty great.

 

Guelmim, perfect mix of desert frontier city with developed world, never had I seen so many old Land Rovers as here and from here on south. We got here during the afternoon having had no lunch. Very hot and sweaty, we weren't hungry but each drank a full bottle of water and a couple of very cold orange juices.

 

 

Made our way to our very nice hotel, and had some more water there, after diving head first into the swimming pool.

 

 

 

 

We slept in a very comfy bed, feeling like a million bucks. I was very excited to go to Tan Tan, gateway to the desert.

 

 

[Pedro]

Breakfast was very nice, I mostly ate fruit trying to anticipate a warm day. We planned to going south to Tan Tan, checking it out, have a coffee, and ride back to Guelmim and stay back in the same hotel. Tan Tan was only 100km away so we could have gone further down, but I think that from here on south you're only really going if you want to continue heading to Mauritania, or at least to the border. We were both a little tired so could use an easy day with some rest in the afternoon.

As we left for Tan Tan it was pretty foggy, but we assumed it would clear quite soon, we did almost the entire trip there under wet fog, our rain gear was at the hotel in the luggage.

 

The road between Guelmim and Tan Tan has got a lot of three things: fish smell, slow moving, and traffic going further south to Africa. The fish smell comes out of nowhere next to some clearings by the side of the road where trucks carrying fish from Tan Tan's harbor empty their unfrozen ice, then the sun cooks that and the remaining smell is interesting because there is no ocean to be seen. Slow moving Land Rovers on old worn out leaf springs, carrying cargo or passengers at 60kmh, trudging along at a pace of a time gone past, driver patiently waiting out the trip in a car with no space for his elbow with a window that only slides open halfway in a car that is passed by every big truck, in over 40ºC heat, bless them! Here you see cars and trucks with license plates that I had never seen before, heading south to Mauritanica, Senegal, etc, feels exotic and something about the "body language" of these cars gives away that they know how long the trip is going to take regardless of being in a hurry or not.

The fog eventually clears and we have a little bit of sunshine

 

 

Tan Tan! Still pretty wet here.

 

Nothing really noticeable about Tan Tan except that I created a little chaos by riding into the customs part of the harbor like it was a normal road. Got properly told off, and then waved by with a smile. After our coffee, which did it's job of warming us a little, we headed back for lunch at Guelmim

 

Poulet Roti, my favourite:

 

Little bit early after lunch, so we explored a little around the surroundings of Guelmim, and went to the beach

 

And again, time to soak up

 

We had dinner at the hotel and Maria ordered lasagna while trying to each something "normal", she gasped at her portion 

 

The next day, we'd have mountains again ...

[Catteeclan]

Bloody brilliant. Not somewhere I need to go but you could change my mind.

Now get to bed.

[Pedro]

It was wet as we rode off in the morning, thick wet fog, the kinds of roads we were on and also the worn out suspension and tires in most cars meant traffic moved surprisingly carefully in the wet, I wonder how they cope with snow in places like Midelt where it really comes down and a significant part of cars seem to have had nothing done to them in the last 10 years.

I didn't enjoy turning back north, my real wish would have been for us to go further south for 2 or 3 months! Anyway, we were off into the mountains, and surprisingly, this would be the day I was to ride my favourite biking road ever, to this day.

Half an hour into the ride, as we turned away from the ocean and started climbing a little, the sun came out and it warmed up instantly, and out came our layers and the camera!

 

In Tafraoute, a mountain town, we stopped at a small cooperative shop to buy one of our souvenirs for this trip. Argan oil is a very labour intensive work, the nuts' shell is split and it's the seed inside that is used for cold pressing for the precious oil. The cold pressing is done with a wooden hand tool, and is incredibly tedious and long work. Traditionally, all this is only done by women, so it's women who set up these cooperatives and run them with barely no influence by men who traditionally are dedicated to herding. It's also their way of controlling cash inflow to the household.

 

 

 

 

This whole area is rich in Argan trees, and it's obviously going to be a rich business since major michelin star restaurants started using Argan oil for salads, as well as the beauty industry started to publicize Argan extract in expensive skin and hair products. In these hills or mountains, we stopped and watched a herd of goats enjoy the argan suits directly from a tree on a cliffside

 

 

 

This is the stuff you can't find near tourist traps: 

 

 

We stop by Taroudant in search of lunch, and eat at a big cafe in the center. It was hot and busy, and no tourists in sight except for both of us.

 

 

I left Taroudant with the feeling that it is a cool place to sleep over for another trip. Busy and big enough to be lively and get lost in but not chaotic and harsh like Marrakech.

We were off again, heading towards Marrakech. Our plan was to stop an hour or so ahead and figure out where to sleep, our michelin map showed the R203 as a dangerous mountain road with drops, so I was obviously keen to try it 

The R203, between Tafingoult and Asni, is the best road I've ever done, look it up in google maps if you want.

 

 

 

Starts pretty "European":

 

 

But as you start to climb, it's not one to ride fast:

 

 

At the top there is a dirt section, but I fear this might all have been "fixed" when I return for another run. This is a mountain, though, and they get plenty of winter weather here, so I understand why this road might be considered a little dangerous.

We stop and check booking and google for a place to stay, and decide on one. Then just show up and ask for rates instead of settling for the internet prices, it was a good choice and was one of the best places we've slept and ate in Morocco.

 

 

It had a comfy room, a swimming pool, ducks!, and an amazing restaurant that surprised us with Moroccan flavors in a more modern cuisine than we were used to, it was delicious.

 

Dinner was outside, warm enough but with too little light for food pictures. We did have company, as always when eating outside in Morocco. 

 

A couple of old ladies from England sat on the table next to us, they were on a cooking learning trip learning different dishes in each town, and told Maria both would love to tour Morocco on a bike. One of them, having owned motorcycles for decades told us her adventures of motorcycling in the 50s and 60s in the UK. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of them.

 

 

 

We slept great.

[Pedro]

On that day, near where the goats were climbing the trees to get to the Argan fruit, Maria picked a couple of nuts off the ground and brought them as a souvenir. Later, I took the seeds out of their shell and one of them I managed to germinate into a small tree that has been growing for almost three years:

It currently looks like this

 

 

[Pedro]

On the next day, we have a nice breakfast before riding out. The weather forecast was for rain on the coast and judging by our previous days in Tan Tan and Guelmim, we would be getting shitty weather all the way back to Tangier, so instead we decided to go back via the interior which was also very much preferred next to the coast as far as roads and people. It was also understood that we wouldn't be visiting Morocco on the bike on the following year, so might as well be on our preferred roads.

Heading north still towards Marrakech, but before getting there we were turning east towards Beni Mellal and then Midelt.

 

Moroccan cruise control:

 

We were now heading to the plateau once again, but before we got there we both spent one of the most uncomfortable hours on a bike ever. Although it wasn't the hottest we've ridden through, the humidity was off the charts, we were soaked in sweat and uncomfortable. My groin ..., well, you know how it feels after a few hours like that.

We were very happy to arrive at our hotel for the evening, and I swear it took me less than 5 minutes between arriving for check-in and getting in the pool. There are no pictures of the afternoon because we didn't really care for that area and Maria was too uncomfortable to be feeling like holding up a camera.

With every part of me feeling relieved and fresh, we enjoyed a cool evening sitting outside having cold water, while being kept company by chickens unaware of the menu.

In Morocco, every animal climbs trees, or was it just trying to escape the cooking pot?

 

 

A very good night's sleep was had in our very colorfully lit hotel room.

[Pedro]

I have a few places scattered around Germany, Portugal, and Morocco, that I call home. It's always hard to leave them after only one night, and this simple hotel in the middle of a windswept plateau is one of them.

Regardless, we were to go to bed in Fes tonight, so we made way enjoying a fresh October early morning. I was aware this would be our last big open space in Morocco this year, so I cruised these valleys slower than normal (which isn't fast anyway), and even stopped for a couple of pictures

Here I am practicing my intrepid adventurer's thousand mile stare, if the camera's pointed at you don't fear a goofy pose!

 

It was a good thing the sun was now clearing the top of the mountains, as we were both a little cold.

 

I remember enjoying this vastness, aware I would miss this. Little did I know back then, how much I would miss that feeling.

 

Having a sandwich arriving at Fes, with the Morocco Rally cars and bikes passing outside

 

stopped in front of an old dealership with a forgotten S-Class inside, just stuff you notice

 

In Fes, our regular hotel was again fully booked, so we stayed next door, at a less cooler place but with an almost 4 meter deep swimming pool, enough to make my ears ache while going for the bottom.

 

 

That night we had some sort of tajine with meat after being received with open arms at a known restaurant. We shared it 

 

The next day would be a long one, although not in our plans so far.

[XTreme]

I think that's what's missing in my Ride Reports......the intrepid adventurer's thousand mile stare!

What you say @Tym?

[Pedro]

Leaving Fes was uneventful, cool enough in the morning, easy traffic, and we just comfortably made our way towards Tangier via good easy roads

 

A stork's nest is a very good use of a minaret, although I don't know how much the storks appreciate their early morning calls to payer.

 

Having bought a rug for our living room in Fes (I know, the cliché!), Maria was now enjoying a little backrest. We stopped in Tetouan for some light lunch. Tangier was about an hour away, or less, and our plan was to sleep there.

 

At our arrival in Tangier, we are way ahead of schedule, so without even stopping we decide to head for the ferry and see how much the wait is for the following crossing. Turns out we waited for half and hour of 45 minutes, and boarded headed for Spain.

It was windy and the Mediterranean was choppy.

 

Maria looking cool while the GS waits to be checked by the X-ray machine.

 

Although the catamarans making this cross are really competent boats, fast and smooth, I felt sick since the moment I sat down inside. Fortunately we were joined by another portuguese couple of were just returning for a few days as well, on a Honda NC750. I forgot their names, and forgot to take pictures as well, but fortunately I accomplished my goal of not throwing up halfway through the trip 

Getting off the boat in Spain was quick and easy, as always, you´re usually just waved by if you're European. I stop immediately after exiting the harbor, in search of a cafe with a nice firm chair for me to get my land legs back. It's still early, so we decide to ride to Faro and have a rest day there instead of splitting the trip between two days. 

Sunset was spent on the road, and we arrived at Faro well into the night, having enjoyed a night ride with temperatures as high as 30º through Sevilla.

 

The next day we woke up late, and went to the beach, we did have, after all, a day or two to spare, so spent them wisely before going back home.

 

 

This had just been my best trip ever, and I was sad it had come to an end. I will treasure these memories forever.

[XTreme]

Brilliant Pedro!

3 minutes ago, Pedro said:

you´re usually just waved by if you're European

So there'll be anal cavity searches for Brits in 3 months time then? 

[Pedro]

2 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Brilliant Pedro!

So there'll be anal cavity searches for Brits in 3 months time then? 

 

Well, it wasn't my choice 

[XTreme]

Just now, Pedro said:

 

Well, it wasn't my choice 

Well they knew what they voted for apparently Pedro! 

As Politics is off limits here I won't comment!

[Pedro]

Just now, XTreme said:

As Politics is off limits here I won't comment!

And yet you cast the first stone ...

 

Anyway, I think the ass poking stuff is reserved for later on. They have dogs sniffing cars as they wait in line to get out, although Rui did forget some hashish in his panniers and nobody told him anything. Then again, he was Portuguese!

 

[XTreme]

No......I was commenting on the restrictions facing Brit travellers from next year on!

Which is a consequence of Politics obviously.......but I made no comment on that subject.

Thinking about it......I pity the poor Customs guy that has to give @yen_powell an anal cavity search.

He'll suffer longterm PTSD after that experience for sure!