Morocco Maidens (MCT190A)
A new special edition of our Morocco tour is about to start... This time female only! A group from US organised by Anne Lee is about to start our Spain-Gibraltar-Morocco tour: Pamela, Kelly, Dawn, Halsey, Kera, Melanie, Annette, Chrstine and of course Anne Lee as well. Tom and Manuel will be their guides... Let's go to the briefing!
Today it's time to let the engines roar! After a sunrise-breakfast (here in Andalusia we are at the very end of the European time zone, so sunsets are late and sunrises early - compared to Austria for example) we jump on our bikes: direction Gibraltar! Arriving from the "autopista" - the Spanish highway - the sight of the Rock is quite impressive. After a few more km we formally leave Spain and enter "UK" in Gibraltar. A funny local guide and minivan driver takes us for a tour to the cave and the top of the rock, where we befriends the local monkeys (macaques). Our ferry is already waiting for us, so we continue our ride towards Algerias. Just a short ferry crosisng and we land in Africa! So close to Europe, yet so different. Tomorrow our adventures enters Morocco!
Here we are. We made it to Morocco!
Today we cross entirely the Rif mountains riding a spectacular road to Ksar El Kebir, reaching in the evening the Atlantic coast in Mohammedia.
Casablanca is our highlight today. The mosque Hassan II is a majestic piece of art. After our visit we enjoy our lunch at a beach club before continuing our ride to Marrakech.
After the last long rides of the previous days it's time to enjoy some rest from our bikes. Marrakech has so much to offer, with its intense scents, saturated colours and frenetic souks...
Leaving Marrakech today leads us into the Atlas mountain range. After crossing some of the lush gardens of this city we start to climb the Tizi-n-Ticka pass. Afterwards, the route of the Kasbah brings us to Telouet for a lunch in a berber tent. The hotel of our overnight is a highlight ad well, allowing us to unwind after such an intense ride.
We are continuing our ride towards east, approaching the Dunes of Merzouga in the desert. We will take a sidetrip into the very narrow Gorge du Todra on the way there, refilling then our stomach with a great picnic prepared by Tom in the desert.
After the night spent in the desert we ride our camles back to the edge of the desert and take a short ride to the next hotel. A day of relax in this palace is surely well deserved.
We start riding north, leaving the desert behind us - and so all those beautiful memories. It's a long and tough ride today, across a mountain pass with cold temperature, rain and fog. Everyone made it, congrats! Tomorrow we have another rest day, exploring the maze of the Medina in Fes.
Today we explore the maze of the Medina of Fes. It's really like a giant labyrinth. After visiting the potteries and the tannery we can enjoy lunch in a riad, leaving enough shopping and free time in the afternoon.
An incredible morning ride is putting big smiles on our faces. The mountains and hills north of Fes are the perfect playground for a motorcyclist! Later in the day we climb the Rif mountains again (we left them at the beginning of the tour, when we went from Chefchaouen to the Atlantic coast). Hello Blue City, here we are once again!
Every fairy tale comes to an end, sooner or later. And so this is the day where we all ride back to Malaga, crossing again the border in Ceuta and then taking the ferry ride to Algeciras, followed by the 140km highway ride to Malaga. Thank you everyone for being part of this intense journey across 3 countries and 2 continents, filled with countless photos, smiles, laughs, tajines, olives and orange juices. It's been a pleasure accompanying you through this adventure! See you soon! Manuel & Tom