MCT2404 The Morocco Tour has started.
John and Dieter went with Angela to tour the city of Malaga
The tension could already be felt in the morning at breakfast. Everyone was obviously up for the adventure and so we took the quickest route to Algeciras. The waiting time until we boarded the ferry to Ceuta flew by, our motorbikes were lashed on board and before we knew it, the ferry left. Thanks to calm seas, we reached North Africa in about 45 minutes. Crossing the border from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta to Morocco took much longer. Despite a short break, we reached our destination for the day, Chefchaouen, the “Blue City”, in daylight.
We leave the colorful town of Chefchaouen behind us and continue south. The Roman excavations of Volubilis are our main attraction today and of course we also take the time for sightseeing. At the end of our day's ride we treat ourselves to a coffee in Morocco's "Switzerland", the town of Ifrane.
After our start in the morning, the first route took us to the Ifrane National Park, known for its Moroccan cedars and the Barbary macaques, both of which are endangered species of their kind. Apparently we were too early - or the monkeys are not early risers. While one looked down from the tree in boredom, the other one could be persuaded to do a photo shoot with a few peanuts. We then followed the road that leads from the Middle Atlas to the plains around Marakech. But that wasn't our goal. After a real Tangine orgy in Kenifran, we soon reached the large open areas used intensively for agriculture, but preferred to drive again into the mountains to the Bin-el-Quidan reservoir. We were rewarded with “boot beer” and a great sunset.
What a wonderful morning with a panorama straight out of a picture book! The road takes us west on a winding route. Uphill, downhill, through villages, past children and adults who watch us curiously. Markus' group reaches the first highlight, the Cascades d' Ouzoud, a little late because Dennis ends up stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken, irreparable tire. Thankfully, Ralph isn't that far away in the van yet so he can rush to help. The motorcycle is quickly loaded and Dennis and Joann are on the direct route to Marrakech with Ralf. The others marvel at the waterfalls and after lunch the tour partly leads along narrow roads in the hinterland towards the big city. Marrakech welcomes us with rush hour in the evening. Hundreds of scooters, cars and taxis driving all over the place, and a horse-drawn cart in between are a challenge for some of us when it comes to city traffic. Nevertheless, everyone arrives at the hotel, albeit a little sweaty.
After the first five days of travel it was time for a restday. Did the tourguides say rest? We met at 9:30 with Ahmed, our local guide from Marrakech and went to explore the city. walking through the Medhina we learned about the town and its history, about last year's earthquake and many other things. Ahmed shared his knowledge about his hometown with passion. in the evening we went back downtown for dinner and a walk across Emnaa el Fna.
At the morning briefing we learned about the High Atlas before we were told where the trip will lead us today. Getting out of town was easy, compared what we were going through on the way in. The first 40 miles towards the foothills of the mountains were straight and kind of boring, but then the adventure started. The tourguides let us from their leash and we got about 50 kilometers of outstanding road to do on our own pace climbing the mountain. A short coffee stop in between, and then we headed for the highest point of the road, Tizi-n-Tchika Pass. The fun did not stop there! Turning of from the mainroad we went towards our lunchstop in Telouet. Unfortunately the Kashba got heavily damaged by the earthquake last September, but at least we were guided around the outside by a local guide, telling us about the Glaoui-Clan and its history. Cruising through outstanding scenery we reached Ait Benhaddou for a last break before heading on to Quazarzate, our destination for today.
Have you ever been in a film production place? No? Well then come with us to the film studios in Ouarzazate! A whole host of world-famous productions have been filmed here. In the Dades Gorge we enjoy Markus' delicious picnic.
Today another gorge is waiting for us to ride through - the Thoghra Gorge. Impressive rock overhangs elicit an awed "WOW" from us. After our coffee stop there, we continue on into the desert. Today, too, there is a picnic. This time, Ralph feeds us. The crowning finale is our camel ride into the Sahara desert, or more precisely, into its Moroccan part, the Erg Chebbi. We will spend the night in the sand dunes.
A well-deserved rest between the sand dunes. Of course not without a bit of excitement. Markus and Angela were part of the early risers for the sunrise camel ride. Some of our team went for a quad ride in the afternoon - a ton of fun that is !!
What a day! We were told allready the night before, that this will be a long day, so we took an early start and took off in Merzhouga at 8 o'clock. A little drizzle did not slow us down and we kept it rolling towards Erfoud, the capital of dates. We followed the Ziz Valley, one of the big oasis of Morocco, north. The mountainranges we crossed are getting higher and we cut through Jebel Timetrout through the Gorges du Ziz. Barren and specular countryside through the gorge, where legionares built a road and tunnel through in 1926 / 27. The temperatures were low - no wonder, as the surrounding mountains are reaching up to 6000 feet and more. Midelt, were we had our lunchstop is on about 4500 feet. Descending towards Fes, our overnight town, we get out of the Atlas Mountains and back to warmer temperatures
After being on the road for almost two weeks nobody complained about sleeping in this morning. Instead of riding we met at 9:30 with Ahmed, who took us to the medhina of Fes. we started at the pottery a bit outside of town, where we watched the craftsmen, better to say the artists doing there unique work. All pieces are handmade and handpainted. In an other section we could watch them chiseling small pieces from tiles in different shapes to make parts for a mosaique. Afterwards we continued with a walk through the sug. You just need to take in the flair, the smells, the colours and pictures and you feel like Ali Baba in "The One Thousend and One Nights", walking through his hometown. Before lunch we visited a tannery and leather shop - fortunatly the food at the restaurant smelt way better. The excellent lunch was the end of our city tour and we returned to the hotel, taking a rest befor we will head back to the Medhina for dinner.
Fes to Quazzane was an easy one! The countryside changed from what we were used during the last ten days, all over sudden it looked more like Spain then Morrocco - Ralph called it "Little Andalusia" - and that's what it looks like. Rolling hills, olive trees everywhere and hundreds of curves. After our lunch it continued like that, only more curves. On the one side it was exhausting, on the other one for some of us a little challenge. We arrived this time in Chefchaoun in the afternoon and were able to spend the rest of the "funny" money in the shops of the Blue City
When time flies by, it is usually a good sign that you enjoyed what you have done. And that's the case with this tour. Before we knew it, our last day of riding came up. From Chefchaouen we made our way straight back to the Moroccan border and then on to the ferry. In contrast to our ferry ride on the first day, our return journey on the ferry was extremely "moving". Water bottles took on a life of their own, walking between the row of seats felt more like a drunken sailor - but that was only thanks to the strong sea. Most people took a short nap and hardly noticed the rocking. The crossing was only short anyway. But then we went quickly back to Malaga on the motorway. Once we got back to the hotel, we rounded off the day and the entire tour with an enjoyable evening.
Thanks to all of you for a great tour! Everybody is getting prepared to fly out of Malaga soon or later. While others fly out, Ralph takes our bikes back to Austria - he will have the longest travel. We wish you all the best and hope to see you again somewhen somewhere. Angela, Ralph and Markus