Nelson, B.C. Afterthoughts on the Magical Morocco Tour.

On the last night at dinner Sergi, our guide, talked a bit more about a tour he is proposing to IMT. He has designed a Southern Morocco tour. They would subcontract the motorcycle rentals to an outfit in Marrakesh, where the tour would begin. By flying into Marrakesh this would eliminate the Spain-Morocco border crossing “experiences”.  He claims that South Moroccans are different than North Moroccans. Although poorer in that much of the land is not particularly arable they seem to be more friendly, genuine and perhaps even happier. We agree with his premises. We saw many southern smiles and would consider returning to see more. Besides, we were just getting the hang of camel riding.

Nearly 19% of the rural Moroccan population live in poverty. It was suggested that we avoid giving money to children in these areas as their parents may send them out to beg instead of going to school. Various barriers exist to prevent children from going to school resulting in an illiteracy rate in excess of 50% in some rural areas. A better gift would be a pen to take to school.

 I suppose if there is one aspect of Morocco that we found unappealing is the haggling way of doing business with tourists. We have run into this before in Turkey and have been told they consider it part of their culture. We do know that they markedly inflate prices for tourists because we have done some comparison shopping in “non-tourist” shops. There is no haggling there. No “part of the culture” there. After a while it feels like these friendly people are simply out to cheat you and they are very good at it, detracting from the whole experience. If there is no written price on the item, watch out. This is compounded by the pestering “hawker” technique of selling which is often annoying. Some people may enjoy this “game”. We do not.

It was interesting to compare this tour with our past guided tour of the Balkans with Adriatic Mototours. Although there were some differences, we would easily entrust both IMT and Adriatic to again provide us with a guided motorcycle tour. Perhaps even more interesting is to compare our unguided tour of Northern Europe last summer with both of the guided tours. We managed to book our own accommodation and design our own routes fairly easily. We also had the time to pursue our own agenda. Yet undoubtedly we missed many interesting activities. Also someone who was conversant in the European “language du jour” would have avoided/alleviated numerous minor frustrations we encountered on our own.  An interesting side note occurred last summer after Doug gave our Northern Europe presentation to the attendees at the Beartooth Beemers motorcycle rally in Red Lodge, Montana. A fellow motorcyclist came up and asked if we would be interested in leading a guided tour of Northern Europe! So I guess it is all in one’s perspective. . .

By the way, on the return trip after three days we did finally recover our “delayed” bag (containing all our motorcycling gear!). Apparently it took a side trip to Amsterdam.  Had that happened on the way there it would have been a disaster! 

A Moroccan Smile.

Malaga, Spain – 224 km

We were on the road in Ceuta by 8 am this morning – but not for long as 5 minutes later we found ourselves at the ferry terminal. Loading was straight forward as was the sail across the Strait of Gibralter. It was perhaps a bit rougher than the trip over but still not too bad. It is a quick 45 minute trip though they did advise everyone to stay seated and locate the “bags” behind your seat if you needed one during the journey. None of us did and in fact most had a little nap after being up so early. Soon after we landed we had a coffee break and unloaded Tom’s bike from the van so he could finish the ride with us. Debbie opted to ride in the van to eliminate the extra stress of a passenger on his sore shoulder. He did fine today and enjoyed the ride immensely.

Basically what we did today was to retrace our route from tour day 1 but in reverse. It is a very winding road which traverses 3 passes on the way to Malaga. In actuality we could have taken the freeway but would have missed all the great scenery and good motorcycling roads.

We stopped at the mountain town of Rondo for lunch. Rondo is literally built on a cliff and has some interesting roots in Roman times. It has gotten very touristy but we enjoyed it and our lunch at an outdoor café.

When we got back to Malaga we rode to the bike shop to drop off all the bikes and were taxied to our hotel, the same one we used on arrival.

So. . .that is our “Magical Morocco Tour”. It was truly an amazing experience, one which we will reflect upon over the next few days and perhaps add some more thoughts and analyses as they arise.

Erik and Sergi, our tour guides did an outstanding job in keeping us safe, entertained with stories/antics and well informed. They led us to some great motorcycling and adventure.

Tonight we said goodbye to our fellow tourers and guides after an excellent Spanish dinner at a local restaurant. We will all leave for various destinations tomorrow: from A to B (Akron to Barcelona) and other points on the globe. We hope you enjoyed following our motorcycle adventure on this blog!

Roadside flea market in Morocco

Moroccan truck

Rondo bullfighting arena

Hotel Parador in Ronda

Goodbye K1600!

Thanks for reading!

Ceuta, Spain – 314 km

After his tip-over yesterday, Tom elected not to ride today. He is on some painkillers to control the chest bruise he sustained from the handlebar. Other than a bit sore he is doing OK.

Morning traffic chaos getting out of Rabat was pronounced. But as we left the hotel and entered the roundabout the local police stopped the traffic so we could all get fully around and on our way without being separated. It wasn’t long before we were on the “autobahn” (freeway). It almost made us feel like we were out of Morocco with good pavement and straight roads and a 120kph speed limit. We actually used the cruise control! After a quick hour and a half and three toll booths we stopped for coffee/mint tea.

It seems like we have now reached the end of places where children are approaching the bikes enthusiastically. Yesterday one young fellow just kept hanging around until Norma gave him a hacky sack and a pen. He went away smiling. We still have a bag full of stuff so will leave it with the guides for their next tour.

The tour would normally stop in the big city of Tanger but after a discussion last evening we all agreed we would rather not so we stopped in Assilah, a pretty seaside port for a visit to a lovely medina and lunch. We were treated to some very good seafood, shrimp, calamari, etc. and of course more olives! There is good surfing in the area so we saw a few motorhomes camped there.

The medina was so calm and civilized compared with the previous ones we has visited. No one badgering us to buy, just everyone happy to show us their wares. Having said that we were badgered by men at the harbour where we parked the bikes. “Very good coral necklace, my wife make, will bring you luck, she be mad if I don’t bring home the money!” The last part of the ride was along the ocean and eventually into the Rif Mountains. We had been warned it might be windy and it was. Everyone battled the wind but at least it was relatively short lived. This section was also complicated by a lot of road construction so it was hard to trust the pavement.

The next challenge was the border crossing back into the African Spanish enclave of Cueta. Patience was the key word. It took almost two hours to get through with four separate areas where they checked our passports and bike papers. Along the way getting to the border there are hundreds of people with their belongings waiting for a chance to get out of Morocco/Africa. The border guards do a thorough check of vehicles, apparently looking for hollowed out areas where someone can hide. We watched the car in front of us get taken apart. Too bad we couldn’t have videoed it but apparently that is a good way to lose your camera.

We now find ourselves with one more day on the tour, a return trip to Malaga through Spain after we catch the 9 am ferry to the Spanish mainland.

Seaside Assilah

Atlantic coast

Norma with gifts for children

Rabat Mausoleum

Riding through Tanger

Sign in our room showing the direction of Mecca

Rabat, Morocco – 410 km

Darn it Doug. Why did you play that song? You know which song I mean – “Train to Marrakesh”! I can’t get it out of my head even though we have left Marrakesh behind.

We left Marrakesh in the usual chaotic Moroccan traffic at about 8 am knowing that we had one of our longer days today. The first hour or so was very foggy. It was almost surreal seeing Jedi robed individuals appearing in the mist at the side of the road. We have left the poorer desert areas of the south and into farm lands, orange and olive orchards and open spaces. The pavement was been pretty good except for the roundabouts in the town where they are rutted.

Once the fog burned off the ride today was very nice – mostly good pavement and some sweeping corners mixed with curves. We have been trying to give away the ball point pens and other items we brought for the children and have resorted to slowing down when we see a group and tossing them from the bike. In retrospect we probably should have made a more concerted effort to give them away in the south of the country which is much poorer than the north. Our coffee stop was pretty typical of this. Again only holes in the ground for toilets so the ladies opted to wait to stop at a more modern gas station.

We also have been taking pictures of some of the strange (to us) vehicles we have encountered along the way. See 3 examples attached. There are so many different modes of transportation here but whatever works is what they do. From camel to donkey to scooter to 8 men piled into the box of a truck standing up and going 90 km an hour!

Lunch was at a roadside café where we enjoyed sitting out in the sun. We both had kebabs and the total bill was only 69 dirham or about $6.90US. Gas prices have ranged from 9.11 to 9.41 dirhams per litre which is on par to what we pay at home.

We arrived at our hotel at about 5:30 and had an unfortunate incident heading into the downstairs parking area. Just ahead of us Tom dropped his bike hard going down the ramp. We were right behind him but managed to avoid hitting him, continued down, parked and went back to assist. We suspect that will be all the riding he will be doing this trip (there is room for his bike in the van). He is very sore. We had the helmet cam on at the time and may show the record of his fall but not tonight. Luckily Debbie had gotten off at the top of the ramp or it could have been even worse.

Since we had a few minutes before dinner we decided to walk down to the market. It was very busy. People were everywhere. The lineup for the bus was four thick and the entire block long. Then a bus came and Doug thought it would be neat to get shots of the bus boarding chaos. Unfortunately a number of Moroccan males took exception to this and started screaming at us. We had been warned not to take “portrait shots” but this was far from that. One of them grabbed at Doug. Mistake. He was still yelling but in a scared voice as we walked briskly away. Welcome to the capital of Morocco: Rabat.

Tomorrow we ride to Ceuta, which is actually part of Spain in Africa. Which means tomorrow will be our last day in Morocco.

Trike with box

Trike with different box

The police are active

Bougainvillea

Child carrier

Looks like it may take off!

Marrakesh, Morocco – 2nd day

This is the first rest day the guides have not provided a tour of some sort so we were on our own. They are off to wash some of the construction mud off the bikes. But before we get into our day let us tell you about last night!

We were shuttled down to the main square for a view of the sites. The area was really quiet, probably due to the rain and cooler weather, though the rain had stopped by the time we got there. Sergi gave us a bit of a tour of the square and the surrounding area and some advice on what to expect and how to deal with the vendors. Into the medina we went. What an experience with pedal bikes, scooters, people, and lots of action in the very narrow street. Street vendors of all kinds selling food and anything else you might want. We eventually made it through the mess to the restaurant. It was the usual Moroccan fare with the “salad” started of seven little dishes of stuff, olives and the lovely bread. The main course was lamb tagine. But then the real entertainment began. The music got louder and out came the belly dancers. One had a tray of candles on her head. She was fully clothed. She proceeded to place it on Tom’s head. The next one came out scantily dressed and some men’s eyes did not leave her chest! All in all a lot of fun.

Today we decided to hire a driver and car to see some of the sites. We shared this with fellow tourers Tom and Debbie and the entire four hours of his vehicle and time was only 500 dirham, about 50 US dollars. He hoped to make some extra money by taking us to places of his choice: a guided tannery visit to see the process and purchase the result – it cost for the “guide”, a visit to an argon oil factory (same MO) – we declined and a restaurant for lunch (same MO) – we declined. The tannery visit was a little more interesting than the one in Fez as we actually walked among the vats. The smell can be pretty bad but they gave us each a sprig of mint to smell. They also have nesting boxes around to encourage the pigeons as they use the poop for the lime. We did tour a palace: Palais de Bahia and a tomb: Tombeaux Saadiens and marveled at the intricate woodwork and mosaics. As well we got him to take us to an olive orchard to walk around.

We finally got him to drive us to the famous medina and leave us there despite his protestations that we should go here or there. Poor guy. We didn’t co-operate much with him.

The Medina of Marrakesh is very famous and undoubtedly you have heard of the snake charmers of the medina. We were warned about them trying to force drugged snakes on people. Also about the monkey handlers trying to get you to hold a monkey. We gave these a wide birth, although one of them caught Norma taking a “free picture” but she quickly escaped. There are many markets called souks specializing in fruit, textiles, jewelry, etc. We had a look around and walked the 45 minutes back to the hotel, looking forward to an early dinner and evening for a change.

Tomorrow we ride to Rabat, the capitol of Morocco. The weather forecast is good. BTW we heard today the pass we came over yesterday closed in the evening and the view from Marrakesh shows a lot of SNOW up there. Lucky for us as if it had been closed yesterday our day in Marrakesh would have been cancelled and we would have had to make the over 800km trek around. We are not going back.

Tom with candle tray on head

Mosque

Palace

Tomb

Olive grove area

Fruit Vendor

Monkey Handler

Snake Handler

Tannery

Hotel pool sign

We were there!

Marrakesh, Morocco – 200 km

Well, we suppose we deserved today. After taking the beautiful desert sunshine and good roads we have had for granted, Mother Nature, in conjunction with the Moroccan Dept. of Highways decided to remind us that it isn’t always that way. It has been a real mixed bag. We started under overcast skies at about 4 degrees, saw some sunshine then rain (occasionally heavy) for the last hour and a half. Luckily the rain didn’t start during the ride through construction. We now see why the 200 km took take all day!

The Moroccans haven’t figured out how to keep the rocks from falling on their newly paved highway. No wire mesh like at home so it can be a constant repair job and a hazard we needed to watch for on most corners. The guard rails are mostly hand built rock walls and many men were busy placing rocks while others “clayed” them into place. The flag person is just a fellow, sometimes with a red flag that he waves but often not, to direct traffic.

Today’s ride took us through the high Atlas Mountains on a pass claiming to be the second highest in Africa. The road was rough part of the way so riders had to watch for ruts, holes, rocks, sheep herds and more but at least it was very scenic. The construction taking place is to remove a lot of the curves so they have blasted areas through the rock but not got it cleared yet. Maybe in 10 years??? Some places were a real mess.

Again today we saw families riding camels and donkeys and women heavily laden with supplies for home. You wonder how they can even walk with the big bundles.

Our first stop was at the summit of the pass for coffee/mint tea break. It was pretty windy and cool but we still managed the usual group photo and even had the “boys” Sergi and Erik entertaining us and placing an IMT tour company sticker on the sign. As at every stop there are hawkers trying to sell their wares.

For lunch today we had a “picnic”. It was planned for lunch of “make yourself sandwiches” on the terrace but it was a bit cool and windy so we were able to gather around the fireplace to eat. Everyone seemed to enjoy the change from the usual lunch of tagine and/or couscous.

The drive into Marrakech was Fez-like chaos with cars, taxis, scooters, people walking and buses coming from all directions. Add to that the rain. Most of the drivers are really good about letting us stay in a group. You may only have a 3^rd of a lane and are wedged between a truck and a bus but that is your spot and traffic respects that. The hotel entrance came upon us too quickly so with Norma’s directions Doug went around the corner and came back on the sidewalk to the parking garage entrance. It wasn’t nearly as interesting as our sidewalk ride in Sarajevo, but at least we got one in this trip! In spite of all this we all arrived safely at our destination.

Women with bundles

Construction

More construction

Sergi places IMT sticker on summit sign

Our guides (Sergi and Erik)

Roadside hawker

Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco – 215 km

With a very cool start (3C) we made our way north following the oasis created by the Dades River. It is amazing how desolate the area looks except around the river where there is a lush green area with lots of palm trees. The road surface was a bit broken in areas, not quite as good as previous days.

We rode through many small sleepy villages past some pretty red rock and formations. These are known as monkey hands similar to the hoodoos we see at home. The aim of this ride was to get to the Dades River canyon viewpoint which entails five very sharp switchbacks on a narrow road. We were given the option of riding up or leaving the bikes at the bottom and riding up in the van. Three bikes, us included, opted for the latter (this is not a good “2-up on a 700 lb. 1600 cc motorcycle” road – see picture). As it would have meant the van would need to make three trips Norma rode up with Sergi, the guide. It gave her a chance to ride on BMW’s GS 1200 adventure bike! It was a fun ride, watching for oncoming traffic. Once we were all at the top we had our coffee/mint tea break and photo ops. It was very impressive seeing how the road climbed up to this point. The road doesn’t go where we were going so we needed to head back down the same piece of road. Apparently it turns into a dirt road shortly after where we stopped.

Overall it was a very pleasant ride in the afternoon, again seeing the desert with oases and small towns. It is known as the “Route of the Kasbahs”. Once again the small boys seemed to be delighted as we rode by. Often we saw women with large bundles of sticks for burning and hay for animals. The men seemed to be mostly sitting around. One of the larger towns we passed through was Quarzazate (so-called Moroccan Hollywood) where many movies have been made. We even passed the some of the studios. On our way out we passed one of the ubiquitous police checkpoints, this time we captured an image.

Our lunch break was at a very impressive Riad hotel where apparently movies have been filmed. There were a few props scattered about. We all opted for pizza as tonight is tagine. We had an outside lunch around the pool.

After lunch we rode to the Ait Ben Haddou kasbah for a walk through and possible shopping. Lots of stuff we weren’t sure was authentic. None of us shopped, we just opted to visit and enjoy the views and the sunshine. This is where some scenes from Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. Just up the road our accommodation tonight is a Boutique Hotel in Moroccan style of course.

Tomorrow we go to Marrakesh! Remember: “Would you know we're riding on the Marrakesh Express”?

Road to Dades River Gorge Viewpoint

Dades River Gorge

Morocco Roadside abode

Police Checkpoint

Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah

Firewood Donkey 

View from our window

Boumalne Dades, Morocco – 267 km

Because we had many straight roads and not much distance to travel today we did not start until 10 am. The day was unusual in that it did not warm up much. Temperatures ranged from 7.5C to 13.5C with a lot of the riding around 10-12C. Our cool weather gear is coming in handy.

The first part of the ride was through a flat, arid plain to the town of Alnif. There we were met by the proprietor of a restaurant/hotel where we stopped for a coffee/mint tea break. It was suggested that we could leave a few pens and trinkets for the children as this was not an affluent area. Norma took care of this task and the children were very polite (the restaurant owner rode herd on them a bit). He gladly accepted a Canada sticker and insisted he take a picture of the 4 Canadians. He put the sticker on his door.

We then headed to Todra Gorge. This is a limestone river canyon with walls up to 400 meters high. The route to the gorge passed through several small towns where it seems all the children are out to wave at us and  give us the standard throttle twist signal. The canyon was great however we were met and pestered by persistent souvenir sellers. One of the Moroccan tourists asked to have his picture taken with the bike so Doug obliged but would not let him mount the machine as he requested.

The highlight of the day occurred just out of the gorge as we stopped at Said’s place (a Berber family) for lunch. There we were welcomed into their home. This came about several years ago as the tour company used to stop outside this home to take pictures of the oasis below. Said would be out trying to sell his wares and after seeing the same guides several times asked them into his home. This progressed to asking the entire group in for lunch and has now become part of the tour. They served us a delicious homemade meal of bread, kabobs and tagine, dressed us in Berber costumes and entertained us with music and dance. It was great fun with everyone taking part in the dancing. A bottle of Jim Beam was gratefully accepted on the sly!

We then rode the remainder of the distance to Boumalne Dades and watched the sky grow progressively darker. No rain YET. Again we were greeted by the drummers and dancers and the fellow serving mint tea. This is the custom at many of the hotels. Also several of the hotels (but not this one) have metal detectors for us to walk through though no one seems to be monitoring the beeping.

We had been told prior to arriving in Morocco that we will notice a different way of greeting and may be surprised to see it. Men greet men with a hand shake, hug and cheek kiss. They may walk hand in hand for short distances as they are chatting. At first it was a surprise but now it is a common view.

Tomorrow could be our most challenging day. The weather forecast is not good (-1C tonight) and possible rain tomorrow.

Berber host

Tagine

Kebabs

Berber couple with band

The wave

Excited to see the big bike

Todra canyon