Feb-Mar 2013 Distance: 3'000km Ferry trips: 2 Vehicle: BMW F800GS
As snow was still falling on the streets of Zurich, the only way to go for a bike ride was to fly to Spain and rent a bike. I did that in the month of February 2013 when I flew to Malaga, rented a BMW 800GS, teamed up with two fellow bikers, and head of to Morocco. Looking back now I must admit that this was by far the most exhausting trip of them all. One of those trips that if I knew what would happed I would definitely stay in bed next time, instead of doing it all over again. The main reason was that we drove too many kilometers per day and secondly, as soon as we reached the west coast of Morocco a cloud came and started throwing buckets indiscriminantly on us. Although inland the weather was nice and sunny, the coast had totally different weather conditions, as it is exposed to the Atlantic ocean.
It all started on a Friday after work where I took a flight to Malaga and was picked up from the team guide, David. A scottish fellow biker also flew on the same day, who came in the name of Duncan. The guide took us to a hotel to be briefed about our trip. From there he brought a BMW R1200GS for Duncan, and a BMW F800GS for me. The bike was quite high, I could only reach the ground with one foot. It's not a bike I would be for myself, but for the next two weeks it had to do. The next morning we were off. Freezing cold winds started to whip us on the way. We started at +10 begrees, which went down to 0 in a valley where David warned us that it was colder than anything around the area. Off we were to Algeciras and after one boat ride we were in Ceuta. Ceuta is the only part of Africa which belongs to Europe. It's still Spanish territory. There I encountered the first complicated border crossing ever. It took a lot of stamps, talking, shouting, and useless paperwork to cross the border. The first thing one sees is that most cars are massively overloaded with garbage, from old tires, to broken bicycles, to pieces of metal, to mattresses, you name it it's there. One car had 7 bicycles on its roof top, all of them of different size i.e. they were not the driver's bicylced. I told David that when a bicycle gets stolen in Spain, we know where most of them end up.
It all started on a Friday after work where I took a flight to Malaga and was picked up from the team guide, David. A scottish fellow biker also flew on the same day, who came in the name of Duncan. The guide took us to a hotel to be briefed about our trip. From there he brought a BMW R1200GS for Duncan, and a BMW F800GS for me. The bike was quite high, I could only reach the ground with one foot. It's not a bike I would be for myself, but for the next two weeks it had to do. The next morning we were off. Freezing cold winds started to whip us on the way. We started at +10 begrees, which went down to 0 in a valley where David warned us that it was colder than anything around the area. Off we were to Algeciras and after one boat ride we were in Ceuta. Ceuta is the only part of Africa which belongs to Europe. It's still Spanish territory. There I encountered the first complicated border crossing ever. It took a lot of stamps, talking, shouting, and useless paperwork to cross the border. The first thing one sees is that most cars are massively overloaded with garbage, from old tires, to broken bicycles, to pieces of metal, to mattresses, you name it it's there. One car had 7 bicycles on its roof top, all of them of different size i.e. they were not the driver's bicylced. I told David that when a bicycle gets stolen in Spain, we know where most of them end up.
Hugely overloaded cars cross the border from Spain to Morocco every day, sometimes doubeling the height of the vehicle
Paperwork done and off we were. We started riding south and I must say the wind forst was incredible. Strong winds had started to blow making the ride even colder that it already was. We reached Tetouan and, being more inland, the wind stopped. From then onwards it was a straight line towards Fez, the city, where the word for fez the hat was coined. There are three main mountain ranges in Morocco, and going from North to South you have to cross all of them. The Middle Atlas, the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas.
Paperwork done and off we were. We started riding south and I must say the wind forst was incredible. Strong winds had started to blow making the ride even colder that it already was. We reached Tetouan and, being more inland, the wind stopped. From then onwards it was a straight line towards Fez, the city, where the word for fez the hat was coined. There are three main mountain ranges in Morocco, and going from North to South you have to cross all of them. The Middle Atlas, the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas.
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I saw snow in Africa for the first time. Suddently, out of nowhere, a skier started walking along the road. We found out later that there was a ski resort in the area.
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crossing the Atlas Moutainrange meant that the thermometer dropped and I had to wear my winter gear.
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nature went from green and lush to totally dry arid terrain, where nothing could grow, all with a few fours of driving. To me the surroundings looked alien.
we reached Errachida, stopped for dinner, and was told that the next destination was Merzouga. It was around 16:00 and, being Febraury, I guessed that the sun must set pretty early, so we had to keep going before it got dark.Unfortunatley my fears became true. A whole hour before reaching Merzouga it was pitch black dark and the streets don't have any lighting. We had to rely solely on the light of our bikes. Every now and again I would encounter either a bicycle with a teenager on the wheel, or a car without the headlights on, and swerve in the last minute to avoid certain death. I realised later why people don't have light. It's because human life in the part of the world is valued at approximate zero, or pretty close but not far off. |
After a very tyring drive in the pitch dark we arrived at one of the hotels in Merzouga. Being dark, we couldn't enjoy what nature was preparing for at just at our feet. The next morning we woke up to discover the ;erzouga sand desert.
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We also saw a small hut where the locals were playing music. They had even recorded their music onto a CD. I bought one to support them. When I listened to it later at home, only then did I regretd this decision. The music was not that great... |
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Top: in the desert we encountered a nomad tent. These people lived with a simple shade above their roof, no running water, no elextricity, just pure nature. There was not a lot to keep your mind occupited so days must have been very long for these people.
Right: mother & child. If you see closely, she is wearing a Calvin Klein scarf. Probably not original... their life is simple. |
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After Merzouga we turned West, towards the Atlantic. The surroundings still looked alien, we were at the borders of the Sahara Desert after all.
This is where I discovered why it's best to travel Eastwards than Westwards. Travelling West, every evening we had the sun in our eyes. For this reason, if you ever to a world trip, go East. You will always have the sun setting on your back and very clear views ahead of you. |
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We were heading towards Zagora. On the way we decided to have lunch. Strangely everything was closed, even at mid-day. Our guide then remembered that it was Friday and people were praying, so now lunch untill the prayers are finished.
On the way I encountered something that till that point I had only seen on TV. Women carrying stuff on their head. I had to take a picture of this first encounter. There is a first time for everythig and this was mine. |
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In Taroudant I encountered two strange things, because every place has a funny story. I saw a donkey pullig a cart, with a phonenumber on the side. Like... as if you could call the donkey and ask it if he/she could take you somewhere.
the second strange things was... |
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...a sign, actually I saw such signs in many towns near the desert, stating the distance from there to Timbuktu. Nothing strange with that, at first glance, till you notice that the sign states the distance in days by camel! This one stated 52 jours, as in 52 days, by camel. That is a long ride, I have nothing to complain about when my bike is in working order and there is good tarmac.
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We headed towards Taroudant. Lots of cities are built along the Asif Tifnout river, which is the only source of water for most of the year. Along the river one can see thousands upon thousands of palm trees, while 100m away from the river there is only rock.
Never ending palmtrees can be seen here in the background. It was now summer and we were all enjoying it. It was Febraury and it was warm. I was getting used to this. Little did I know what the weather was holding an Ace up its sleeve which would completely destroy our morality. But like they say, ignorance is bliss. We left Taroudant, which lies inland, and headed towards Agadir, a town on the Atlanitc coast. That's where all hell broke loose. We were greeted by strongs gales of wind and holizontal rain. Summer days were over. Little did we know that it would stay like that for weeks to come. We reached Agadir and were were drenched it rainwater. It also got a lot colder. |
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In Agadir I left my bike parked outside the hotel. Murhy knocked on my door and, as it rained all night, the hotel parking flooded. The side stand of my bike decided to give way and I found my bike lying on its side the next day. That wasn't a problem though, the problem was that the visor leaned against Duncan's bike and broke in two. A little bit of tape and two pegs and it was all fixed like new (almost).
I had to pay the rental company 100 Euros for the damage, but for every mistake there is a lesson learn. From then onwards I never parked the bike near an obstruction, just assume that the bike will fall and what could damage it. The worst would be if I had camped next to the bike, and the 200kg bike had fallen on my head. So 100 Euros lesson was a cheap one. Also, just in case, do install a base plate on your bike's side stand to avoid this from happening. |
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From Agadir we drove north. The rain wouldn't stop. That where Ié discovered that my rain gear had a tiny hole in them, at the stitch betwewen the legs, so water started seeping in. I felt like I had pissed myself with cold water.
We reached Essaouira, which is also know as "wind city", for a very good reason. It must be graet in summer when it's full of surfers, but in Febraury I wouldn't call it wind city, but "rain & wind city". My groin was drenched. The next morning I tried to find where the hole was in my rain trousers, but couldn't find it, so I thought nothing of it. The next stop was El Jadida, another town along the coast. My pants got drenched on the way again. In El Jadida we checke in at a hotel. The plan was to stay there for two night. Reading the news we realised that there was a storm throughout West Morocco and SW Spain, which meant that most ferries were cancelled. We decided to leave the next morning, or rist missing our ferry across to Spain and our flight back home. |
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Driving North my trousers became drenched again. There is a very yucky feeling when your clothes are soking wet and you just keep driving. I had almost never felt such an uncomfortable situation. Our guide told us that we would drive through Casablanca and that it was NOT a nice town, the movie with the same name was not filmed there, it was filmed in Spain. So our next stop was Rabat. We checken in at a hotel and I started looking for the little hole that let so much water in. I finally found it, and there was only one way to find it. I wore the trousers on my head, and saw where light was coming through. The silicon on the stitch had worn off. I also could not believe that this tiny hole let so much water in, how was that even possible? But yes, the culprit had been found. I couldn't fix it so had to endure one more day with wet underpants. What did I learn? Carry tape and glue to quickly fix broken gear.
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OK my underpants and my inner jacket were soaked. I hanged then next to a heater all night. The underpants were dry, but my jacket was not even close to dry. When you clothes get soaked and you don't have a tumble drier, it can take 3 days for them to dry in winter. Lesson: check your waterproof gear before leaving on an adventure.
We reached Tangier and all ferries were cancelled due to strong wings. We headed to Ceuta and took the ferry from there. We bought our tickets and were told that we have to hurry because the next ferry was leving in 20 minutes. To cut a long story short, the 20 minutes in the end were hours and hours of waiting. I don't remember how many hours becuase I lost count. Anyway, we borded a ferry which took us across into Spain. In Spain it was also raining heavily. I later found out that the whole month of March was pourloing and raining almost non stop, so it was definitely the worst time to take a bike trip. What did I learn? Don't plan specific itineraries at specific places, you never know how the weather will be. Had I been there with my own bike, and without the deadline of a flight back, I would have rerouted the trip to avoid any bad weather. So leasson learnt. It was a great adventure in the end and definitely worth it, but not something I would do again if I knew how cold it would be.
We reached Tangier and all ferries were cancelled due to strong wings. We headed to Ceuta and took the ferry from there. We bought our tickets and were told that we have to hurry because the next ferry was leving in 20 minutes. To cut a long story short, the 20 minutes in the end were hours and hours of waiting. I don't remember how many hours becuase I lost count. Anyway, we borded a ferry which took us across into Spain. In Spain it was also raining heavily. I later found out that the whole month of March was pourloing and raining almost non stop, so it was definitely the worst time to take a bike trip. What did I learn? Don't plan specific itineraries at specific places, you never know how the weather will be. Had I been there with my own bike, and without the deadline of a flight back, I would have rerouted the trip to avoid any bad weather. So leasson learnt. It was a great adventure in the end and definitely worth it, but not something I would do again if I knew how cold it would be.
