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Morocco Trip April-May 2009
Bike is an elderly Honda TransAlp with 47,000 miles on the clock which I had serviced and checked before departing. I had the tyres filled with green gunge to stop small punctures as I had read numerous accounts of tyres blowing on rough Moroccan roads. My tool kit consisted of one spanner which did not appear to fit any nut on the bike. A socket, a screw driver and a length of baler twine, a Swiss army knife and black insulating tape. I was fully prepared for the trip and all eventualities.
First aid kit
Four large plasters, 3 diarrhoea tablets and the Swiss Army knife for open heart surgery. I would have taken more diarrhea tablets but I had already consumed two after a dodgy curry from Indian take away prior to my departure.
I did not have any anti-rabies jabs but just kept my distance from Leary dogs, cats and amorous monkeys. I am not sure if camels can give you rabies so as a precaution I kept clear of them also.
Period of journey 22nd April till 6th May 2009
Due to the ferry booking it was 15days. Portsmouth to Santander and back Santander to Plymouth......I eventually returned early and managed to catch the ferry back to Portsmouth.
Experience
Only my second trip abroad on the bike. The first was to northern France for five days last summer.
Purpose of trip
To see how far I could get down into Morocco with no clear plan or agenda and to run out of road.
Reference material.
Lonely Planet Guide to Morocco which everybody seems to have. Some of its accommodation reference is a bit iffy. Especially the mad public school speaking Moroccan in Moulay-Bousselham. I'm not sure which planet he was on but I am sure it was not the same one I inhabit.
Best Parts
The road from Azrou (R13) down to Rissani on the edge of Sahara sand dunes and the end of tarmac. From cedar forests and monkeys to Hollywood Arabs on camels with stunning scenery. Snow capped mountains, oasis and desert. What more can you ask for.
Worst part
Not realising that it could rain, snow and freeze in one day. Moroccan drivers who decide that overtaking on a blind corners is a life enhancing experience.
The Port of Tangier’s. It is hard to work out if the customs, police and the ferry company are all in the same scam. As soon as you disembark there seems to be an endless chaos in which I was obliged to hire a tout just to enter the country. The touts greet all passengers showing a made up plastic Identification tag and ask for the passport and paper work with regards the vehicle you are driving. He then buggers off with all the paper work and returns demanding a huge fee for the brilliant job getting the necessary stamps and certificates. I cannot understand why our government does not do this at Heathrow and Dover.
Speeding
The police seem to set up speed radar traps before most towns. Although I didn't get stopped it is wise to be careful when approaching a village or town. Fines are negotiable
Best Hotel
This is difficult I did use those recommended in the Lonely Planet Guide but I would think that there are lots that are just as good and do not get a mention. I was spending on average about £35 to £50 a night. I could have gone cheaper but I didn't have to. A tent would have been a good option as there were lots of camp sites. I was also travelling alone so single rooms were expensive.
Moulay Bousselham
Villanora www.villanoramorocco.ifrance.com
This was the first stop after Tangier. The house (villa) overlooks the Atlantic) good large rooms and free Internet access. Strange mad looking English speaking Moroccan. The town is a bit of a dump and there seems to be **** and crap all over the place, although Lonely Planet gives the town a nice write-up. There is also meant to b e a bird reserve here but the weather was so stormy that I moved on after one night. It’s a good stop off for the first night in Morocco and takes about four hours from the port to get here (130 kl)
Azrou
Hotel Le Panorama.
The hotel is up the hill on the right of the town and overlooks the town. There were lots of other bikers here. The room was clean and basic with shower and loo. The breakfast was a bit on the lean side but it is a good place to chat to other bikers about routes.
Erfoud
I stayed out of Erfoud in a small town just before, called Maadid. I stayed two nights at the Raid Nour. It was like a small castle with a nice pool. The staff was friendly although they did not do an evening meal but sent me to a restaurant 100 yards up the road. The place is owned by a Taurag and the second night he and his buddies had an impromptu jamming session on drum and tom toms. He does try to sell his tours but he is not that persistent. A nice place and I used it to go for the day down to Rissani where the road ends and where there are giant sand dunes to play in. There are lots of places to stay in this area.
Erfoud is full of touts although a guided walk for £1 was OK especially when I explained that I was on a bike and couldn't possibly fit a carpet on it. I was also hassled by a man demanding parking money. He had a plastic badge round his neck which said “Official Parking Custodian” with his picture. I reckoned he couldn't read so I showed him my “European Health Insurance Card” and said Police......he ***** off!
Toll Road
There is a toll road all the way from Tangiers down to Marrakesh and Agadir. The tolls are not expensive and while the monotonous motorway driving is a bit boring it does mean you can get down south quickly. I came back up from Marrakesh leaving at 8.30 and was back in Spain on the fast Catermaran crossing to Tarifa by 6.30 that evening.
Spain
I took the Brittany Ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Santander. I stopped at Salamanca the first night going down. (A really pretty city with the most amazing square and cathedral) and then drove onto Tarifa for the fast ferry crossing to Tangier. I stayed one night in Tarifa. It's a laid back Spanish surfing resort, lots of hostel accommodation. The ticket office is down at the port. The ferry takes about 40 minutes to cross...........and about 11/2 hours to get through Tangier customs, police etc
Entering Morocco
You need to buy Moroccan insurance either for 5 of 10 days (available from an office cabin at the port) you also need a Police entry number from the Police department upstairs. You then need to return to the customs with the Police entry number and show all your paperwork for the bike to the customs who then issue with a white form which shows that you have come into Morocco with a bike. Do not lose this paper as you need to show it in Morocco and hand it in when you depart the country. If you have an accident and the bike is a write off then this form is needed so that you may depart Morocco and not hand over a huge sum of money. The police need to report the loss of the bike and a formal claim has to be made on insurance........Do not have an accident!
My bike
The Honda tranalp went really well considering it has nearly 50,000 miles on the clock. I did drop it on gravel when going round a sharp corner on a mountain road. As a result of this accident, while doing 80mph on the toll road due north back up to Tangier, the front body panel started to flap away from the bike. Luckily I had a spare bungee and insulating tap and bodged the panel back onto the frame.
Spanish Roads
The new roads down to southern Spain lack services and in most cases I had to turn off the road to get petrol which is a slight problem as the return to the motorway sometime involved a long detour......how I longed for a larger petrol tank. On the route down I nearly ran out of petrol and was only saved by the last casp of fuel from the reserve. I always started to look for fuel when the milometer read about 60 miles when it got to 100. I reset milometer after each refueling.
Route taken
Portsmouth,Santander,Salamanca,Tarifa, fast ferry
Morocco
Tanger,Moulay-Bousselham,Azrou,Maadid,Rissani,Tinejdad,Ait-Benhaddou,Marrakesh,Tanjers
Spain.
Tarifa, Algerciras,Sevilla,Caceras,Salamanca,Valladolid,Sa ntander.
Departed Wednesday 22nd April returned Wednesday 6th May. Miles covered lots. Accidents one.
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Oh, and a very nice RD04 HRC coloured Marathon Replica
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