Moto Morocco

Ride reports from previous trips

Going Berserk Amongst the Berbers

Excerpts from a ride report from Paul G, April 2009 Off-road trip

You can read the full version of Paul’s report that starts from the point where he left Portsmouth HERE on UKGSER.com, where it was originally posted. (many thanks to Paul Grove, owner of UKGSER.com, and Paul  the author of this report for their kind permission to reproduce parts of it here)

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PAUL:

So this will take a few hours to get loaded up, what with the photos and the writing. About the photos, some of them are mine, some are taken by others (for which I am truly grateful). Equally important, I hope this is as much the story of the folks I shared my great adventure with.

Day Zero: Saturday 4th April 2009

I sleep through breakfast this morning, but get up slowly and once organised go over to meet Bill, who has been here for a few days, and Speggo (Steve) who arrived last night. I have a little bit of joshing with Speggo about having my hand shaken in the pizza restaurant last night because of the bike I ride mentioning, “you wouldn’t get that with an 1150″

Quick as a flash Speggo replies, “probably shook your hand for making it this far without breaking down”

……..card marked I have a long memory…….I wonder if the voodoo doll will have any effect on Speggo’s holiday…..I get an early reply in by mentioning the havoc I can cause with a roll of gaffa tape though….

It’s not long again and Reg has arrived. I convince him to come and stay at my hotel (you see a pattern forming here….). A quick change over and we all go out for some food, tomorrow the rest of the gang arrive but for now we’re enjoying food and beer. Speggo and Bill tell stories of Scooters to the Sahara, I’m enthralled by it all. Being an African and knowing the answer, we all agree once you visit the place it gets under your skin and you can’t shake it off

Back to the hotel though and I wander about the Bhuddist temple grounds barefoot connecting with the earth, not even Bill’s scary talk of Morocco can disrupt the peace I feel inside today….

Day One: Sunday 5th April 2009

Another lazy start to the day although I spend some time channel surfing until I find WWE in Spanish….

Never mind, it’s an old bout between Hulk Hogan and the Rock, the Rock wins the fight with the most electrifying move in sports entertainment, the peoples elbow.

I also watch Rick Flairs very last fight, 36 years of wrestling, the crowd are in tears and so is Kirk Michaels who can’t finish him off and so a legend leaves the stage with a great reputation.

Only plan for today is to move into our lodgings in the Mirador Hotel (fantastic by the way), once done I have a bit of a blast down to Marbella with Reg, we have Burger King for lunch….

Back to the hotel and the group have all arrived now, introductions are made and bikes are worked on, OMG, we’re going to Morocco tomorrow….

Day Two: Monday 6th April 2009

The way time goes (re ferries), we all make our way to Tarifa to get the Tangier ferry. Reg gets lost on the motorway….. Ian finds him. Hey ho, we get ferry tickets and free cake.

Leaving Spain is straightforward, getting through Moroccan Customs is exciting, speaking French all the way, endless queues to navigate, I’m already loving the hustle and bustle. Money exchange is problematic, Bob has his card swallowed….Bill sorts him out with a sub to get him through the trip until he gets home.

I go to buy some water, do a good deal and then they try to palm me off with local water…….mercifully I spotted it, didn’t want to be sh*tting through the eye of a needle at the start of the holiday….

Once we clear the border entry, it’s a road ride to Chefchaouen  ( الشاون ) via a small town called ‘Zoumi’ high up in the rif mountains.

Zoumi’s a bit of a hole to be honest, dirty with rubbish everywhere. The Rif mountain that we travel through is lovely (forward note, you’ll hear me say lovely often, I’ve run out of superlatives and to be honest, most of the things I used to describe the views are unrepeatable in decent company….)

The kids are friendly as well, always with a smile and cheery wave. Strangely policeman guard traffic junctions in Morocco, suppose they are marginally more strategic than nuclear facilities….

The Royal Palace (which we didn’t see) but more appropriate Ifrane is beautiful, it is a stunning Alpine town, you could almost be in Hollywood, lots of Police and Soldiers though

Bill leads us through a rocky road to Azrou, we get up to 1660m on the way to the hotel. We find ourselves however on the edge of the cedar forests.

Reg has gone down twice today, Speggo was to blame for one of them….there I’ve said it………

Lunchtime stop is nice, omelette baps, I could get to enjoy these….Reg later tells me about the text he sent home, I think he trusts predictive texting too much, instead of telling his wife, the lady he has loved for 40 years that he had a great tagine, it comes out” I had a great vagina last night”….oh well….

We nipped through Fes, unbeknownst to me, the not so Secret Police followed which explains why we did some nippy filtering through the traffic….

Day Three: Wednesday 8th April 2009

Azrou to Midelt

Just an awesome day. I don’t know what else to say…..

Some photos: Just click a thumbnail to see bigger version

Day Four: Thursday 9th April 2009

Midelt to Imilchil and L’Avenir Auberge

We get as high as 8,700 feet today. For me because I am a complete off road novice, the scariest day of my life and quite possibly the hardest 100 miles I have ever ridden….

I was learning on the job and very fast. We all struggled today in some shape or fashion. Highlight of the day was doing some Fording (completely new experience to me). I realised that at the height of pleasure I have this maniacal laugh, where did that come from…

I found my own techniques to cope with the toughness of the day, talking to myself trying to make the skills I was learning turn into muscle memory. My bike (12GSA) makes up for all of my inadequacies though, the torque and 2nd gear are just superb and get me out of all the tight spots I find myself in

Bob had a sore fall today, Speggo didn’t but broke one of his levers. Reg dropped the bike in the river. Myself or Paul haven’t fallen off yet, I can feel the pressure, I’m really not that good at this.

We’re really bonding as a group, everyone is there for the other one we need it most, the humour of the group is good too, in the darkest moments, we find a laugh in something (whether it’s the little girl going head over tail running down a hill to see us or the little girl who tied the donkey up and then sprinted 250 yards up the side of a steep hill, just to come and say hello). I realise more than ever, it’s the people you’re with who get you through the bad days, today was a hard day, but looking back, it was a good day…..

High on the hills lived a lonely shepherd….yoddle lay hee, yoddle lay hee yoddle lo hee hee, I’m sure you all know the rest of the words….(see picture in gallery below)

Some more photos from this day not included in original report- click to enlarge

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Day Five: Friday 10th April 2009

Imilchil to the Kasbah Didis Hotel, Boulmaine Dadès

So I think today was my fear day. We went through the Dadès Gorge, the sheer drop on my left was excruciating, I should have told someone a bit more vocally about my fear of heights….

That night, we spend some time classifying the different types of Moroccan child we’ve seen, so here you go pop-pickers…

• waving kid
• cartwheeling kid
• running furiously kid
• 1 Dirham kid
• V sign kid
• Fingers in the Ear kid
• motorbike handle bars kid
• suicide kid
• old fashioned British army saluting kid

A time to chill, it’s been an intense and mixed day, laughter rings in my head as I think about what Bill said to me earlier in the day, “your entry was a bit butch”…..well I do like to please…..

Day Six: Saturday 11th April 2009

Kasbah Didis to Zagora

We’re off to Zagora!

We hit 9,300 feet today, you can feel it when you breathe as well….I am so impressed with my bike on the stony stepped descent, it just smashes it’s way through the rocks…. In fact, I’m impressed with my bike period….

When we hit the valley floor something clicks, I think I may just be starting to get the hang of this off roading malarky, I speed up, the back end bounces and slides all over the place, today is a good day….Poor Steve got himself stuck in the sand today, the man’s a menace, mercifully I’m not trying to pull the machine out…

We stop for lunch in Nekob, a bustling little town, quite interesting

When we make Zagora it’s off to Mohammed’s, Bill’s bike has a hole in the oil cooler, Bob’s bike needs a bit of panel beating done to it and Paul’s KTM is having problems with its fork seals.

Day Seven: Sunday 12th April 2009

Zagora to Tallouine

We go into the Sahara today (I think anyway), either way there’s a lot of bloody sand. It’s hot, in fact it’s damn hot and then some, hard work too, I fall off twice, others fall off too, we have fun nonetheless

I’m knackered, but in honour of the sheer awesomeness of my bike I rename it, “Boulder Mashing Werken”…..

Day Eight: Monday 13th April 2009

Rest Day in Tallouine

So let me start by categorically denying any involvement in this happening to allow us to secure a rest day….

A time to relax for everyone, bikes fettled, laundry done, swimming in the pool, a long and hearty lunch.

It’s a pretty hot day and I once again get some sunburn….

A passing bike race comes our way just before lunch….

The afternoon is equally good, Paul and I go out with Bill in the truck and do some sight-seeing, really loved the little villages we visited, even more funny was the terrified kid who thought Bill was going to run him over, you had to be there to see his facial reaction, I still laugh about it today….

Day Nine: Tuesday 14th April 2009

Tallouine to Marrakech

Bill’s bike is terminal and it’s decided to trailer it to Marrakech for repairs, it’s spraying oil like fury and the front of my bike is covered because I was following him yesterday, I give my bike a baby wipe bath by way of apology.

Speggo is in the lead today, he’s christened Red Leader in honour of his Smoke On, Smoke Off policy, remember SWMBO doesn’t know he likes the fags….

Paul’s KTM is also suffering today, mercifully we have a really cracking ride over to Marrakech. We also saw the Moroccan Vicky Pollard, a complete obscenity to my eyes, it induces even more screams of laughter in the group

We’re in the Souk that night, it’s just awesome, I really dig Marrakech, I want to go back, I love the place, it’s chaotic in a great way. Mercifully Bill’s bike is repaired and working well….

I eat a snail for the first time, I’m put off my Paul shouting it’s alive, oh dear I’m not well

Day Ten: Wednesday 15th April 2009

Marrakech to Khenifra

We awake to the news that the transport strike is on in Morocco, there’s likely to be very little fuel around. Leaving Marrakech in rush hour is outstanding….

Sod that though, I’ve woken to a decidedly weak stomach, I wire a packet of immodium down my neck, I cannot afford to sh*t myself when I’m riding and whilst I may use a stand up toilet, I will most definitely not crap behind a big bush

We use tarmac today to push us North where the fuel is likely to be. There are a few other GSers  in Morocco, they all seem to be struggling with fuel, One, Neil,  is off to Ouzzazarte…

We have lunch at the cascades, it’s really nice, there’s monkeys, dirty little mange ridden monkeys, I wish I had a gun because there would be no monkeys when I had finished….

Khenifra when we arrive is loaded up with soldiers (we even watch a group of kids scrapping with each other in the street – it’s all go here), before finding our hotel I pop to a local stand up toilet, I’ve been keeping it in since Marrakech, the resultant back pressure means I blow 9 tiles up… …..I feckin’ hate cleaning….

We find a local bar in Khenifra close to the barracks of the 7th Cavalry, I buy Vodka by the bottle, thankfully it’s not the kind of vodka that makes you blind. Tired and with little dinner I head for bed, wakening up in the middle of the night and shiver violently for about an hour, I really am not feeling well now and when you’re all alone in the dark, it’s gets a little worrying….

Day Eleven: Thursday 16th April 2009

Khenifra to Chefchaoun

I feel a little better this morning, lots of rehydration salts inside me and plenty of water and chocolate along with plenty of immodium and my special tablets….

The fuel situation is still there, yesterday Ian and Bill organised several drums of fuel, we fill up and hit the road….

Our lunch stop is near Volubilis, it’s quite spectacular, lunch is awesomely cheap and the man who looks after us is a real pleasure to meet, I don’t go into Volubilis, Paul however did, his bike was now on the trailer and he was a passenger in the van, the KTM was working no more, it was quite a shopping list of problems….

During the day, Reg has a moment with a zig zagging cow which eventually face plants itself at high speed in the road, my how I laughed…. Dogs are charging us more today as well, they’ll soon stop when they get a 60mph size 11…

By night we make Chefchaoun, I do like it here, it’s very pretty, after lots of hunting for a restaurant that did beer, we eat and then it’s back to our auberge, a place that could really do with the assistance of an electrician….

Day Twelve; Friday 17th April 2009

Chefchaoun to Tanger

Today was about the commute to the ferry back to Tanger and our hotel in Alhaurin

The first part of the roads were dreadful, plunging down a hill in the p*ssing rain, visor misted up, sand and crap flung up, mental van drivers and lorries that either didn’t know or care that you were there….it could be scary if you let it….

Bob had an off on a corner a little later after it had dried up, he was in front of me, on some diesel, mercifully he stopped short of the armco, he was such a trooper in getting straight back on the bike and it’s a testament to the BMWs, 2 minutes of spannering and it’s back on the road, quite scuffed but rideable

The ferry is cool first chance to eat something which I might recognise, a baguette, crisps, fanta and a snickers bar is E8, I try to barter, evidently the Spanish don’t barter or do humour…..
I can assure you I was dreaming happy thoughts…

Tags: April '09, Off-road trips, Previous trips, Ride Ride Reports, Trip reports