After a long day of riding I finally arrived at Merzouga in south eastern Morocco..! When I first started planning Morocco earlier in the year, Merzouga was one of the places I wanted to visit because it’s on the edge of the Western Sahara. And it’s lived up to my expectations: it’s hot, it’s sunny and it’s full of sand. I’m easily pleased…
I left my make-shift camp on a high plateau a just before 10am as I wanted to do a little bit to video, and then once I started packing I thought I’d have another huge mug of tea. Fluids…! It was a chilly ride at start, about 18 degrees but as the day progressed, the temperatures started to rise. It’s about 28 degrees in Merzouga – and I’m really feeling it. Being from northern Europe the sun and heat is something we crave, but once you find it, it can soon feel uncomfortable as we’re really not used to it.
The journey was excellent, and the further south I rode the more arid the countryside became – which is what I wanted to see. It was a straight 360km. Stopping twice for fuel, I also had a couple of breaks for water – and to give my seat a rest. getting fuel was not a problem and I never needed my extra fuel.
The mighty V-strom has never missed a beat. Most of the day I cruise at around 4k revs, and sometimes I opened it up a bit to 4500 or 5k revs. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us so it’s all about taking it easy and not putting too much strain on the engine. I’ve also get to get her home, so no point in thrashing it.
The landscapes are beyond my imagination. I see these cinematic views on films or TV but to actually see them for yourself is entirely different, and something quite special. And sometimes, even though the area is quite arid, there are nice sweet smells on the air. Riding through Errachida was a pretty town that also bombarded you with many different sweet smells, which I assume is from the locally grown fruit.
I arrived at Moutzouga just after 4pm – and who should I meet…? My old pal Lenny from Bremen..! When we parted he was heading to Fez while I wanted to push east. We’d both talked about this location and by sheer luck, we both got here the same day, with him arriving an hour before me. We are staying just outside the town where the sand dunes start, and there are a few trees for shade. there is also a well for water nearby. The town is about ten minutes walk, or maybe two minutes on the bike and it’s a reasonably sized town – for Morocco, anyway.
There seems to be lots of touristy things here, like dirt bike hire, quad hire and even camel rides – but not for me… I’m staying near my tent tomorrow and I’m going to enjoy the peace and quiet, the sunshine and the view. I may stay here a few more days as I really would like to see more of the surrounding areas but it won’t be on a camel. I’ll leave that for the more adventurous…
