Well, what a great day…! I left Camping Atlantique by 10 and went straight to TanTan to get my bike insured. 68eu for a week, 80eu for two weeks or 98eu for a month. Bike insurance is a standard price in Morocco, so you don’t need to shop around. At the Tangier-Med port they only offer you a week or a month of insurance, so if you want two weeks, I’d suggest going into Tangier city, finding a SANLAM Insurance Office and buying an insurance there. I bought a month, just to make sure there was no pressure on me to see too many things in a short space of time.
After that it was north on the N1 highway – and what a challenging ride. There was a really strong wind today from the east and blowing straight across the highway. At one point I rode through a sandstorm, which was interesting… It was a really strong wind and with the bike leaning over to the right for much of the time, I crouched low over the tank and felt like a boy-racer – all the while clinging on for dear life.
By the time I got to Bouizakarne and came off the N1 the wind decided to go away. Thanks chum..! Also, the scenery had started to change dramatically: mountains…! Cutting east for about 10 miles I then joined the P1919 heading north, which is a B road. It was okay for the first mile of two and then there was roadworks and temporary road surfaces. At first I thought it may only be for a few hundred metres but it went on and on and lasted around 5 miles. At one point I wanted to turn back but I’d gone too far so I carried on. Some of it was fine, just dirt road but there was about a mile of nothing but large gravel. It was like riding in treacle and my front wheel was skating to the left and right. At one point I hit some really soft gravel and my back wheel dug in. By the time I got back into tarmac I was sweating like Price Andrew at a teenagers pizza party…
Once I got back onto tarmac – that’s when the really good fun started. I had about 23 miles of some good bendy-bits. Once I got to Kerdous and turned right, after a few miles I arrived at some amazing bendy-bits. Long bends. Sharp bend. Bends that go up or down… If you have two wheels and like bendy-bits – come to Morocco. It’s a paradise..! I started off a bit slow because I’ve had no bendy-bits since I was last in Morocco but then my confidence started building and then I was away. By the time I got to Tafraoute I was smiling from ear to ear – even though my front tyre had given me a few ‘eek’ moments…
Tafroute is a small town surrounded by the most amazing rock formations, which is why I wanted to come here. I arrived at the campsite (Camping Tazka) about 5pm and quickly had the tent up and a brew on the go. It’s all French campervans and motorhomes again, and I’m the only tent and the only Brit on the site. Doing my bit for King and country… It’s 75 dhirams for me and my motorbike, which is about £5.50. It’s extra for a shower so I bought two tokens which made it £6 a night. Although I liked the previous site because you could hear the roaring of the sea crashing into the beach, this site is wonderfully quiet and peaceful. It’s so peaceful so I’m going to stay here two or three nights.
In Morocco there’s zillions of French people. All of retirement age, and they come here for the winter in campervans and motorhomes. Some of the motorhomes are massive, the size of a HGV, and most of them have satellite dishes and bring smart cars, quads or mopeds with them. Once you get into Mauritania and Senegal you see mostly Germans, some French, Italians and Swiss – but rarely any Brits. Where are all the intrepid Brit travellers…? Yes, I know – in Spain…!
I met two Brits this morning, which was a shock. They were arriving as I was leaving so we had a chat. They had been heading for South Africa and like me they turned had turned around at Guinea and headed north again because of the lack of Fuel and the possible instability.
So far I’ve met six other bikers who were also heading north for the same reason. I felt as though I had failed when I decided to head north again, thinking I should have waited until things sorted themselves out, but apparently there is still no fuel in Guinea and Sierra Leone, so I kind of feel justified now. If I had stayed, I would still be there, getting bored and frustrated – and getting closer to the rainy season.
Anyway, that’s me. 195 miles today, and even though there were a few curses at some places due to roadworks, it ended on a high with some superb bendy-bits and a lovely campsite. I’m back amongst the mountains of Morocco and enjoying the bendy bits again. Once I leave Tafroute I’m going to head over to Agadir – and then hopefully get that elusive oil change done.
