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Morocco - Day 5

30/09/09 - Rif Mountains - 127 miles (with detour)

Diesel and Gaffer Tape

After waiting in the queue to have our passports stamped by Moroccan Immigration onboard the fast ferry it was almost half way across the Mediterranean Sea with about 20 minutes before entering the port of Tangier. Looking through the window the tall buildings of the city loomed into view followed by the giant cranes lining the dockside loading the ships waiting to leave. Brigitte had collected all our travel papers to speed up the process of getting through customs and so all we had to do was wait on the dockside once we had departed the ferry. Surprisingly the customs red tape didn’t take as long as anticipated and the convoy was cleared to enter the country. We didn’t travel far, just through the gate actually, because everyone needed to exchange money into Moroccan Dirham’s from the banks situated just outside the Customs Office.

Riding out of Tangiers was manic, with traffic everywhere, all fighting for the same piece of road. With the sounds of horns tooting all around I had to keep my eyes peeled, looking in all directions as cars, trucks and mopeds sped by. Along the road side people would stop and stare, some even waving at the large convoy of bikes heading out of the city. After a brief stop to top up with fuel the convoy continued on its way straight into a cloud burst that soaked the roads making them very slippery and treacherous. The rain was quite heavy so the group stopped to put on our wet weather gear. I had pulled in behind Hans-Peter, who was from Switzerland, so when he started to move on I followed him along with Dave on his BMW F800GS.

John had explained that Hans-Peter had been on a number of his trips so I was confident he knew where he was going until he missed the turning for Chefchaouen.  He continued onward and at first I thought he might know of another route until I realised that we where now heading north towards Ceuta instead of south.

Morocco - Day 6

01/10/09 - Rif Mountains - 164 miles

Ancient Romans and a Chorus line

First the donkey, braying, next the cockerel, crowing, followed by the eerie sound of the call to prayer over the loud speakers from the mosque woke us very early.  Through the window I could see down into the village with its white walled buildings and narrow streets slowly coming to life.  After the customary breakfast of bread, cheese, boiled eggs and coffee, John held a short briefing about the day’s route which would include a stop to walk around the ancient ruins of Volubilis.

Volubilis was an ancient Roman town near to Moulay Idris and dates back to the 3rd Century BC.  Situated in the fertile lands of the province it soon became the centre of administration of Roman Africa, producing commodities such as grain and olive oil, to be exported back to Rome.  We sat in the shade eating lunch of omelet sandwiches and cold fizzy drinks whilst the midday sun shone in the bright blue sky before we ventured off to explore the ruins.  We paid the 10 Dirham’s each entrance fee and followed the narrow path that leads up to the Basilica and onwards to the Capitol with its stone stairs and tall columns pointing towards the sky, casting long shadows on the marble floor.  Whilst we sat admiring the views all around Andy and Mary came and joined us, so together we strolled by the Basilica with its tall arches to discover the mosaic tiled flooring depicting an acrobat riding on the back of a horse.