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Moto Maroc Adventure
Deserts and Mountains
Morocco - Day 7
02/10/09 - Atlas Mountains - 248 miles
Apes and Grand Canyons
It was just a short ride to the Cedar Forest common to this area of the Atlas Mountains where the Barbary Apes live amongst the trees. During the day they forage for food (or take what is offered by the tourists) and sleep high in the tree tops at night, but in fact they are not apes but monkeys without tails, the same species that can be found on the Rock of Gibraltar. To be honest it was a little disappointing because there were only two apes to be seen, I was expecting to see a large social group similar to those I saw on Gibraltar back in 2007, so I decided to study and photograph the human social group instead.
At the mid morning fuel stop we discovered that Ian’s bike had developed an electrical fault and arrived on the back of the support vehicle. After some tinkering he thought he had fixed it but only managed a few hundred yards before it ground to a halt. It looked like it was going to spend the rest of the day on the trailer, until the battery could be replaced, so I decided to carry on giving us a chance to ride alone for a while at our own pace, knowing that there were one or two ahead and the main group behind. The county was starting to change from the green fertile plains to the dry rocky landscape I was expecting with the road climbing to give some great views, stopping on occasions to take some photographs.
Riding through the Gorge du Ziz made me realise how far from home I really was. The grandeur of the high canyon walls that nature had simply cut into the landscape lining each side of the river with the meandering road running alongside was something I had never witnessed before. It was hard to comprehend that this whole area many millennia ago was once under water with the only evidence left being the stalls selling fossilised sea creatures at the road side. The road continued and we rounded one bend to discover the large aqua marine coloured reservoir with a large settlement in the distance on the flat desert plains below.
Morocco - Day 8
03/10/09 - High Desert Plains - 231 miles
Desert Plains and Twisting Roads
Andy was still feeling ill so the first task of the day was to load his CBF onto the trailer so he and Mary could travel in the truck. Following the briefing detailing our rendezvous points and fuel stops we were on our way crossing back over the desert plain to the first town to top up with fuel. Dan decided to entertain the kids that had gathered with a power slide through the narrow stream that crossed the road, with water spraying all over him and plumes flying from the three wheels of his trike. All he needed was someone on the back water skiing!
The road was at over 3,000 ft above sea level and on either side the mountain ranges that rise to over 7,000 ft stretched out into the distance. This was the Morocco I recognised from the television coverage of the Dakar Rallies I have enjoyed watching over the years. The barren rocky landscapes with flocks of camels roaming free, sometimes crossing the road without warning, grazing on the small green trees sparsely growing in the arid ground.
Morocco - Day 7
Everyone regrouped at the service station before continuing onwards with the stricken bike on the support vehicle following behind. John had scheduled a café stop and the large group of bikes arriving in the town became the centre of attention for the local children. It was at this point that Andy started to suffer and became quite ill. With one bike already out of action he would have to ride his bike to our overnight stop at in the desert about forty miles away. John told us that our hotel didn’t sell beer and so suggested that we buy some on the way but after two attempts at nearby hotels it was going to be a dry night in the desert. The sun was slowly setting casting long shadows of the bike that danced over the flat rocky ground along side the desert road with the dunes of the Sahara in the distance.
To fix the bike Yosef had managed to source a battery for Ian and suggested he ride the bike the rest of the way, giving him directions to the hotel. Unfortunately Ian got hopelessly lost and it was now dark with Yosef arriving at the hotel without him. Ian finally arrived around 9:30pm after obtaining help from a local man called Mohammad. At the hotel every so often the distinctive pop-pop sound of a single cylinder BMW could be heard getting closer and then fading away in the distance. Ian later said that he almost gave up looking for the hotel and was going to return to sleep outside the garage where the bike was fixed. It was quite an adventure for him riding off road in the pitch black.
I awoke from my slumber with the feeling that I was suffocating from the stifling air in our room. The adobe walls during the day had soaked up the heat of the sun and was now releasing it back into the room. I had to get out and get some fresh air, so I went up on the veranda and sat in the cool air looking up at the clear sky filled with stars, easily making out the tree stars of Orion’s Belt. The desert beyond the hotel was a wash with pale blue light from the full moon high above my head. It was a very relaxing scene and after wandering back to our room I soon fell asleep.
Morocco - Day 8
It was mid afternoon when we stopped for a welcome break, a chance to sit in the shade sheltering from the hot sun. I entered the cafe to order some drinks and saw the waiter walking out with some chips. Mo looked at me and suggested we get some as she was getting fed up with snack bars. Dan was in the queue too and shouted that he wanted chicken and chips which gave everyone else the opportunity to order the same. We sat waiting for our chips whilst the cook prepared the chicken which was then served before anything else. Then slowly the chips started to arrive and we had to shout up to get ours seeing as everyone who had ordered the chicken had eaten.
The afternoon ride was an enjoyable mix of long desert sections that turned into a meandering road through the mountains with plenty of switch back corners with shear drops at our side. It was fun passing the slow cars, although I did have to persuade one driver to move over with my out stretched leg. Near the top of the 6,000 ft high pass we stopped to admire the view of the valley's below set against the ever present blue sky.
Moto Maroc Adventure Part Three
A visit to the Barbary Apes of the Cedar Forests to the desert oasis we continue our journey through Morocco
Time 9:20 minutes
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