Morocco Trip - Last Day

Good morning reader..

I departed from my brothers at Limoges at 8.30 and set out on the 300 miles ride to Caen and the boat home.

Although overcast and sometimes wet the first 3 hours were fine and the going good.   For the last 2 hours the effects of Storm Brian were becoming evident - more bloody winds - gradually getting stronger the closer I got to the coast.   I stopped for petrol half way and "Houston we have a problem"  - first the petrol machine would not accept my card, so I changed to another - still no go… So I decided to move the bike to the pay by cash line, and in doing so I broke the ignition key in the filler cap lock…. Bugger…   Fortunately I had a spare ignition key but the filler cap is now stuffed with a piece of key in it…  I manage to get fuel but two cards were still being rejected by the system, I was however able to open the cap again by using the stub of the broken key (this time)…  

Then the toll machine decided to join in and reject all my cards… Bugger again… I then had to get the attendant to process a card manually, as even the cash option did not work.  More horrendous riding through high winds - it is not fun being blown across the lanes of traffic.  I finally get to the port a nervous wreck as the winds were stupidly high now - and the process of riding over the high river bridge as I approached Caen left a nasty taste in my trousers……  

At last I arrived at the port, which was surrounded to 'illegals" sitting in the ditches by the road as I approached - story peeps: no room in these panniers!!  I booked in and was sent straight to the front of the line to board, and after a 20 minute wait I was on board having a very deserved cup of tea and a bun……   We are now underway.   End of trip…. 3785 + 30 old miles from Portsmouth to home, with a top speed of just 79mph.  

I am still thinking about some sort of summary of the trip…..

Wandering XRV signing off for this trip……

Morocco Trip - 20 Oct

Good morning readers,

Well it is all change here… Having spent the night listening to the pouring rain over Wednesday night, the morning was no better. I packed up the tent in the rain and headed for the Pyrenees. Up and over we went, and sometimes though the mountains, wet all the way with just a small amount of fog/cloud. Emerging from a very long Sornport Tunnel and we were at last in La Belle France, and it was still raining… By the time I got to Tarbes I could see that the sky was improving to the North. I stopped at Toulouse and looked for a campsite - but they all appear to close in October…

Bugger this I thought I will just have to travel on the Auto Route and drop in on my brother to the West of Limoges. Distances are easy on the map but I rode on and on and it did not appear to get any closer. I arrived at Limoges ring road and started to travel into the countryside and it was getting very dark and I was running on fuel fumes..

Just when I thought I was going to run out - hey presto and fuel stop in the middle of nowhere… relief.. By now it was real country dark - blacker than a witche's armpit. Another 19Kms and I thought I had found the house but it was the neighbours and they kindly pointed me in the right direct and I arrived to find my brother standing in the drive - having followed me on the tracker. I parked up and 3 small beers and a meal later I was done for the day. I think I rode about 550kms yesterday - and that is far too much - I shall not be doing that again. Iron butt rallying is not for me. Having said that it will be a 400 mile ride to the port tomorrow.

I slept well and this morning I hung up the tent and stuff too dry a bit, and sorted out the chain on the bike. I shall be leaving here on Saturday morning and riding up the Caen and catching the boat to Portsmouth. I had thought about bimbling about in Spain and France for a few days just to fill the time and days, but what would be the point. I will arrive home early but there again I usually do.!! I will have plenty to do at home now that Autumn is here and both my house and my Mother's Cottage will be knee deep in leaves that need clearing… The bike will now need a service and new tyres too, and I will need to sort out the kit ready for the next trip…. USA 2018

I had thought that I would have a long think about the trip whilst on the boat as I have 4 hours to kill, But as I am sat in a warm kitchen in a very quiet piece of France - I will have another cup of tea and mull it over now. Maybe the categories should be:

Things I should have done:
Things I should not have done:
Things I should have taken:
Things I should not have taken:

I have decided that updating my blog as well as Facebook us just plain duplication - so next time I travel I will highlight the link to my blog on FB and if you would like to follow me on that please do…

Now; another cup of tea and a think….

Morocco Trip - the rain in Spain is not mainly on the plains....

Good morning,

It is now 9 in the morning and it's been raining since yesterday - the kit inside is all packed away, I am just waiting a lull in the weather so I can pack the tent and leave.... I suspect a long wait !!!

Ah well it's nearly France !!

Autumn at a campsite in the Pyrenees

Morocco Trip - 18 Oct

Dear readers,

I had a very good evening at the Hostel. It really was very well appointed and everything worked (shower, toilet, A/C, TV, lights etc etc). Such a changed from the sites we have been to over the last few weeks. A couple of beers and hot meal, and a hot shower and a bed…. and it was so so very quiet. I awoke at about 7am and it was still chucking it down with rain - the poor bike looked so sad looking outside the door where I abandoned it the night before. It looked like a sad horse outside a western saloon….

I loaded up the bike in the pouring rain, with a river of water running under the bike from the hills. A quick fuel stop and we were away. I headed for Zaragoza and all previous plans have gone with the rain - no point riding wonderful roads when its raining and you can't see bugger all….

As i rode up through a mountain range the view was blocked by thick fog, and then a very steep decent demanded loads of concentration in the wet, with mud and rocks on the road.. Then the sun came out as I rode through the river valleys. As I approached Zaragoza I could see the dark black sky getting closer and closer…. and then all of a sudden I was in the thick of it - torrential driving rain, claps of thunder and horizontal lightning and or course the cross winds… This continued for about a hour before easing up. I was a nervous wreck by this time. I had to stop and have a break and a coffee.

It was still raining I headed for Huasca and then stopped and looked up on the www for a campsite - got one and off we go…. Gertie directed me off the road and then wanted me to climb up a mountain side with about 15 180 degree bends - some campsite to be up there - bugger that. Back down the road and I found another. Further inspection of the map showed that Gertie had found a quicker route by approaching the campsite via a back door and that the actual entrance was 5 kms around the next bend..

Tent now pitched in the rain and it is still raining hard so I have moved into the cafe on the site… The forecast for tomorrow is more of the same. I will be heading North over the mountains and then through Lourdes and Tarbes - and then look for a campsite. I need to slow down but that is difficult to do - if I arrive at a campsite early I will just be sitting around out of the rain… as you know I don't visit towns and do sight seeing - not my thing - especially in the wet….

David should be catching the boat from Santander to Plymouth this evening - it was delayed due to poor weather… Happing sailing Dave.

Note just one photo taken today - some of the views were brilliant with Autumn leaves on the trees… but precious place to stop and take a shot.

Nite nite all

Morocco Trip - 17 Oct

Good evening readers,

After a very quiet night, I woke up this morning and found that everyone on the site had gone…. must be my aftershave or snoring… I was waiting for it to get light but that is now about 8am… bugger - i had better get a move on..

Packed up and hit the road at 09.30.. it was meant to be a short run but I re-routed and it ended up as a very long run.. I do believe that I actually filled up with fuel 3 times in the same day! When I finally did arrive at the campsite: it was closed !!! 450kms and the bloody site was closed…. so I rode into the local town to find a motel or such like but there were all too posh for my budget…. and not another campsite for 60kms…. So i hit the road to Zaragoza hoping to find a motel on the route but no….. it was getting dark by now and so I asked Gertie Garmin to find a hotel NOW….. next one was 20 miles away.. so I rode on and managed to locate a hostel with he help of the local petrol station…. It has space and is very well appointed even though it is stuck in the middle of a crappy town….

As I pulled up outside the heavens opened with a full thunder storm: lightning and everything - so I abandoned the bike outside and moved in… I am now sat in the bar with a beer.. supper is at 9pm and all is now well - although I am knackered…. nearly 300 miles and it took from 9.30 until 6pm.. including fuel and food stops..

Tomorrow I am heading for Zaragoza and hope to find a campsite that is open!!! I must remember not the rush - I still have 11 days to get to Caen in northern France…… maybe I will find a nice campsite in France and rest-up for a couple of days…. and finish Michelle Lamphere's book (the Butterfly Route) - its very good… Then I can attack Derek Mansfield's last offering from the road…

Afternote - I can recommend this Hostel in Hostel Palis at Calle Magdalena 16350 Carboneras de Guadazaon Spain

Nite Nite

Morocco Trip - 16 Oct

Good evening reader(s)

I don't think either of us got much sleep last night as the wind was blowing a gale and a half. I though the tent was going to collapse or the bike fall over.

This morning David packed and departed North and I had the intention of staying on that site another day, but over night all the other guest left and the bar etc only opens at weekends!!! I was trying to avoid riding another day in those cross winds. Ah well the washing machine/dryer had finished, so I pack up my toys and departed at about 10.30

Well, the route I had chosen through the National Park was meant to shelter me from the wind but it was over 40kms of twisty narrow roads high up into the hills - and yes very windy. I didn't enjoy that one bit

Well I finally cleared all that and arrived at the road from Jerez to Granada. I found a camp site without a problem but it looks like camping season in Spain finished last week.

Although still working as a site, the bars, cafe, pools etc appear to be closed. Bugger: Pasta tonight then....

Tomorrow I plan to ride North East and see how far I get - somewhere past Jaen.... I am told that the weather is going to turn bad over the next few days. Head for the Pyrenees Nigel.....

Nite nite

Morocco Trip - back in Spain..

Good evening readers,

Yes we are back in Spain.   We checked out of the hotel this morning, remembering to tip the security guard that had been watching over the bikes over night.

We rode to the port in gusty conditions especially the last 50 kms.   I HATE cross winds, and this lot scared me fartless….

On arrival at the port the "helper" sorted us out other with tickets, customs etc and then informed us that the 1400 boat had gone!  (it was  only 1230 when we arrived) and that the next boat would be 2100 …. Bugger…..   We cleared customs and when to sit on the dock on the bay to waste time…. and hey presto the 1400 sailing arrived on time.   So we boarded and sailed just 1.5 hours late (NFA - normal for Africa)..  Jphnny foreigner just does not understand   what queuing !!!

When we landed it was about 5.30pm Spanish time, and so we decided that it was too late to hit the long road north - so we headed to the last campsite in Spain we stayed at some 10 days ago, and that dear reader, is where you find me, and after two pints the evening is looking good!

So tomorrow we go our separate ways….. again…

The photo is for the Motochef in the USA - 2X beer - aka "the most interesting man in the world"  !!!  (just look it up on the www....  Dos Equis - The Most Interesting Man In The World)

Morocco Trip - Day 'whatever'

Good evening readers,

Last night we walked into town and found a pizza place and watched the town 'promenading'. Then we walked back to the campsite and turned in for the night. I was so, so hot over night inside the tent, extremely uncomfortable.

We had a standard start at 8.30am and rode to Casablanca to the see the big Mosque on the coast - very impressive, but we did not stay long as the heat was so oppressive; especially in full riding gear.. Mind you, the ride through the centre of Casablanca was more that interesting - each driver/rider has their very own version off a highway code, and then decides to ignore it.

We rode out of Casablanca along the coast road and then picked the motorway around Rabat and into Kenitra and bumped into the hotel more by luck more than planning as we could not locate it on the Garmin…. The room had beed booked by David on-line but it was not as requested, but apparently they are full and unable to change it. Not much of evidence of a lot of people here !!! We kept the room and David will be having the double bed and I will have the couch thing…. We wandered over to the local supermarket and got some supplies. We then had an excellent supper and a couple of beers.

We are now back in our room with english speaking TV program, WiFi and an A/C unit. So tomorrow will be the last day of David and I riding together on this trip. Tomorrow we will be riding to Tangier Med and crossing over to Spain where David will be heading north to catch a boat from Santander to the UK and I will be riding North East and heading over towards the Pyrenees and France.

Safe riding David.. and thank you for your company.. I will miss you in my mirror.


Nite nite

Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca

Marrakesh to El-Jadida

The beach at El-Jadida

The Square in Marakesh

David preparing for a swim 

Morocco Trip - Day 11

Good afternoon readers,

Where were we - ah yes, we were at the main square in Marrakesh, sitting next to some very smelly horses. We then moved over the the other side of the square and had yet another coffee and did a bit of people watching… then the wind got up and the raining came down. At least that stopped the incessant drumming…. It was so sad the see the way they animals are treated, the snakes, monkeys and the donkeys and yet spend so much money on a God that they have never seen !!

Finally it was time to go and have a quick beer and meet the bus driver to take up back to the campsite. On board the bus were 4 english girls from "up north" and they were returning to their hotel… They were all at Bradford University together… a cheerful bunch. Back at camp we had a very good tajine and a drink before turning in for the night - it was so very hot all night.

This morning we packed up and left Marrakesh - now, we are still not sure if we paid the bill for the camp site so I keep looking out for the many police road blocks here - just in case……

We motored over to Safi on the west coast and then turned to the North along the R301 to El-Jadida - wonderful views of the sea, and a few industrial sites !! We are now at a camp site in the town - we set up the tents and walked into town to enjoy my first McDonalds Cheese Burger since I left home weeks ago. Fabulous……

I am now sitting in reception blogging and David has gone for a swim the in sea… not for me… not my thing. Once I have finished this I will have another look at the ablutions - I can safely say that they, at first glance, look to worse we have encountered yet….

Tomorrow the plan is to ride into Casablanca and visit the Hassan II mosque on the coast and then continue further north passed Rabat into Kenitra where we have booked our 2nd hotel of the trip. I wonder if they have a washing machine and dryer I can use…. Following further thoughts inside my helmet, I have decided to exit Morocco with David on Sunday and take up the slack days whilst I ride up through Spain and France. David will head north across Spain hoping to catch the boat and Bilboa on the 19th I think.

Thats about it for today - I must try to get the photos off the camera etc….

Nite Nite

Morocco Trip - Somewhere in Marrakesh!!

A reasonably quiet night st the campsite only spoiled by the lack on washing facilities😬. We cooked supper and hit the sack - it gets dark at about 7.30pm at present.

Another very hot ride to Marrakesh. Plenty of road works on the way and even a minor rock fall. I think the temperature got up to 40 degrees on the way. So many twisty mountain road, totally knackered at the end. We visited the site of the ancient city of Ait-Ben-Haddou and we also pasted the CLA Film Studios at Tarmigt - it was closed?

We arrived at the campsite north of Marrakesh at about 2.30pm.... and found a excellent hot shower that was much needed.
All set up and a taxi ride into the city centre. We have booked a Tajin and a beer for our return.

The centre is very busy and very loud with so any traders and bands competing for you attention. I am now sat on a park bench just down wind of the horses - aaaarrgghh. I think it is about the rain again.

Tomorrow we head for Sifi on the coast.

Morocco Trip - Day 9 (I think)

Good evening readers,

Sorry about missing be blog last night but I just forgot….

Needless to say the campsite was noisy etc etc……. but we did have it all to ourselves.

It was good to visit the dunes at Merzouga yesterday, although it was a bit of a haul to get there as there is bugger all in-between. We saw lots of rally type bikes and trucks practising on the sand dunes - braver people than I am…. We rode back to the next camp site but I could not locate it and even Gertie Garmin was at a loss. We found another and later after checking the maps we found out that if we had just gone a further 5kms we would have found it but no matter - it probably would have been noisy too…

This morning we set off at 8.30 and headed to Ouarzazate and located a campsite that we used two years ago - where I am sitting now writing this in the quiet… yes the quiet…. We had a walk to the local supermarket and are now chilling; Well I am; David is under a a bit of stress at present what with work, trying to move house and all. So it has been decided that he will head home earlier than planned and I will make my way home via Spain and France. We are going to Marrakesh tomorrow and then over to the coast at Siri and then up to Casablanca. This is where we will part company so that David can get home and be closer to this events happening at there....

I think I will have two more nights in Morocco before crossing over to Spain and then I will have five days in Spain and 5 Days in France and that will hopefully get me to the boat crossing on the 28th to the UK.

3.30 in the A.M now to get supper ready…

Morocco Trip - Day 8

Left the hotel and rode to Merzoga and the dunes. Eventually found a campsite, had a meal and now knackered and in bed - not much more to say about today.... and I forgot to blog....

Nite nite

The beard should be ready for Christmas !!

Morocco Trip - Day 7

Dear reader,

A very long, cold and noisy night.. again. With the arrival of 5 landcover travellers at about 10pm and then the constant slamming of doors and metal boxes - then the chatting until 2.30 am… and the 3 dogs barking constantly throughout the night. No, I am not moaning - just stating facts !!

It was a straight forward ride through the valleys and mountains and the temperature gradually got warmer ( note there is rain forecast for tomorrow ! ). We stopped a couple of times for fuel and a bun - the first petrol station had about 5 guys working there and they could not pump any gas - just a shrug of the shoulders and they sat down again.

Arrived at the Hotel Kasbah Jurassic about 2.30pm and we are all sorted with the much needed clothes washing done and the route sorted for tomorrow. We are heading south to the sand dunes at Merzoga, and then a spot of camping at Dades Gorge.

The boots appear to be holding up well and we have had no further calamities. We are hoping for a quieter night tonight after supper at 7pm

Night nite all

after note - we have just had a clap of thunder and the rain is coming……. sand and water = whoops

Hotel Jerrasic

Regards

Nigel

Morocco Trip - Day 6

Dear reader,

I won't moan about the last campsite…. that is taken as read.

We hit the road early this morning and rode up into the hills - in fact we reached 1546m above sea level - the roads were very twisty and in places it was a large fir forest - just like riding in the Ardennes in Belgium; although the road surface here was worse, much worse. The high winds were at least cool. We passed lots of friendly people in lay-bys and standing on the side of the road, all willing to share there Hashish with us……. Mind you having seen their driving and the thought of standing on the side of the road in temperatures of about 35 C; I believe they must be using more than they sell. Gives a whole new meaning to Hash-Browns. We stopped for a coffee and the guy in the next table were all preparing his pipe….

By the way we repaired Davids tent pole with a £5 towel rail from the supermarket, and it works fine, so far. My boot was less well off, the fix of the toe appears to have worked but now the back of the sole is falling off - out with the Gorilla glue again. I hope the photos of the boot have arrived on the site.

After the mountains we descended in the valleys and it got very very hot…. just had to keep moving across the wheat belt of Morocco. We arrived a Ifrane and tried in vain to locate a camp site - but then we found 3 such places but all closed. So we gave up and rode south until we just happened upon one just sound of Azzoud.

Tomorrow should be a short day (today was 457 Kms) and we are stopping at a Hotel in Errachida. We might even get some much need washing done……

Nite Nite

Day 6

Morocco Trip - Day 5

Good evening readers,

Some time I think that I am always moaning !!! Well not today; I will be rejoicing in the fact that I got hardly any sleep whilst those around us partied and carried on through most of the night. The kids stopped yelling at about 12 o'clock, the adults went on until about 1am. Then the dogs started to bark at the cockerels and the donkey joined throughout the rest of the night. What joy we all had.

The internet at the last stop was crap, and the Vodafone signal was one bar. See what a great time we are having.  

However, we had a comfortable ride down the the port and surprise the boat was on time. I even manage a quick phone call home before we lost the connection to UK. Having finally got on board we settled in for a 45 minute crossing into North Africa. We were quick disembarked and then we had about a hour to sit whilst the customs officers got their shit together. A quick change of money and we were away in Morocco.

Gertie and I had another small disagreement on the correct route to Chechaouen but we sorted that out. The last half of the route was through road works, police patrols, slow lorries and high cross wind which I hate. At last we found the camp site and are all set up. Another calamity is that the sole of my boot has start to come apart, so out with the Gorilla Glue and we will wait and see the result on the morning.

We are now sat in the Cafe at the site with the promise of a hot meal of something. Tomorrow should be an interesting ride to Taza.

Nite nite all

Morocco Trip - Day 4

Good evening readers,

After a very hot day, and goodish meal it was time to call it a day. The couple on the pitch next to us had different ideas - they are travelling to the south of Spain with 3 big dogs and a cat - and they talked late into the night; loudly. The one of the dogs escaped and attacked a passed dog on a lead - chaos ensued.

We stated out in good time but I parked up to settle the bill and with the engine running and the bike moved forward and the side stand folded up and down she went……. luckily there was not much damage; well only and dented pannier box.

The ride down through Spain was very hot and we had to stop every hour for a rest and a cold drink. According to my froth-o-meter on the bike the temperature hit about 98 degrees F.  

For those of you that have been following my progress via the tracker, you will notice a quick visit to Cadiz… interesting but unexpected, it was a bit of a mis-communication between me and Gertie Garmin. Cadiz has a fabulous bridge and we did it both ways! I will try to locate a picture for you.

Tomorrow we cross over to North Africa - hopefully about noon. Last time the ship sailed 4 hours late…

Speak to you later….

Morocco trip - Day 3

Good evening reader - 5.30pm Caceres Spain,

We had a slow start this morning as things had to get sorted, and emails answered.   We were on the road by 10am, which is very late for us, but it was still dark at 7am when we usually get up.

I was a steady ride today and it only lasted for 4 hours - including fuel and coffee stops.    Arrived at the campsite about 2pm by which time is was bloody hot.  Pitched the tents and hand a beer and sandwich for lunch.  David has now gone to test out the pool and I am sorting out the blog and cables.    I still need to find a replacement cross pole for a Coleman Exponent Phad X2 tent;  if anyone has one laying around or know where to get one.

It as good campsite and I remember it from 2 years ago.   I think we will be eating int he bar this evening as its too hot to cook.   I have done my washing but managed to wash all the clean clothes so the line is now full.    

It's another shortish run tomorrow to a campsite which is just 45 miles north of the port, ready for a 1200 noon sailing on Saturday.

Got to go - I can hear a wayward beer calling me…..  Nite Nite

Morocco Trip Day 2.

Dear Reader

Last night I hit the sack at about 8.30pm, it is amazing how tiring it is just to sit on a boat and wait. I awoke at 6am and got upon at 7.30am. The ship docked on time we road for 4 hours through quite boring country side. The aim is just to get through Spain asap. We arrived at the camp site at about 6.30pm and set up the tents - although we managed the break one of David's tent poles, so we had to do a botch fix on that

Then we had a beer in the bar and decided against the odd looking food on display in the bar - so back to the tents - cook a meal - and we are now back in the bar. Tomorrow's run is just 350 km, so we can have a late start, and have time to sort out the kit into the correct places.

The Adventure Begins

Dear reader,

We made the port in good time, and embarked straight away. Bikes secured, cabin located and coffee bar found. At this time we are way past the Isle of Wight headed south and now the boring bit.... only 26 hours til we dock in Bilbao.