29 April 2010

Down the Coast




OK, caught the 08:00 ferry to Tanger on April 29 and arrived at 07:00 after an hour-long ferry ride--yes, Morocco is two hours earlier than Spain... Here is a shot of the ferry, and a picture from the ferry as we were pulling out of port:



The scene at the border was pretty easy; I pulled up to the border station, some little guy waved me up to the front and promised to "help me out" for a little money. I was eager to hit the road quickly, so didn't mind giving the guy some money. It was funny, he took me back behind some building, and then upstairs to his "friend" who could get us through the border faster. After a few formalities we returned down to the bike, where I noticed that everyone else was sitting in their cars waiting for the border officials to come to them. They probably finished about five minutes after I did, but I didn't care that much, I didn't pay very much... While I was waiting for customs guy, I spoke with a friendly Portuguese guy who had driven over in his car, he said there was no way I'd make it to Essaouira in one day.

Left the port and set out through Tanger, and got on the toll highway to the south, toward Casablance. Rode on the toll road to just past Casablanca, then got off to take the coast road through al Jadida, Jafi, etc. down toward Essaoiara. No shots on the toll road because it was a boring toll road, but I was psyched to finally see the Atlantic Ocean up close, so I took this pic: I made good time on the toll highway, but once I got on to the smaller roads my pace slowed considerably, especially when I got lost in al Jadida and Safi when I was just trying to pass through both towns. I bought the Garmin Morocco map specifically for this purpose, but the map was useless for these two towns (and many others). Anyway, generally the road was very nice, with lots of wild flowers along the road. For the first time ever, however, when I was just past Oualidia, I rode through some stretch of road near some kind of chemical factory that was so polluted that my eyes teared up so badly that I had to pull over. Nasty!

Finally got to Essaoira shortly before sunset after riding about 440 miles (and taking the ferry and crossing the border)--not too bad, but not very hard either. Not for the last time, it took me a while to find a hotel--this time because there were several to choose from, but on the beach part of town rather than in the old town, where I wanted to stay. The old town seemed totally blocked off for vehicle traffic though, so I finally gave up and picked the Hotel Miramar, on the beach:

After getting settled in the room and enjoying a well-deserved glass of wine and cigar (brought from Spain, thank you very much), I went for a stroll around the old town. There is an old Portuguese fortress in town:

In general the place was pretty touristy and not particularly interesting. This was also my first attempt to get a glass of wine or beer in Morocco...I quickly noticed that no one sitting in any of the pleasant cafes around town was drinking alcohol, and sure enough no one served it on the street, although a few places would serve you alcohol if you sat inside, back in a corner somewhere. I patted myself on the back for bringing my wineskin...

28 April 2010

Leaving for Morocco!

Wasn't sure when I'd be able to break away from work and go to Morocco, so when a window of opportunity opened I grabbed it; bought a ticket a few days ago, lucked out and got a direct flight to Malaga, which makes things so much better, especially with all of this volcano crap going on...

Anyway, arrived late morning, headed to the warehouse, packed up my bike, and headed out to Tarifa, the southernmost point in Europe. I figured I'd spend the night there and catch the first ferry in the morning to Morocco. I got to Tarifa by about 16:00 and thought about heading over to Morocco right away, but figured it would be smart to stock up on wine and cigars before leaving Spain (note to self: good call!). I bought a ticket for the 08:00 ferry the next morning. Tarifa is a decent little town, but the hotel selection in the center seems a bit limited, I only found one place, but luckily it was next to a Tabacos store, where I stocked up on cigars. I also filled up the wineskin and looked at the route down through Morocco, trying to figure out how far to push it the first day. Wanted to make it to Essaouira, but it looked to be a long way given that I'd have to deal with border formalities as well as the ride. Anyway, I was finally ready to check out Morocco!