Tunisia to Morocco, more bloody boats

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Tunisia, white walled houses, blue shutters, warm sun and friendly faces. That will be my abiding memory of Tunisia.

It all started with a rather too long ferry from Genova in Italy, 24hrs plus customs and then needed to find a hotel, so the first night was spent with the Iitalian chapter of the Black Widows! Next day i tried to get into Algeria via the northern most border point at Tabarka, no go and was told to get a visa from the Embassy at El Kef, en-route got distracted by one of the numerous sites of Roman ruins. Nearby I spotted a rather nice retreat and stayed the night. That evening I went for a meal in the local village… meat soup with some really nice chewy bits in (!) followed by salad, fries and eggs, a bit scrambled,a bit fried but tasty, a loaf of bread (I kid you not) and mint tea all for two Dinar, a pound in English! Wicked, wish I could eat there every night!

Next day was spent in negotiation with the Algerian consulate for a visa, transit or otherwise. They were very considerate of my pleas, nice and helpful, but as the Moroccan border was closed and there is fighting with rebels in the area they couldn’t guarantee my safety so would “not be issuing a visa”. Not all bad though as I had the best cous cous I have ever tasted in a little place nextdoor whilst waiting for the verdict from Head Office! Next day I headed back to Tunis…. fantastic sweeping roads with very little traffic and many waves from the locals gave it a real feel good factor.

Sorted the ferry crossing back to Genova, much cheaper and better than on the way out ! Spent the final day here in the southern part of the country. It was much hotter today, 29oC and overcast. Whilst waiting for the ferry there was a massive storm, no wonder its so lush in the North! Hope the sea is calm!

Would have liked to have seen where Star Wars was filmed, but other than that I think I got a fairly good feel for the country.

Back in Italy I need to buy a rear tyre for the bike and take it with me. We dock at 11pm so will be 12 by the time we are off the boat, could do with one of those hotels that charge by the hour for a bit of a rest !

Been in touch with a few of the people I have met on my travels, and it has brought back good memories…and smiles! Spent the last couple of hours with a German couple from Munich, excellent fun and great company. This is what its all about. Had a chat with a group of guys on off road bikes, they had done the Timbuctu route and advise grouping up as Mali will be a challenge...Also reiterated what I had read about Tangier, not even there yet and I cant wait to get out of the place! Can it be worse then some of the other situations I have been in ? They say “maybe”, but then it probably helps to embroider it a little in the name of a good story. Gave me some tips on hotels and routes/directions.

Managed to get a tyre, will fit it when the other is shot, maybe another 4-6000k but can’t you get the tyres that easily in Morocco. Also purchased the next ferry ticket, 360euro but meals included, another two nights with no sleep, think I will throw a party to celebrate this being the last of the long ferrys! After this there’s just the short hop back to Gibralter by boat then the all important one over the channel….But lets not get ahead of myself, I have a lot of miles in some very testing environments yet ! Hooked up with an Italian chap on a DRZ qwhilst on the boat… might stay with him at his Ibis Hotel as he knows its good and it’s out of town, from there I can split and do my own thing but it would be a handy way of getting out of Tangiers.

The weather has made a turn for the worst just past Barcelona, got very rough with waves whipped up by the Mistral winds, on a whim I took an upgrade when I got on the boat and bought a bed in a shared cabin, me and three Moroccan guys .The air smells a bit ripe but they seem ok! One just told me that the Customs guys are stamping passports etc, in a big room that normally holds the disco… two officials sit at a long desk and the edge of the room is completely full of people sitting in a big circle, hundreds of folks. Not knowing what’s happening I march up to one of the guys and thrust my passport and papers at him, he says “engleesie”, I smile. He stamps my stuff and I shuffle off to then realise I had queue jumped several hours of paper shuffling! Nobody seemed to give me the evil eye, maybe they were more worried about keeping there dinner down! Going to be a long night. Bloody boats.



I survived the night, I even might suggest it was quite good fun, Two of the Moroccans in my cabin were ok but one went very green and we didn’t see him for most of the night. In the morning it was a question of dodging the damp patches on the carpets, lol . Whilst waiting to get into the port start talking to the other motorcyclists on board, there are some frenchies on beemers going to Marrakech and asked if I would like to join them, which was very nice but I had only just agreed to ride with Georgio, my Italian DRZ riding friend, as far as the other side of the Atlas mountain range, the good thing was he had prebooked a hotel on the outskirts of Tangiers that he had used previously (with secure parking,) this being very important because everything I had read made Tangiers sound truely bad.

Got to the port and flew through customs and immigration, no fees to pay, all good. Unfrtunately Georgio had a few technical difficulties with the paperwork and it took him a good 2 hours longer. Never mind, headed out into horrible Tangiers to find it was quite nice, people friendly and not at all bad,i nfact, I liked the place! Got to the hotel to find it very good… nice food, the lot. Next day a leisurely start and head for Azrou, a great ride skirting coastal villages watching the surf crash in onto unspoilt beachs, to riding over high and very cold mountain passes. Something to note was seeing my first wild snake that scurried across the road infront of us. Got to our hotel to find it had rather slipped downhill a bit since the review we were going by, but it was dark and we were tired after a good 350km's. The place is quite high and hence cold, there was no heating and worse no hot water so a shower was out. Went into the local town for some grub, returned to find our hotel to be full of drunks possibly because it was the only place to get alcohol around there. Fortunately the bikes were ok in the morning so no harm done.

Next day I said goodbye to my friend and headed into the Cedar Valley, within a few miles I came across a troop of Barbery apes, in a setting like Switzerland, odd to say the least! Fantastic ride, it just keeps getting better and better. Head south east towards the Algerian border, through Midelt and onto Erracidia and finally Tinerhir, two fill ups so around 500km's. Stopped at the highly recommended Auberge le Festival which is in the most amazing setting right in the heart of the Todra gorge. Despite regular power cuts it is top draw.

Collected a fossil for Kitty by way of a goodbye present from the guys at le Festival, now she has two…. that and me !!

Had a good ride across country to Ouarzazate and got to the ‘Bikershome’ to find them out, they soon returned and made me feel at home. Think I am going to take the tyre with me and change it when its needed, not yet. If I was to change it now and then the new one got shredded I would be gutted, and you don’t know always what you’re riding over, there is a lot of exposed steel reinforcing sticking through on the many bridges and in the towns all sorts of debris on the road.

So tomorrow think I need to go east, and then due south once I hit the coast, the roads across the deserts are arrow straight and it is tempting to go far too fast, also the heat plays tricks with your vision making the road undulate and looking like the sand has drifted over the carriageway, sometimes it has, but not always.

There are lots of police checkpoints and high military presence in this area, but all approach with a smile and as soon as they know I’m English just wave me on my way with a jolly ‘avoir’.

Just heard news that a couple of people have been killed on the road to Timbuctu by local malitia, and one is still missing. All tours to the area have been stopped and visa applications at the border are in doubt.

The challenge is liberating me from who I was and what I was doing, cleansing me. With each kilometer leading me into the unknown, ultimately finding more about what makes me who I am… with every test, physical and mental. This has to be good for the soul.

Time: 2:23 AM



Ride to Marrakesh, just don’t have the vocabulary or enough superlatives to convey how immensely satisfying this road is to a motorcyclist, perfect surface , challenging curves, stunning views and little traffic and police that wave and nod approvingly! I want to ride it again and again. Marrakesh is magical, hit the medina and then the Palace, sorted a hotel for return journey and pressed on to Rabat. Couple of mishaps on the road slowed progress but 600km later I was there. Found the restaurant ‘Margot’ that Gads uncle (Patricke ) owns and this is where it got OH SO WEIRD! .He welcomes me in and offers me a beer, the place is a piece of France in Morroco, very upmarket. Brought the bike in and put it as a centerpeice in the walled garden, met the family and Patricke introduced me to Mustaffa, bit strange and obviously a well to do ‘loose cannon’! Turns out he writes for ‘le Monde’ and ‘le Figaro’ amongst others. We sit and make small talk, just relaxing when I am told “go with Mustaffa”, so I do. Leaving my worldly belongings to a chap I had only met five minutes previously. We jumped into a Renault Espace and somehow got to a big sports arena on the edge of town without collecting any dents, it was the world Karate championships and Patricke’s old schoolfriend and ex world champion was one of the major players and judge. It was interesting to get behind the scenes seeing them warm up and then following them onto the fight. We all left after the presentations and headed downtown to an underground drinking den, bear in mind this is a staunchly Muslim area! We were soon sharing tales and lagers with army commanders, government officers and teachers. I was still a little wary as i didn’t have anywhere to sleep as yet and might have to ride the bike, but the beers kept coming and then the food!!!!!!! Was under the assumption we were eating at ‘le Margot’ so took it easy, unlike the frenchies all of whom were from Paris and seemed at home in a bar such as this. Many hours later got back to ‘Le Margot’ and Patricke sat us all down , gave Mustaffa a bollocking for taking us to the club and opened the wine. Aaahhhhh the food, sardines and salads and squid rings and more fish and after every course there was another bigger and better one culminating in oysters with smoked salmon, desert was citroen mousse! Much wine was drunk and I ended up leaving the bike at the restaurant and crashing in Mustaffa's spare room. What a day!

Woke with a ‘little’ hangover ! Thought I might describe the place whilst waiting for others to rise…. the apartment is bang central, next to the Ministry of Law and Security etc. One Avenue over is the main Avenue of the city based on French colonial design, with it going dead straight from the old city to the Palace, much like Haussman did in Paris. You get in through great big wooden doors into a courtyard, and I guess we are on the second or third floor. The place is very spacious but full of stuff, don’t like to call it junk, there are pictures and paperwork, odd bits of furniture, ceramics, folders and books filling every surface. I am sitting at a big table in the what you could call a reception room, a bottle of opened red wine in a champagne cooler in the center of the table, half empty glasses around and red wine bottles gather dust forlornly.

The view to the front is over the Medina with the old, fortified city walls directly inline between me and the sea. He has a place in Paris in the Fontainbleu area too. He says he is from berber descent and there is a picture of a woman, in sepia, who looks like Mata Hari, I don’t think there is anyone of note that he doesn’t know, including on the way home talking to rasta man on the junction near to home and the girls of the night that he was pimping, they all know him…And like him!

Now I know why they like him so much , he splashs the cash like it is his last day alive. Went to the market and met Patricke, grabbed a coffee and arranged for a bbq that evening at ‘Le Margot’, then strolled the Medina, hit the coast and went for a swim in the ice cold and very angry Atlantic ocean. Returned for a lunch of sardine and rouge fish.

Later went back to the Karate Championship du Monde, picked up David and headed for ‘Le Margot’ for pre arranged bbq…. but this is Mustaffa we are talking about, dropped David off and scouted to Chateubriand for 5 mins that turned into 90! I know this because the Egypt/ Algeria world cup match had just started and we headed out after the final whistle, several beers and red wines later.

Got to the restaurant to find bbq shelved and Patricke had prepared dinner (probably knew Mustaffa would do something ). Talk over dinner was the fact Patricke might sell the restaurant and was having problems with his son, who works with him, probably understandably as his job is in danger.

Later me, Mustaffa and Patrickes son go to a bar, Patricke forbid Mustaffa to take us as he said he had a “bad feeling about it”, saturday night and all !!! Didn’t quite know what to expect but it was nothing like I could have imagined , and being English does open a few doors as we got top service and didn’t pay to get in anywhere, but then it could have been for other reasons..lol.

The bar/club was small and dark, lots of tables, lots of women dancing to Arabic music coming from the band in the corner, dancing is probably wrong, girating provocatively and wearing very little, two things of note, I felt young !!! and they were fat and ugly bar one or two. Had a few beers and I had to go outside to get some fresh air as the smokey atmosphere was getting to me, this was more interesting watching the punters and girls come and go and the drunks being led away, all very civilised.

Went to another club, by this time it must have been around 2ish, just me and Mustaffa, as Patricke's son had gone his own way and left us with some very pretty girls of the night.(maybe it was the beer making them look better)!

Again the club was underground and although they had door staff working there were Police stationed outside too, this was another step up or down depending which way you looked at it. Once in the Girls were dismissed ? This I didn’t understand but I sat where I was put on a reserved area of the room, next around 8-9 girls joined us, along with vodka, juice, food and God knows what else. For some reason I didn’t like this, it was a ‘meat market’, they were not pretty, i couldn’t talk to them, and they didn’t want to talk!!! I also noticed how rough the Arabs were pulling, prodding and groping the girls, this made me uneasy and I left him to it, he was in his element. He had an account, knew who was good and who was clean and said whatever I wanted was mine…. 1,2,3 girls no problem and kept bringing over girls to get me interested, but this was not my bag. Felt ashamed of the men and repulsed by the girls and retired to his car and dozed under the watch of the local police. Many hours later and a bit disshevelled he returned completely wankered, to drive us home past the police, with lights on, and hazards blinking. Got back without hitting much and thank God he went slow. Got to bed around 6 and feel like shit.

Want to get out but nobody has risen yet, been thinking of my predicament. I feel like a caged bird looking through the window bars of the flat out at the Medina, perfectly comfortable and well fed but ultimately not master of my own destiny, I want to spread my wings and get south. Monday morning can not come fast enough.

Journal Entry: Tuesday, November 17, 2009



Time: 8:00 PM



Monday…. what happened to that day, ahh i know, it got Mustaffa'd!!!

Got up nice and early, mainly because I had been struggling with a dickey tummy all night, put it down to eating sea urchins fresh off the rocks, an aphrodisiac so they say, as if I need that after so long away !!! Seemed like ages later the others stirred and after the obligitary coffees and breakfast I got out of the apartment for 10ams, offered to go it alone (which i what I wanted ) but no, we have to go together. Off to the Douane as he thinks my docs are at fault, but first the bank, after many meetings and introductions he comes out flush with money again, next stop Douane ? ahh no, his bookie at a coffee shop , he settles his debts and places a few more bets, then a celebratory coffee! Then the Douane who say not my problem see him, and another and another to eventually a guy who says yes, there is no problem !!!!!!!!!

Then to Embassy, who say sorry too late.......I am mega pissed but hide it well and insist on going a walk to clear my head. I buy cakes and return. He insists we go to Chateaubrian, I insist we see Patricke first, we go to collect my bike, explain to Patricke and he gets his son, to take me to the hotel he has sorted for me.

The hotel is a bit on the swish side but as I have not slept for several nights nore had any expenses it worked out about even.

Hit the Embassy first thing, as I should have done yesterday, made good acquaintances in the queue with an Aussie guy and his Mrs running a truck with 25 paying customers in the back going to Cape Town, and two Dutch couples on Africa Twins… will hopefully hook up en-route with them at least until Mali. Went to the Mali embassy and got forms but couldn’t get visa as passport was with Mauritanian Embassy (who said call back at 8 this evening). So I am writing this on the footpath outside the locked door of the Embassy with about 40 other folk hoping to go South. We have been told horror stories of people stranded at the border since they stopped issuing visa's there in early Nov, others clubbing together and sending one person back to Rabat to collect visa's for 15-20 of them at a time.



Got the visa and called in on Patricke at ‘le Margot’ , said “cheers” and “thanks a lot”, he was having problems with His son, had sacked the waitress and looked like he was running the place single handedly, I reserved a table for December! Called by to see Yousef at Chateubrian and had a beer on the house, again a cracking place and somewhere I would have been happy to stay longer. Then last call was to Mustaffa, he was out but paid my respects to his family and hit the sack for an earlyish night. I very much enjoyed scooting around the city at night, it’s pretty and less manic than during the day and it shows itself in another light.

Next day headed south, felt shit due to a cold I had been nurturing so hit the auto route to Casablanca then got on the coast road for the rest of the 600km's. Stopped for fuel twice but other than that there was a small matter of being stopped for speeding yet again (all in different countries ) must be saying the right things and looking suitable atrite as I was let off the 400 Dinar fine (£30) with a smile and a “slow down in future please sir” talk.

Got to a place a French guy called Bert had recommended, and very nice it is too. Had Tagine for dinner followed by pomegranite in a sour cream, lovely.

Over the last couple of days the news about the Timbuctu route has got gradually worse, with one confirmed death of a British tourist, lots of abductions and fighting between the police and Algerian/locals. Foreign Office advise against ‘all travel’ to Mali, Mauritania not quite as bad but the parts on the Algerian/ Mali border are a no-go zone. I am going to see how it looks in a weeks time, if it is still bad, and I cant see it improving that quickly I have an alternative destination…. Dakar in the Senegal.

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Photos

El Presidentie
Was watching over my every move.....

Barbary apes
Not only in Gibraltar but also in the cedar forest of morocco in the Atlas mountains

Le festival Auberge
This was a fantastic resting place, has a cave you can stay in and is so remote, no elec or phones, great.
http://www.aubergelefestival.com/

Tour du Maroc
At the side of the road going from ouarzazate to Marrakech

Medina
Gates into Rabat Medina

The Old Medina
Looking for a bargain......in the Old Medina center of Rabat old town.

Mustaffa clan
Had a very pleasant day on the plage, eating live urchins out of the rock pools

Morocco land of contasts
One minute you are in desert next you climb into lush mountainous areas

Goat tree
Apparently it takes years of cultivating to get a fruit laden goat tree

Sahara
I wish I had a thermometer that you could read on this pic, cause it was blistering. At least the KTM is more comfortable than a Camel looks.

KTM
Not my natural habitat, and was just thinking shit that bit looks soft.....