BILLY GOES TO MOROCCO
- Thread starter The smudger
- Start date
"Pillars of 'Ercules, innit"
Nice report thank you!
Nice report thank you!
An RTP would have been perfect for this trip ......... 
GSMartin
Registered user
Bike looks clean, did you wash it every day?
Cracking read, looking forward to the rest.
+1 .. great write up .. thanks for sharing !
Its been a while but work has kind of taken over lately, so where was I....
Left Azrou on the N8 at about 8:30 am. The sun was hot, and as I headed down towards Khenifra, through M'rit it got hotter. After Khenifra I found another one of those Barrage (dam) type things. I reckon its the suns reflection that makes it this colour, simply stunning.......
Well, after this the road was pretty flat and straight, I thought at one point I could smell burning rubber, maybe the tyres were getting too hot? I stopped and checked but they were good, I stopped for a while anyway to let everything cool down.
The high Atlas in the background looked good, the scenery was blowing me away...
After about 3 hours ride which to be honest was hard going, I reached the outskirts of Marrakech.
Now I was keen not to be messing about in Marrakech as to say its a bit mad there would be an understatement...I had pre-booked a hotel here, didn't want to be messing about looking...I dropped into a fuel station on the outskirts and asked a young guy on a moped to take me into the Medina as I didn't fancy getting lost here....A few minutes and 30 MAD later I found the hotel.
Hotel Agnaoue was my destination for the night. The website flattered it beyond belief, it is without doubt a shithole of the highest order...
The first room I had stunk. The smell was of the sewers, plus none of the plug sockets worked so I had no-where to charge the phone/headset etc. I went back down to the reception and asked to be moved. They moved me to another room, which stunk as well. I was starting to think it was me....The A/C didn't work in the 2nd room, so in room 3 now, it smelled a bit but not too bad, plus the A/C and plug sockets seemed to work and it was 7:30 now so I stuck with it, until that was I decided to have a shower.....
Room 4, an argument and a lot of swearing later and I settled for it.
Went out at about 8 to sample the delights of Fna square.
Now Jemaa el Fna square is world away from Trafalger. It has to be seen to be believed. There are snake charmers, people with monkees, Vultures, Kestrels, Rats, you cannot believe what they will sell you. I wandered around for an hour trying to take it all in. Found the souks quite amazing places, everything is for sale, quite literally...
You cannot take a picture of anything without someone jumping on you demanding money, the snake charmers are the worse, they will stand in front of you if you get your camera out until you have paid. I found the noise, the constant poorly played pipes and the smells all quite heady...
I came across this small group of African musicians, really loud and quite good to boot...
Once the night time came it was a very different place though, It sort of came alive...
Never seen so many people and I have to admit it was a little intimidating at times...
I had dinner in the hotel opposite mine. 180 MAD for what was basically re-heated rice, tinned veg and a couple of dodgy looking kebabs. I politely refused to eat said shite, dropped the guy 20 MAD for the water and bread and sloped back into the market square. Now if I said there was over 100 pavement restaurants out on the square that night, I might have been underestimating it, they were everywhere. Each one offering you the 'best' food in the square, one guy actually said no one had ever had diaorriha
at his stall...
Just trying to add some video.......
Left Azrou on the N8 at about 8:30 am. The sun was hot, and as I headed down towards Khenifra, through M'rit it got hotter. After Khenifra I found another one of those Barrage (dam) type things. I reckon its the suns reflection that makes it this colour, simply stunning.......
Well, after this the road was pretty flat and straight, I thought at one point I could smell burning rubber, maybe the tyres were getting too hot? I stopped and checked but they were good, I stopped for a while anyway to let everything cool down.
The high Atlas in the background looked good, the scenery was blowing me away...
After about 3 hours ride which to be honest was hard going, I reached the outskirts of Marrakech.
Now I was keen not to be messing about in Marrakech as to say its a bit mad there would be an understatement...I had pre-booked a hotel here, didn't want to be messing about looking...I dropped into a fuel station on the outskirts and asked a young guy on a moped to take me into the Medina as I didn't fancy getting lost here....A few minutes and 30 MAD later I found the hotel.
Hotel Agnaoue was my destination for the night. The website flattered it beyond belief, it is without doubt a shithole of the highest order...
The first room I had stunk. The smell was of the sewers, plus none of the plug sockets worked so I had no-where to charge the phone/headset etc. I went back down to the reception and asked to be moved. They moved me to another room, which stunk as well. I was starting to think it was me....The A/C didn't work in the 2nd room, so in room 3 now, it smelled a bit but not too bad, plus the A/C and plug sockets seemed to work and it was 7:30 now so I stuck with it, until that was I decided to have a shower.....
Room 4, an argument and a lot of swearing later and I settled for it.
Went out at about 8 to sample the delights of Fna square.
Now Jemaa el Fna square is world away from Trafalger. It has to be seen to be believed. There are snake charmers, people with monkees, Vultures, Kestrels, Rats, you cannot believe what they will sell you. I wandered around for an hour trying to take it all in. Found the souks quite amazing places, everything is for sale, quite literally...
You cannot take a picture of anything without someone jumping on you demanding money, the snake charmers are the worse, they will stand in front of you if you get your camera out until you have paid. I found the noise, the constant poorly played pipes and the smells all quite heady...
I came across this small group of African musicians, really loud and quite good to boot...
Once the night time came it was a very different place though, It sort of came alive...
Never seen so many people and I have to admit it was a little intimidating at times...
I had dinner in the hotel opposite mine. 180 MAD for what was basically re-heated rice, tinned veg and a couple of dodgy looking kebabs. I politely refused to eat said shite, dropped the guy 20 MAD for the water and bread and sloped back into the market square. Now if I said there was over 100 pavement restaurants out on the square that night, I might have been underestimating it, they were everywhere. Each one offering you the 'best' food in the square, one guy actually said no one had ever had diaorriha
at his stall...Just trying to add some video.......
Ah, here it is...
Very mesmerising, I suspect they do this every day but they were actually quite good.
Very mesmerising, I suspect they do this every day but they were actually quite good.
OK, apologies if anyone following this has gotten bored, but work sort of takes over.....
So, I am in Fna square, its a fabulous place, I was offered a woman, bit creepy as the guy said "very nice, very young" I didn't dare ask how young.....
It was hard to believe in the morning. The square was completely empty. All the pavement restaurants were gone. I found it amazing that all the cooking stuff was gone but would be there again the next night, and so on....
Had a real full on argument when trying to check out of the hotel. The slimy receptionist asked me to pay in Euro. I asked him why and he said that was just the way they did it? Anyway, it was 32 Euros. I gave the guy 50 and said to him I wanted 18 change, all quite straightforward right? No, this is Morocco....
He disappeared for about 10 long minutes, then returned with a handful of money, all Moroccan MAD. He gave me all the money, (500 MAD), and then asked me to pay in MAD???? I told him no, as 50 Euros was not 500 MAD. The slimy bastard had just gone and changed my 50 Euros into MAD at the bank, and was trying to pocket about 50 MAD!!! I'll cut a very long and heated argument short. I left with the right amount of change........
Photobucket is down, can you believe it???
More later...
So, I am in Fna square, its a fabulous place, I was offered a woman, bit creepy as the guy said "very nice, very young" I didn't dare ask how young.....
It was hard to believe in the morning. The square was completely empty. All the pavement restaurants were gone. I found it amazing that all the cooking stuff was gone but would be there again the next night, and so on....
Had a real full on argument when trying to check out of the hotel. The slimy receptionist asked me to pay in Euro. I asked him why and he said that was just the way they did it? Anyway, it was 32 Euros. I gave the guy 50 and said to him I wanted 18 change, all quite straightforward right? No, this is Morocco....
He disappeared for about 10 long minutes, then returned with a handful of money, all Moroccan MAD. He gave me all the money, (500 MAD), and then asked me to pay in MAD???? I told him no, as 50 Euros was not 500 MAD. The slimy bastard had just gone and changed my 50 Euros into MAD at the bank, and was trying to pocket about 50 MAD!!! I'll cut a very long and heated argument short. I left with the right amount of change........
Photobucket is down, can you believe it???
More later...
So, leaving Marrakech was easy. I left about 8 in the morning and had a route planned for the day. The map suggested I could get from South Eastern Marrakech to Ouarzazate in a day easily, it looked like a couple of hundred miles so I planned to get there, have a stop off, then head down to Zagora.
Now anyone who has done the Tizi n Tichka pass will be smiling right now....
The Tizi n Tichka is a mountain pass across the high Atlas that connects Marrakech and Ouarzazate. To say the scenery is stunning and the twists are to die for is an understatement...
There was a photo opportunity at every bend, and I stopped at most of them, each one a little more stunning that the last one...
And the further South I travelled, the more rugged the terrain got...
Now some of the twists and turns were a little 'hairy', especially on a fully laden RT. I remembered something a friend had told me about this pass, it looks like about 100 miles and a couple of hours, but in reality, with most of the journey over the pass in 3rd gear and the bike at approx 30mph, it will take almost a day..
I have to say it was a fantastic ride, but I suspect it took its toll on the clutch.........
I arrived in Ouarzazate by abut 2:30. the temperature was creeping up, now as I pulled into the first fuel station there it read 41 degrees...
Ouarzazate is a sort of 'Oasis' in the desert. I had ridden for a few days now, in North Africa, and not seen a grain of sand. This was about to change. The fuel station had a hotel attached, which I decided to stop and take a rest at. Now like most of the places here, the outside does not do the inside justice. This was no exception. The place was stunning....
Now I could have, and in hindsight, should have stayed here. At 300 MAD a night (before negotiations had begun!!) it was a cheap place. Had a drink here and a snack, sat by the pool I thought I could easily stay here for a couple of days, but no. The trip was not about lazing round the pool, it was about exploring Morocco, so, after an hour, and 3 visits to the khaki (the 'Marrakech Express' had finally set it, with revenge!), I decided to push on.
Ouarzazate is a strange place. After the trip over the High Atlas via the T&T, I had finally found some sand. It made me smile, now it wasn't all about the sand, but seeing it I felt a sort of sense of relief. Almost like as if it was some sort of 'Holy Grail'. As said earlier, I always thought that Morocco was a desert, lots and lots of sand, and there is something quite 'adventurous' about riding through the desert, so, having finally come across some, is was a lot happier.
As you arrive in Ouarzazate there is a real sense of the West. Like as if you have ridden into a scene from a cowboy movie or the like... There is a film studio, which looks really out of place...
I liked Ouarzazate, it had a real 'desert' feel about it, sort of the main reason why I had come here, if that makes sense, I definately felt a bit happier, alas, this could not be said for the bike, I have never seen the temp gauge go so high.......
Now anyone who has done the Tizi n Tichka pass will be smiling right now....
The Tizi n Tichka is a mountain pass across the high Atlas that connects Marrakech and Ouarzazate. To say the scenery is stunning and the twists are to die for is an understatement...
There was a photo opportunity at every bend, and I stopped at most of them, each one a little more stunning that the last one...
And the further South I travelled, the more rugged the terrain got...
Now some of the twists and turns were a little 'hairy', especially on a fully laden RT. I remembered something a friend had told me about this pass, it looks like about 100 miles and a couple of hours, but in reality, with most of the journey over the pass in 3rd gear and the bike at approx 30mph, it will take almost a day..
I have to say it was a fantastic ride, but I suspect it took its toll on the clutch.........
I arrived in Ouarzazate by abut 2:30. the temperature was creeping up, now as I pulled into the first fuel station there it read 41 degrees...
Ouarzazate is a sort of 'Oasis' in the desert. I had ridden for a few days now, in North Africa, and not seen a grain of sand. This was about to change. The fuel station had a hotel attached, which I decided to stop and take a rest at. Now like most of the places here, the outside does not do the inside justice. This was no exception. The place was stunning....
Now I could have, and in hindsight, should have stayed here. At 300 MAD a night (before negotiations had begun!!) it was a cheap place. Had a drink here and a snack, sat by the pool I thought I could easily stay here for a couple of days, but no. The trip was not about lazing round the pool, it was about exploring Morocco, so, after an hour, and 3 visits to the khaki (the 'Marrakech Express' had finally set it, with revenge!), I decided to push on.
Ouarzazate is a strange place. After the trip over the High Atlas via the T&T, I had finally found some sand. It made me smile, now it wasn't all about the sand, but seeing it I felt a sort of sense of relief. Almost like as if it was some sort of 'Holy Grail'. As said earlier, I always thought that Morocco was a desert, lots and lots of sand, and there is something quite 'adventurous' about riding through the desert, so, having finally come across some, is was a lot happier.
As you arrive in Ouarzazate there is a real sense of the West. Like as if you have ridden into a scene from a cowboy movie or the like... There is a film studio, which looks really out of place...
I liked Ouarzazate, it had a real 'desert' feel about it, sort of the main reason why I had come here, if that makes sense, I definately felt a bit happier, alas, this could not be said for the bike, I have never seen the temp gauge go so high.......
Great write up, brings back memories of my trip there a couple of years ago.
If you are looking for sand then you could do worse than stay at the Auberge Du Sud near Merzouga. 8 km ride off the road across a hard packed sand road. It has a lovely swimming pool.
If you are looking for sand then you could do worse than stay at the Auberge Du Sud near Merzouga. 8 km ride off the road across a hard packed sand road. It has a lovely swimming pool.
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I'm sitting at work looking at google maps of Morocco and thinking about the time off I have coming in September/October and pondering. This thread is helping/not helping 
Max_W
Registered user
...and thinking about the time off I have coming in September/October and pondering. This thread is helping/not helping
Mmm, yes, thinking much the same...
Wonder what the weather is like in October, might be able to swing 2 weeks in country with a few days spent in Marrakech with a friend. Ponders....
I am hoping its pretty good, I am off begining of Oct with the missus. I think mid 70s, which is fine for me.
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