Michael Tyler

Was where I stayed this time in the return visit to Marrakech. So much nearer the nightlife and activity of the city.

The place I’ve got is ideal. It’s only a small hostel, but I was able to wheel my bike into my room!

It’s right in the Medina. All the shops and restaurants are close by. The hotel tanaga was the first one that popped up in booking. Really, I didn’t think too much about it. Having been to all the other cities, then coming back, it seemed like the natural thing to do, book somewhere near the Medina. If you don’t know anything, or you had a family or wanted a pool etc. Medina is quiter at night, there are no cars. It’s more authentic. It’s more the real Morocco.

Continue reading “Marrakech Medina”

Last day and fastest day. Averageover 22 kph with the wi!nd.

Someone once said,

go to Casablanca if you like warehouses

There’s some truth in that. It is a big, dirty city.

The coast between Rabat and Casablanca

Is basically like millionaires row for the first 40km or so. The crown prince has his property here, a large golf course and a port. No pictures of that sorry, it’s pretty well gaurded.

The coastal side is interpersed with golf courses and pool-centric apartment developments.

After a McDonald’s on the left, things revert to a normal Atlantic semi-coniferous coast line.

No hills. Flat coast. Simple riding.

Some of these guys out on the road under their parasol selling skate, Dorado, shrimps.

Continue reading “Rabat to Casablanca”

The penultimate journey I’m going to do.

Barrha was an early start from the house of the birds. Onto the sand track, then once again, onto the highway.

Luckily, this highway was not such a major thoroughfare. It seemed to be mostly farm traffic, men on taps and donkeys delivering things to the many poly tunnel farms along the way.

Poly tunnel

As far as the eye could see. Conditions, hot.

This morning I properly covered up with the old sunblock. Every 2 hours, I took another stop to re-apply. Fortunately, by this time in my journey most of the parts that could be burned had already received their fare share of sun. With that and the protection, no problems.

Pushing too hard

When I got going in the morning, I was a little enthusiastic. To cover ground. I’d done 120km the previous day, my brain had forgotten, but my legs had not.

Before the first hour or so, I thought I would increase the place a little. This wasn’t a good idea. I could feel a cramp beginning to develop in my quads. As you may or may not know, once cramp sets in, it stays with you for the day. It’s a curse. You really want to avoid it, because if you can’t massage it away, you’re going to have to rest until it eases.

Continue reading “Barrha to Rabat”

This was supposed to be to a town called Larache, about 30km North. I booked the hotel for the wrong day, and unfortunately, when I turned up at the hotel, it was closed. I messaged them through the booking app and they notified me of my error. Nothing I could do now, the hotel was closed.

Being fairly early in the day, I thought it better to book a hotel which was on my way to my next stop, Rabat. And the best place happened to be

Riad Des Oiseaux

Or ‘hotel of the birds’. Hotel for the birds it should read. Another shady hotel in the back of nowhere.

This is the reason I’m a day behind. The hotel says, on the list of amenities, it has WiFi, but the owner has forgotten to pay for it. It was survivable though, quite a pretty location, down a 2.5km sand track.

The village was super rural and the host was fairly friendly, unfortunately, he saw guests as a material worth. Not really hospitality as such. More profiteering.

Continue reading “Tanger to Barrha”