SY Hullu Poro

Boating & Biking Adventures

Atlas Mountains – Day 2

The wind gusts were my primary enemy today paired with the sand and even managing to swirl tiny little stones around a couple of times. Two times, at very low rolling speed, this brutal force was close to success but I found the balance back before falling over. While walking the bike, I firmly had to hold it for the wind not to take it away. In fractions of seconds these gusts changed direction from left to right followed by total calm sections. Erratic!

The sunshine helped a lot, not only to admire the scenery but also to stay relatively warm. After passing the Tizi-n-Tichkat pass, all layers were needed for the downhill to our accommodation for the night. Great hospitality shown by the hotel staff, who put the gas heater next to the hot mint tea served immediately upon my arrival. A very charming place, fully booked.

A challenging day in the saddle but I feel very much rewarded by the scenery of the Atlas Mountains and its, for sure, long lasting impressions.

Fair winds…

Atlas Mountains – Day 1

The weather is clearly not playing with us. The high pressure system sitting at the east of the Sahara should bring cold but sunny weather. Influenced by the low pressure system north at Gibraltar we get clouds and southerly winds. All this not being a  favourable combination to cross the Atlas tomorrow. I am prepared to give it a miss, if advisable, to respect limits of body, brain and nature.

It shall be a long night sleep first.

Fair winds…

Marrakesh Stopover I

My five star retreat is coming to an end, for now. Tomorrow we will hit the road again for a tour into the Atlas Mountains.

Marrakesh is a brain-breaker city and similar to Essaouria hard to describe in words. While both have World Heritage status, their charme is very different.

In order to focus a bit I visited the Museum of Photography today and passed on my way not only the largest Kutubiyya Mosque but also the endless jungle of Souks within the Medina. 

The Museum of Photography covers mainly the people & cultures around Marrakesh from 1870 to 1950. Nicely arranged and very informative.

Fair winds…

Museum of Photography in a nice riad.

🚴‍♂️…Chichaoua – Marrakesh…🚴‍♂️

We have reached our second stage destination on this trip – Marrakesh. It was a straight forward ride along the signed cycle path; one water & coffee stop and vineyards added new to the list of gardens. No other highlights.

The Atlas Mountains are still hiding in the mist but the weather getting colder next week might help the sky to clear.

Feels good to be back in a hotel, where you get addressed by your name and the preferred pillow height has been retrieved from the system.

Fair winds…

On the approach road into Marrakesh.

🚴‍♂️…Essaouira – Chichaoua…🚴‍♂️

The first half of today’s ride took us up onto 400m in elevation and through some other kind of moroccan garden – mainly spots of olive tree plantations, potatoes, sweetcorn. But it also came with some pain in the buttock bones until we reached the plateau; felt like they were grinding on blank metal.

The second part was pure joy. Pain gone or forgotten, incline over, headwinds ceased, good music, just cruising along. I am travelling too fast for all these wonderful impressions.

Arabic is THE language in these rural areas. French and English are hardly spoken, independent of age. Nevertheless, we get along nicely but longer conversations are barely possible. 

The cost of my accommodation tonight equals exactly the price of the bus ticket for me and the bike,  one way from Essaouira to Marrakesh. 120 Dirham.

Tomorrow I shall see the Atlas Mountains!

Fair winds…

👍…Essaouira…👌

Essaouira is a charming town, which has not lost its traditional and historical roots despite a significant share of tourism. It feels like tourism and locals‘ daily life complement each other in many ways creating a real win-win for both sides.

The cultural density and diversity is amazing and to that extent new to me, extremely interesting and charming. This potpourri creates a remarkable melting pot of the new & old, traditional & modern, western & eastern, etc., multicultural & colourful world. Generally speaking, friendly, respectful, organized and not intrusive at all. Pleasant to be here and amazing to absorb.

While strolling through the endless labyrinth of the medina last night, I bumped into Boujemaa, a young Moroccan biker with a Trek Procaliber 9.5 from 2023. Nice cross bike. As there are not that many decent carbon bikes in this part of the world, we immediately started to chat about bikes and he took me to the best bike shop in town. Got all cleaned, oiled and 7bar back into the tires this morning.  Not sure on the latter one based on the pump used 😀 but I will find out tomorrow. At 6bar the risk of snake bite goes up tremendously with my 28mm clinchers packed with all the luggage and harder hits from the road now and then. Enough bike talk but my hand-pump is a pain.

Boujemaa offered his help going forward, which is a great support for me, especially when it comes to approaching the Atlas Mountains soon.

بسم لله ماشاء الله = Boujemaa
Best bike shop in town! Job done.

On purpose I have limited the number of photos as it is impossible capturing cultural density and diversity to get close to any transformation of live impressions and feelings. Not my last trip to Morocco, I already believe to sense.

Tomorrow we will be on the road again, heading east.

Fair winds…

🚴‍♂️…Souira Kedima – Essaouira…🚴‍♂️

I have heard various prayers at different times during the days since the arrival in Morocco. The morning prayers called Fajar become more and more my wake up time, currently at around 6:30am. Staying close to a mosque like last night, waking up is guaranteed. Good start into the day.

Sunset Sea View in Souira Kedima.

Today was the last ride along the Moroccan coastline as I have arrived in Essaouira, my first stage destination on this trip.  It is a port city and resort. My first impression is very positive. After pushing the bike along some narrow busy roads through the medina, I finally ended up at my accommodation booked for the following two nights. It gives me the chance to explore this town a bit further in detail and same time allowing the body for some rest.

Time to get some food now!

Fair winds…

🚴‍♂️…Qualidia – Souira Kedima…🚴‍♂️

We have left Morocco’s garden behind us and what appeared to become a ride to arrive offered some nice moments and scenery. Pleasant biking climate.

One more  time, a light northeasterly wind helped to push us south while the 28mm Conti Grand Prix 4-Season was eating the tarmac without complains.

Souira Kedima is a small fishing village with enough charme for a night to simply put the head down.

Fair winds…

🚴‍♂️…Azemmour – Qualidia…🚴‍♂️

We left our Kasbah around 9am under hazy conditions and only after I woke up the kitchen chef.  We had agreed breakfast at 8am, at that time he was still snoring. No joke!

A fast ride took me further south along the coastline to Qualidia, a stretch, which exceeded my expectations by far. Not boring at all. I know by know, where the vegetables in Germany come from when it says under country of origin: Morocco! I have also seen with my own eyes the hard work associated to it.

Qualidia is well known for its natural lagoon and I enjoyed a short walk to understand and feel how beautiful it must have been before tourism grabbed some substantial share of it.

Fair winds…

🚴‍♂️…Casablanca – Azemmour…🚴‍♂️

Biker Ismail guided me out of town on his so-so aluminum road bike. It was early morning 9:30am and we had a chat as far as the traffic allowed for that. He was at a friend in Casablanca centre over the weekend and now returning back home getting ready for some work. Priorities do matter!

Oum Er-Riba River view & good for a swim.

It took 15km to get the last buildings and developments behind us before country roads presented the scenery in somewhat hazy conditions. While it cleared up at later stage, the road took us through some forest and agriculture areas, all quite green to my surprise.

Upon arrival in Azemmour I strolled through the medina offering everything someone could think off including absolutely fresh & cackling chicken. The pigs were already dead and cut in big chunks.

I have booked my accommodation for one night only in a very nice Riad, which is situated within the historical part of the town. Plan is to keep going tomorrow morning as my goal is to get rather sooner than later back onto the road further down south.

Fair winds…

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