Errachidia, Kelaat M’gouna, Zagora

2016-09-28

Leaving Fes I head towards Errachidia which involves going through the Middle Atlas Mountain Range which is beautiful.

Afterwards I go through Ziz gorge where if the I had the camera setup properly you would see wonderful shots of the gorge and palm trees, but instead you can see the out of focus photos taken from the bike when I get back.

Ziz Gorge

Once in Errachidia I find a hotel and the owner brings me to a local restaurant for chicken.

2016-09-29

In the morning I have to use a squatty potty for the first time. I manage to successfully use it but I still prefer western toilets.

Today it is raining, leave it to the guy from Vancouver to bring rain to the desert. I am not 1 km down the road when I reach a washout in the highway. Truck traffic is still passing but scooters and motorcycles seem to be turning back. I ask the police if there is an alternative route around. They decide it is easier for one of them to escort me through town rather than explaining it so a police car escorts me through town. Once I am on the other side the police have now stopped all traffic.

Hoping the water is subsiding I carry on south towards Zagora. About 30 km out of town I come to a large section of highway that now has a river running over it. I watch a few cars go through and it isn’t that deep but it looks fast. As I am sitting there debating whether to cross or not a guy on a scooter shows up. We discuss what I have observed and he hops off his scooter, turns it off and proceeds to walk his scooter through in his keds and jeans.

After observing this I decide I look like an idiot and ride through as the water isn’t that fast.

We proceed to the next wash which isn’t very far down the road. After crossing that one I see he is shivering vigorously. He is wearing soaking wet jeans, canvas shoes, a thin jacket and a helmet. I am dry in my suit and so I ask him where he is going, the next town, and offer him my insulated jacket and spare gloves. He asks if I have any rain pants or boots but I unfortunately don’t have spares of those. Together we head off and battle our way through the rain and rivers toward Goulmina. Shortly before we arrive he turns off the road, I assume he lives on this turnoff but there doesn’t appear to be anything out here. A couple hundred metres down the road I can see why he has brought me here. We are at the top of the plateau that drops off to the city.

My Rain Friend

Goat Herd

We chat about my motorcycle and where I am going. Then we head in to the city and grab a coffee. When it stops raining I decide to head out again. Within twenty minutes it is pouring rain again. When I reach Tinghir the police tell me the road to Zagora is closed. I change paths and head towards Ourzazate. By the time I reach Kelaat M’gouna I am cold and tired and find a hotel for the night.

2016-09-30

I wake up and my gear is still wet. The rain has stopped though so I head out and the gear will air dry on me. I ride to the top of a table mountain and decide to stop and take a photo as there is a shoulder on the road here. I pull off the road and the shoulder gives way causing a low speed fall over. A scooter is thirty seconds behind and he helps me right the bike. The mirror and the handguard have been knocked loose in the accident and will need to be tightened. The right pannier has also received some bruising in this fall over.Ten kilometres down the road I stop at a gas station and tighten the mirror and replace the handguard bolt. Shortly after Ourzazate a man with a broken down car flags me down for a ride to the next town. The road is being widened and is in bad shape, I don’t think we would get away with the unsafe conditions seen here in Canada. We cross a mountain range and arrive in Agdz where I have a tea with the man.

Mountain Pass on the way to Agdz

I arrive in Zagora later and setup my travel to the Sahara the next day.

2016-10-01

Before I head to the Sahara I take in some sights around town such as the Date Palm plantations and Jewish Kasbah.

Date Palm Plantation

Zagora Synagogue