The end..

That's it. We made it back to Marrakech safely after 7 days of riding an 1600 KM !

Yesterday started with fast, hard packed gravel pistes towards the mountains. We then did a slow and quite long mountain track with lot's of turns, so progress was slow.

Around 11h we end on a large altitude plateau with nothing around except a few small houses with shops in it. Apparently this is the last reacheable place for trucks, so people come from the villages in the mountains to this place to buy, sell and trade goods.

The subsequent climb to 2200 m was a fast one despite the rocky pistes. The descent to 1200m in less then 9 km is quite a challenge, as the road is very rocky, very steep, and with lot's of hairpin turns.

After a quich lunch (tajine of course) we did 50 KM of tarmac, and then the last stretch of pistes before taking the main road to Marrakech.

In the afternoon we could see clouds gathering over the Marrakech valley, and indeed here in Marrakech the weather is not that good.

End of the blog for now. We are now going to enjoy the 3 days rest in Marrakech before going back to work...

Oops. Forgot to blog yesterday.

Yesterday was the longest day of the trip: 270 km in total.

After 20 km of Tarmac we went on pistes again along the coast. No more rocks but loose sand, which means you need to drive in a totally different way. Keeping up the speed is essential to avoid the front wheel bogging down. With weight balanced towards the back the front wheel is all over the place, swinging in all directions because of the sand. You just have to let it go and keep on the gas. Unnerving at best. I fell over once, but luckely in the sand so I didn't hurt myself.

We then headed back inland going northeast through farmlands. The area is more populated, and plenty of roads and pistes are possible.

Lunch was a tajine in a small farming town. The afternoon we took faster, hard packed pistes. Hit a problem when we discovered Alain's fuel tank is leaking near the saddle. We can only fill it half way, and have to stop more often to fuel up.

Somehow we misjudged the total distance a bit. The last 50 km on tarmac, with daylight fading, was a bit too much. Everbody has a soar butt !

Today we go up the mountain in the atlas to 2200 m altitude. Then this afternoon down to Marrakech...

Ps: no more pictures because the camera on mobile phone is broken...

Pfff. Feel exhausted. Slept 11 hours but I still feel tired. My body feels like it has been hit by a freight train. I started chivering around 3 AM, as it's cooler here at night. Slept the rest of the night with my sweather on...

Hopefully breakfast will help. Going to Ouled Barhill to the same hotel we went 2 years ago. Today will be a mix of sandy pistes and Tarmac. As long as there are less stones and rocks it's fine. On rocky pistes your arms really take a beating, and it doesn't help for the blisters on your hands either...

The sea at last

After 4 days through the desert it feels strange to drive towards the sea. We left early this morning and spent the first 1,5 hours riding through the dunes towards the sea. You can feel the air getting more humid, the temperature going down, and the typical smell of the sea. You just can't see it yet. Full offroad here, not even tracks, ending on a steep sand slope down towards the beach.

We finally reached the return point of our trip. After heading for 4 days southwest, we are now heading north.

We had the early departure this morning to be on the beach before high tide. We cut it very thin, because after 24 km of crusing on the beach the water was already quite far and we just got off in time...

More rocky pistes, and after a long morning of 140 km we had lunch at Fort Abou Jarif, a beautiful french owned hotel/camping/restaurant. And what a lunch ! We ate so much that afterwards we almost fell asleep on the coaches.

This afternoon was short (luckely), doing a lot of Tarmac.

The hotel is fine, with nice, clean rooms with view on the sea.

We are all quite tired now. More then 1000km off-road is taking it's toll. Acking musles, sore arms and backs, blisters on hands and fingers, skin irritaion from the protective gear,...2 days to go till we get the necessary rest in Marrakech...2 more days of adventure...

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Eary rise this morning. We need to leave before 8 to go to the plage blanche, and be there before high tide.

Tajine last night was wonderfull

Day and night

Today is different from yesterday like day and night.

Leaving the hotel this morning didn't go without problems. Because of the bad service we refused to pay a (small) part of the bill. You can imagine the argument with the owner that followed. He even threatened to go to the gendarmerie.

In Assa they weren't too friendly either. We did 3 shops before having enough bottled water to fill the camelbags.

This morning I felt great. After the first 35km on Tarmac we were back on the pistes in a very remote area. Rocky at first, then full throttle on a dry lakebed.incredible fun, and desert as far as you can see.

We had lunch under a tree as usual, then more rocky tracks in the afternoon. We stopped at an old, abandoned fort of the french legion and had a walk inside.our guide Peter fell, but apart from a few dents in the bike and a soar knee, he is ok.

Our hotel tonight is fantastic. Ksar tafnidilt is built new next to another old fort, and looks just like it. Being on top of the hill the view from here is magnificent . I forgot to take pictures but will post tomorrow.

Had a hot shower, a drink on the terrace and as darkness settles we are ready for dinner.