Week 13, Mauritanian visa in hand, hugging the coast of Morocco and Sahara in my sights TOTAL 4927

Rolling out of Rabat with a Mauritanian visa in my passport was a victory on its own after all the hussling and tussling to get my hands on it. Time to hug the coast after traversing the Riff mountains, I was eager to lay my eyes on the ocean again as it seems less lonely when you have the sea for company. Covering the 95 km stretch from Rabat to Casablanca on New Year’s Eve was a rather flat and manageable day in the saddle, the last 15 km’s turned into an industrial zone indicative of the size of the concrete jungle that was shortly to follow. The metropolis of Casablanca, the money machine of Morocco, it’s as modern as any European city with a pace to rival a grand prix and not my personal pick of the litter when it comes to Moroccan cities but impressive in its stature none the less.

In and out of Casablanca in just enough time to see in the new year and back on the bike making tracks for El Jhadida and beyond, this stretch of coastline provided you stick to the smaller roads and stay off the national route and freeway is a great stretch for budding cyclo-adventureres that are keen to have a taste of bike travel, the road surface is rough but tarred and reasonably flat with the odd gradual climb here and there. The wind fluctuates hugely and can change several times in a day so I would recommend taking a good day’s distance covered and bad days get the average of the two and that’s your pace for this stretch of coast. Contrary to popular belief and rambles via the grapevine, water is very consumable in Morocco and can be used to fill up the bike water bottles without any adverse effects.

It’s quite possible to hug the coast most of the way down to Essaouira tacking inland slightly here and there but never too far to feel like you have left the comforts of the ocean, the route is mostly flat with some big climbs in and out of Safi and 25 km before Essaouira there’s a mini monster. Unfortunately the knee troubles that were causing so many hassles in the north of France seem to have reappeared after the crossing of the Riff Mountains and I am not 100% comfortable tackling the Sahara desert with dodgy knees. After exhausting my supplies of painkillers, I have decided to take a few days rest to see if the problem rectifies itself before cracking on through the desert, a decision I am not too keen on as I am already a few km’s off the pace I set for myself which is an average of 400 km a week, but I’m confident I can make it up through the Sahara desert provided I’m in tip top shape.

Usually carnivorous by nature my diet in Morocco has been predominantly vegetarian with fresh produce readily available directly from the farmers and the price of meat far out weighing that of fruit and vegetables, I have made a habit of cooking up vegetable soup accompanied by a Moroccan flat bread which is tasty, filling and affordable. For 10 Moroccan Dirham you can cook up a really filling vegetarian meal for one, which equates to about one Euro provided you haggle in the markets and are prepared to man the camp stove before eating. Otherwise Tagine or Cous Cous from a non-touristy spot will set you back anything from 20 – 30 Dirhams or 40 – 80 in a touristy spot depending on where it is you choose to nosh. The same applies to coffee and tea, Morocco famous and rightly so for its tea dens will offer a pot of “Moroccan Whiskey” (mint tea) from anywhere from 4 Dirham out in the sticks up to 8,9,10 in the big cities and touristy spots like Essaouira.

Ok that’s all the insider info on Morocco you are getting out of me, you will have to come and visit this vibrant corner of North Africa in person if you fancy any more, be prepared to haggle, brace yourself for the wind and have eyes in the back of your head when cycling on the roads because just because they are hooting at you and they have seen you does not mean they will be going around you.