Moto-Morrocco Tour #1

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:14

Well four of us landed back at Luton on Sunday afternoon tired and emotional having had a brilliant week. We've had it all: heat and cold, near death experiences, great food and deli belly, laughter and frustration, superb roads and terryfying descents. It's a great story (well you'll be the judges) so I'll begin ......

I arrived in Luton airport on the Friday at 03.00 hrs

and as arranged I rang Andy (Devon) on his mobile. I didn't know him so I couldn't spot him in the airport. He'd driven up the night before from the SW and had stayed in a hotel nearby. It's just as well I rang as he'd switched off his alarms and fallen asleep again, my call woke him up.

After an anxious wait we met up and boarded safely. On arrival in Marrakech we wandered through arrivals and managed to miss Bill (Fanum) and the two other lads that had been on our flight, but we found the Landy and everyone met up safely after a couple of minutes.

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:19

Bill took us to a hotel just outside the city walls. It has a secure compound for the Land Rover and trailer and we were reunited with out bikes all neatly parked up under cover. There's even a bloke who sleeps inside the compound at night

The hotel has a pool and a bar - what more do you need? It even has early morning calls at 05.00 hrs from the local Mosques, something we were to get used to all week

Bill sorted insurance for those of us that needed it and we settled in.

JohnnyBoxer · 20-11-06, 04:19

And.....................

Don't keep us in suspense

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:20

All paperwork sorted off we wnet into town for a spot of tourism. We managed to scare some of the locals with our pasty legs

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoxer

And.....................

Don't keep us in suspense

I'm posting as fast as I can

Whatton · 20-11-06, 04:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutley1150

I'm posting as fast as I can

You take your time Mutley

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:25

We stopped at a nice looking eatery for our first lunch. I had Koftas with egg. The others had everything from Tagine to Pizza.

Around the table are (L to R ) Gareth, Me, Ian (Mr. Ifan), Tim (Timolgra), Rick (RickyC?) and Andy (Devon).

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:26

The view from the restaurant was pretty good, this is the Grand Mosque in Marrakech:

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:31

We then went for a walk through the main square like a bunch of tourists (which I guess we were really). I haven't been to Marrakech for 15 years and it has become a lot more tourist friendly. There were a few snake charmers around but none of the dentists and story tellers and it's lost the feel that it had when it was essentially for the locals, you were incidental to the life of the city. All the same it's still a thriving and vibrant place and the driving is enough to excite anyone.

Here is a sweet stall for you:

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:32

There was plenty of fruit juice to go round as well

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:45

All documented up we decided to go for a short ride to get used to the roads our bikes.

We had an eclectic selection to choose from: Tim was on his DR650, Gareth on a 650 Husaberg 'crosser, Ricky on an HP2, Andy on a TTR250 and Ian on his GS1100. I was on the 1150 GSA and Neil who would arrive on Saturday evening had a GS1150 (tart's handbag

).

We found a great place to practice our piste riding skills and it soon became obvious there was a significant difference between those that knew what they were doing (and were riding trail bikes) and those that didn't (me

). We ran into the local Quad tour at one point, and the leader rode past on two wheels

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:47

The first day drew to a close with a lovely sunset. Not bad considering it was a bonus day as the tour didn't really start until Sunday anyway

BAKERMAN · 20-11-06, 04:47

PIZZA, thought you left Jerry at home

Mutley · 20-11-06, 04:49

We were all on such a high we forgot to go out to eat, the bar kept us supplied with nibbles and cold ones

Oh yes, forgot to mention, while we were out Steptoe arrived. He'd been delayed in Fez on his flight in.

**TUNED IN** · 20-11-06, 04:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutley1150

All paperwork sorted off we wnet into town for a spot of tourism. We managed to scare some of the locals with our pasty legs

needs a Reservoir Dogs soundtrack playing in the background for that pic

Mutley · 20-11-06, 05:28

We agreed we should all ride out somewhere for lunch as Neil M wouldn't be arriving until later that evening. Tim suggest some waterfalls he knew of as a destination so we set off in convoy. The Land took a slighly different route with Steppers and Bill in it.

Here is our first stop for mint tea:

20-11-06, 04:19	#3
JohnnyBoxer Euro - GSer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: North Yorkshire Posts: 7,487	And..................... Don't keep us in suspense __________________ JohnnyBoxer. So many roads...........So little time...... 1996 BMW R1100RT 2005 R1150GS Adv 2007 G650 XChallenge

20-11-06, 04:47	#13
BAKERMAN Subscriber Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Andover Hampshire, Real ENGLAND Posts: 12,316	PIZZA, thought you left Jerry at home __________________ http://burbidges.fast2host.com/shopcam.html