Day 12 - Fes to Algeciras
After a very successful morning shopping in the Medina, we were back at the hotel and all packed by midday. There was a ferry at 17:00, so we planned our dash to the coast.
Of course there was enough time to take in some more scenery...
All the time, the wind was building - on the final run up to the cost along the autoroute we were being blown across two lanes of highway! AJ mentioned on the radio that the ferries might not be running...
On arrival at the port we were met with this sight.
None of the fast cats were running due to the high winds. It was a steady 40 km/h gusting to 75! There were a bunch of guys from Dortmund who were in the same position as us.
The hustlers at the terminal were very helpful and let us shelter in their hut while they sorted us out with a ticket for the 'big boat'.
Of course once we had our ticket, we still had to go to the Gare Maritime building to get a stamp!
We got through customs, which required a bit of guesswork and waited for our ferry at the dockside. After a long wait with the weather blowing a hoolie our ship arrived, surrounded by sea spray...
Good to see a tug was keeping a watchful eye as it backed into the jetty.
One has little to worry about when Jesus and friends are on board with you...
Loading up we got chatting with some of the Germans, who seemed conspicuous by their absence of luggage. Apparently they'd been out in Morocco for 10 days with a support jeep to carry their bags between 4 star hotels.
"How long will it take for you to ride back to Dortmund?" I asked.
"Oh, not long" they replied, "we've got a flight from Malaga in the morning and a man in a van will take our bikes back to the BMW service centre for a full overhaul."
Clearly we had a lot to learn...
Upon boarding the ferry, the police were there to check our documentation. So the dickhead at immigration kiosk hadn't given us an exit stamp!
A quick blast back up the terminal to get a stamp before the ferry left (I love a challenge) and we were sorted.
We sat the bikes next to the Germans, the loaders insisting we put them on centre stands.
Here was our second lesson - never ever trust the bilge pigs on deck. Always check your bike is tied down to your satisfaction. More about this later...
The ferry seemed to take an age to let go its lines and push away from the jetty, but we were finally underway just after 22:00.
I'd learned a long time ago that the best thing to do in rough seas was to stick the iPod on and start pushing out some zeds. With lots of Moroccan's around us throwing up and being generally unwell, I was happily listening to some Nickleback, dreaming of riding those desert roads.
It seems like the BMW twat suit was made for sleeping in - no need for a sleeping bag in future!
I woke up as we were passing Gib to find our bikes had fallen over onto the German's...
Luckily our machines hadn't sustained any damage, which was pretty amazing considering that not only were there no tie down points near any of our bikes, but the bilge pigs had merely tied them to the bulkhead with a metre of bailer twine! I'd have expected the bikes to be at the other end of the ship.
One GSA suffered damage to its screen, but when challenged the bilge pigs just shrugged their shoulders in a typically French fashion and said they couldn't do anything as the weather was bad.
We drove away with a free lesson....
