I will try to let my pictures do the talking. My style of photography is to use the iPad and not worry about quality. Looking more for interesting things than award winning photos. In Morocco I did not take too many pictures for three reasons:
1) I did not want to appear rude.
2) I was conscious that my bike, iPad and camera are worth a lot of money and at times it is not a good idea to draw attention to one's self.
3) When traveling by bike, I sometimes saw interesting things, but was too lazy to stop the bike and dig out my iPad.
Landed in Marrakech, Morocco from Chicago. My bike made it in one piece. It was 2 p.m. by the time I got to my Riad (think Bed and Breakfast). Spent the afternoon buying some food and water, as well as assembling my bike.
Some photos from the day:
Jumbo vending machines in Madrid airport. Items to vend include drones and GoPros.
Sunday June 12 - Saturday June 18.
My plan was to bike from Azrou to Meknes. Haytham told me the bike ride from Ifran was more beautiful and much easier (downhill). Continuing his amazing kindness, he dropped me at my hotel after our driving tour and offered to pick me up in the morning. He would drive me up hill to Ifran and drop me off at the high point, so I could cruise 40 miles downhill to Meknes.
mini drones:
The courtyard of my "Riad" in Marrakech:
Tempting, but I didn't ride it.
Riad owner, Dominique, has lots of animals in the courtyard: turtle, cats, birds, etc...
Doors to my room (from inside).
Rooftop terrace view. Reminds me of a Jason Bourne or James Bond movie where there is a chase scene hopping across rooftops.
Bike assembly time:
All done!
Below is a breakdown of the route I took. I tried to bike the entire thing, but heat and hills disagreed with that idea. Additionally, it is Ramadan in Morocco, so the people fast during daylight. As a result, there are no shops/restaurant open. Depending where you are, it is acceptable for an American to eat or drink water, but it is generally considered disrespectful. So I hitched some rides along the way.
I. Marrakech to Tanant
First day cycling out of Marrakech was very tough. The weather was around 100-105 Fahrenheit. It was largely uphill. I had to swallow my pride and put my bike on the top of a taxi to finish the day. Luckily, most taxis have roof racks.
II. Tanant to Ouzoud
Ouzoud is home to some amazing waterfalls. Also home to a $10 hotel room.
Giant hotel being built over looking water falls. Hope this place does not turn into Niagara Falls.
When I got to Ouzoud, I met an amazing guy named Mohamed. He is a local tour guide. He showed me around Ouzoud and gave me a lot of history of the place. He is extremely intelligent, he speaks 5 languages. He is also in amazing physical condition, I could not keep up with him hiking (and he was wearing flip flops and fasting).
To date, the best experience I have had in Morocco is being invited to Mohamed's house to "break fast" (Iftar) with his family. Below is his brother and mother.
Streets of Ouzoud.
The "lobby" of aforementioned $10 hotel:
The flag is a Berber flag. The Berber are the people of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
Long distance shot of the water falls. This is the "dry" season. I am told there is much more water in the rainy season (obviously).
Mohamed took me on a hike to a village near Ouzoud. He explained it to me but I did not quite understand everything. But from what I understood, the village was settled by sub-Saharan Africans some time ago. It is a mix of darker skinned Africans from Sub-Saharan Africa.
The village is below. Evidently Tom Cruise was here this year to film Mission Impossible. I can't imagine the largesse of Hollywood descending on this village.
The village leader/elder/mayor lives in the "White House."
Reflective Mohamed....waiting for me to catch my breath and continue on.
III. Ouzoud to Bin El Ouidaine (blue route)
My original plan had me leaving from Tanant and visiting Ouzoud, Bin El Oudaine and another place all in one day. Due to the hills, heat and beauty of the places and I took 3 days to make my way through.
Bin El Ouidaine is a lake up in the mountains. It is one of the prettiest places I have ever been. There is not a lot to do. There are only two hotels and no town to speak of. Due to Ramadan, I was the only guest in my hotel. A little creepy and a little amazing.
Notice no development on the lake.
This swim felt great after days in the heat biking.
Some Moroccans came with jet skis. They drive their cars right up to the lake. I wonder where the hell you buy a jet ski in the middle of Morocco???
Lunch. Due to Ramadan I usually had to buy something for lunch the night before and eat it in secret the next day. Hazelnut Nutella is not good, I thought I bought regular Nutella.
Hallway of hotel at Bin El Ouidaine.
Stuff I decided to throw out to save weight and room. Despite trying to pack "light," I have taken too much stuff. Khaki shorts, Evanston High School t-shirt (from student teaching assignment), towel, notebook, paper maps. What was I thinking? I don't really need any of it.
Some sort of tourism certificate at front desk....proudly displayed from 2013-2014.
IV. Bin El Ouidaine to Azrou
This was originally intended to be a 4 day bike ride. But due to my slow start and my desire to spend more time in interesting places (as opposed to desolate roads), I biked and taxied (mostly) this in one day.
How to climb a mountain on a bike:
Not sure what this means...
Loner donkey in middle of nowhere...
$20 hotel room in Azrou. Very clean. Shared shower in hall. No other guests. I enjoyed my night with the towel swans.
Backside of some houses in Azrou.
The "Rock of Azrou." I know it is called that, but no one can give me the back story.
Street signs in Azrou. Everywhere I have been there is a lot of signage in English and Arabic indicating which directions the cities are. There are no street signs with street names or numbers, but these arrow signs make it pretty easy to navigate the country. I am heading to Meknes tomorrow....
Video of call to prayer in Azrou. This emanates from the mosque in each town. (I can't embed a video on my iPad, will embed later. In meantime, here is link:)
https://youtu.be/1IMycxtghVM
Woman weaving...
Being a large white tourist in Morocco, some interesting things happen. Namely, if I stand still for 5 minutes, someone will come and talk to me and offer me something. I have been given food, coffee, tea, water and an orange. Almost every day one or more people have invited me in to have "Iftar" (night time Ramadan meal) with their family.
Anyways, while walking around Azrou, a Lebanese guy named Haytham stopped to talk to me. He is an engineer/architect (sorry Haytham I forgot which one) working in the area. Within 5 minutes he offered to have me stay at his apartment. I had already gotten a hotel (with towel swans), so I declined. But I did take his offer to show me around the area by car.
He took me to the nearby city of Ifran where he lives and works. It is known as the Swiss city of Morocco. It does not "look like" Morocco. They have large cedar trees...
In the cedar forest, you can meet and feed monkeys. This is not like an organized American petting zoo. This is just walk into the forest and throw some peanuts and all these monkeys come running.
Haytham on the right and a local "guide."
Haytham and I simultaneously feeding....
Looking at Azrou from Ifran. Very green!
Very Swiss...
Haytham's apartment. Notice I am wearing a sweatshirt, much cooler up in the Swiss village than my first few days outside of Marrakech.
Carved lion in Ifran. Haytham told me that Ifran used to be a prison (along time ago). Allegedly, the lion was carved by prisoners.
Ifran gets snow in the winter and has some ski hills! Who knew there was skiing in Morocco!! You can see one ahead.
V. Azrou to Ifran to Meknes:
Selfie with Haytham as he drops me off.
Lone scorpion on rode to Meknes...
This sign was in a small town called El Hajeeb (I think). I kept seeing these large storks (I think) perched above houses and towers. Also, the sign is interesting...not sure what language the characters are in (not Arabic). (update - discovered this is the Berber language)
Stopping for a secret lunch. Sebta is the Spanish colony I am aiming for in a week. Here the sign indicates 316 km to get there. This is what the highway road markers look like...low concrete structures on the side of the road.
Coke and McDonalds everywhere...
I had a French host, Anne, lined up in Meknes. She is part of a community that hosts people traveling by bike. Some views of Meknes from the top of her apartment building. It is a bigger city than I thought, about 1 million people.
