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Week 24: Christmas in Morocco

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those of you who celebrate.

This has been a very good week, it started with randomly meeting a guy who I had already met in Spain, Graham the guy on the Paris to Dakar hitch-hiking race, after spending some time catching up with him I went to collect my Mauritanian visa, then headed south towards Casablanca. I didn’t really enjoy the city much, it is very big and busy with nothing beautiful other than a large mosque on the sea front.

After spending a night in a cheap hotel I headed further south, to Marrakesh, to meet up with Tony at a camp site there. We stayed there for one night, it was a really nice camp site, with a swimming pool and a bar, although it was a little too cold for swimming. In the morning we headed west to the coast, near a town called Essaouira, to meet a Dutch couple who we originally met in Rabat. The camp site they were staying at was really cheap, it cost us 5 euro each for camping and breakfast. In the evening we had a BBQ with the Dutch couple and drank a few beers before heading back to the tents.

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The following morning, while we were packing our tents away, an English guy arrived on a motorbike to meet us, his name was Bilimanjaro. He is travelling through Morocco for Christmas and had heard we were staying nearby. He had already met Charlie, another adventure motorcyclist who we were planning to meet that day. The five of us (Me, Tony, Bili and the Dutch couple) drove into town to meet Charlie. Charlie has been travelling for a year around South America and is hoping to explore Africa through the winter so that he can head into Europe during next summer.

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We stayed in Essaouira for the next two nights, spending the days exploring the Medina and trying to sample the delights it had to offer at the lowest possible prices. After two great days in Essaouira we parted company. Bilimanjaro is heading back into Europe, Charlie is trying to get a visa for Mauritania and me and Tony are heading south towards the Western Sahara. Apparently American citizens are having problems getting Mauritanian visas, this is a problem as Mauritania is blocking the path to the rest of Africa.

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After leaving Essaouira we drove south along the coast and arrived in Agadir, we stayed in a hotel for 15 Euros and this morning we plan to head further south to Sidi Infi, where there are some natural rock arches on the sea front which we can go to visit.

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Week 23: Northern Morocco

Fes was nice, I stayed there for a couple of nights and went on a tour of the medina. Fes is an ancient city with loads of history and the medina is really interesting, there is still a tannery which treats the leather in the traditional way. First soaking it in lime and pigeon poo, then washing it with wheat and then soaking it in natural dyes.

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After spending a few days in Fes I headed west to Rabat to apply for my Mauritania visa and meet up with Tony (from Tony on the road). We stayed a night in a campsite just outside Rabat, opting for a hotel room because Morocco is too cold at night. Then on Friday we went to the Mauritanian embassy to apply for my visa. As they would not have the passport ready until Monday I decided to join Tony on his trip south to the Cascade d’Ouzoud for the weekend.

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Yesterday we walked to, and circled around, the waterfall before heading back to the hotel. Tony had highlighted how overloaded my bike was compared to his and so I decided to sort through my luggage again. I got rid of some clothes and decided to post my English Syllabus to Makunduchi. I am also getting rid of my dirt biking body armour and just keeping my armoured jacket. I am now back in Rabat ready to pick up my visa tomorrow before I head south.

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