TUNISIA

I couldn’t help but be excited as the ferry pulled into the Port of Tunis.

I have crossed from Europe to Africa once before, into Morocco but had been warned that Tunisia was more complex.

And it was!

Working through bike importation and insurance and customs and immigration took nearly half a day

One night in Tunis was plenty and it was an early start south to the coastal city on Monastir and a little residence in the Medina there.

The public beach was a short walk from the Medina and it was a perfect evening for a swim.

The main plaza of Monastir is between the old fort on the beach and the Medina. Horse carriages carry tourists around the old city and the plaza lined with lovely restaurants.

Heading south along the coast, the next stop was Gabes.

The fields were green and the olive groves bountiful along the coast.

Gabes is a busy fishing and boat building port. Once a very popular tourist destination, it has some lovely hotels at very reasonable rates.

After Gabes it was time to head inland toward Duze, the gateway to the Sahara.

Tracking inland, it didn’t take long for the lands to turn dry and rocky.

The famous mountain village of Matmata, with its houses and hotels built underground was the perfect stop before swapping the Breva for camels and venturing into the Sahara.

Matmata has a vibrant market but unfortunately civil unrest followed the pandemic has meant a lot of public tourist infrastructure has suffered.

So it was time for a Sahara fuel up before heading to the Sahara.

Douz is the door to the Sahara.

Its a vibrant town, with lots of bikes preparing for adventures into the Sahara.

But the mighty Breva is not made for the desert so Douz was the place to garage the Breva and saddle up Camels.

After an amazing couple nights sleeping under the stars in the desert, the Mediterranean was calling again.

The next route was through the arid centre of Tunisia to Hammamet.

Its a long ride to Hammamet which called for an overnight stop in a little art guest house in Gasfa.

It had been a whirlwind tour through Tunisia and Hammamet was perfect place to relax for a couple of days before returning to Tunis to catch the ferry back to Italy.

It was sad to get on the ferry from Tunis to Salerno. I felt I had underestimated what Tunisia had to offer and the 10 days I had allowed for Tunisia was not enough.

Fez – Morocco’s oldest city.

The long ferry ride from Santander in Spain and Portsmouth in England is a good place to catch up on the Moroccan blog.

Fez was my major city experience in Morocco. I couldn’t neglect Morocco’s oldest city, home to the world’s oldest University in the labyrinthine Medina.

Fez is a big bustling city and here I encountered the motorised tout. The motorised rides along besides you on a nippy scooter talking away about where you from, how long have you been in Morocco etc etc. Meanwhile I’m trying to navigate the Moroccan traffic and follow the directions instructions from the GPS. Just as your totally bamboozled the the key question comes. ‘Which hotel are you staying at?’ I divulge the name and next thing the full loaded Mighty Breva following a little scooter nipping through the streets of Fez.

At the hotel, next morning at the cafe across our registered guide will be waiting to lead a private tour of the old city.

He was a great guide and navigating the old Medina without a guide would really be a challenge in navigation and interpretation.

The leather dying vats are an iconic part of the old city.

As is the camel butcher.

The copper smiths

The fabric sellers

And the winding alleyways and heavy doors that the porte to Mosques, Synagogues, residences of the rich and poor

Of course one of those doors leads to the oldest university in the world.

From the high points of the city you can gain a view of the Medina by day

And by night

Inside the Medina the roof of the carpet seller gives a good view across the roof tops.

Did I say carpet seller??? Whoops I bought another rug!!

Fez was the Moroccan city I really wanted to visit and if didn’t disappoint. Maybe a different city next time.

The Atlantic Coast of Morocco

Mirleft is a lovely village on the Atlantic Coast between the cities of Agadir and Sidi Infi. While it is a small village now there is a lot of building development happening and in a short time hotels and resorts will dominate the beaches.

To get to Mirleft I chose a route through the Anti Atlas to Tiznit from Imlil in the High Atlas. This route was over small back roads and villages and avoided the business and hub bub of Marrakech. The type of thing I like. It’s an easy day ride this way from the High Atlas to the coast.

Between Mirleft and Legzira and its famous arches if you keep your eye out you might just find a rough dirt track leading down to the a deserted beach where you can find a deserted piece of the African Atlantic Coast.

The coast like between Mirleft and Sidi Infi is dramatic and beautiful, especially the rock arches around Legzira. Some of which you can only see from.the clifftop edge.

As I said Mirleft is changing quickly. The centre of the old town it’s own charm with the main street a line of blue painted arches.

One of those blue arched building houses a licenced premise. A different type of oasis in Morocco!

Well friends and followers there are more tales of Morocco to come over the last couple of weeks I’ve been in Spain and now Portugal. So time to change focus and enjoy the moment.

Riding a motorcycle in the Atlas Mountains

While the High Atlas Mountains with some passes over 3000 metres on some of the back roads that catch the headlines there is a lot more to the Atlas Mountains. The Middle Atlas to the north and the Anti Atlas to the south also offer some amazing riding.

Along the Atlantic Coast just north of Agadir the roads ride there wind up into the middle Atlas through Paradise Valley to the Cascades at Imouzzer des Ita Outanane.

Unfortunately because of the drought the Cascade was dry but the ride is worth the trip in itself. As is the beautiful Cascades Hotel

While most of the roads are bitumanised and pretty well maintained some of the dirt roads were more challenging on a big road bike.

But the views are worth it.

Into the High Atlass

The climb into the High Atlas Mountains offers a astonishing contrast to its neighbour the desert.

Its hard to believe that 3 days ride from Chegaga, the biggest sand sea in Morocco, you are in the mountains headed by Jeb Toubkal, at approximately 4,200 metres the highest mountain in North Africa.

From the desert there a few roads up to to the High Atlas, most of which take the traveller to Marrakech. But going via the Tiz n Test. The madness of the big city can be avoided.

Ok. So went to Morocco but not Marrakech!

Imlil is the main village in the High Atlass but others like Ouraganie on the TiznTest and Azmizmiz in the Anti Atlas a quite local Berber Villages with good accomodation.