being a tourist.......

Since my last post i continued south up into the Rif Mountains to Chefchauen, a pretty little town in the heart of Moroccans infamous dope growing area and a hot favourite for euro dread locked warriors who seemed to make up half of the tourists there.

I put myself into a cosy little guesthouse with a couple of German students, a slightly mad old french artiste and a French Canadian couple who are taking a break from their cycling tour of Spain (bonjour si vous etes dire)

With crappy cold weather and with plenty of time on my hands before meeting Haakon in Fez (Haakon is the Danish chap that i will be doing the Sahara leg of the journey with.) I west west to the Atlantic coast. Where the weather was crappy and cold.....

but only for a bit...
So I decided to test the Maroccan campsites and threw my lot in with the Franco- Germanic moter home brigade, who seem to swarm down the Atlantic coast in search of the sunshine that may have escaped the Med. Some come on there own others as part of a tour- the only prerequisite is grey hair and a love of washing your vehicle. Not a bad way to spend the winter though.

The last couple of nights i spent in a campsite on the outskirts of Rabat, the political capital, and put the time to good use by getting my visa for Mali at their embassy there. The biggest van on the site yesterday actually belonged to a retired couple from Manchester who had sold up, house and all never to return to blighty- at least that's what they're claiming 3 months in.

Now for a nation of non drinkers they are (the males that is) an aggressive bunch. I was sat in a cafe on the square in Chefchauen have my breaky, when an argument broke out between the owner of my cafe and the owner the adjacent cafe. My chap, who i was backing, was accusing the other chap of touting for business on "his" piece of pavement. My chap then throws his glass of mint tea at the other- narrowly missing his head and it all kicks off. And this is not an isolated incident. Where i parked my bike yesterday there where 2 scuffles in the space of 15 minutes. Mind you, i was also offered "fuckie fuckie" there so perhaps that was just a dodgy area.

The bike is running sweetly, only one little panic when the engine ground to a halt 2 days ago. Fortunately, it was only air intake to the fuel tank that had pinched so i was on my way in no time.

I had a great journey up to Fez today. The scenery changing over every hill. Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure:

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