Morocco Expedition

So November 2023 came around and my friends Pablo and Mauro asked me if I could help them out guiding and assisting a motorcycle trip in Morocco, in 4 days time... We were at a cycling race, it had just finished and we sat down for 10 minutes to plan this whole thing. We got a pen and wrote down all the trip details on the paper tablecloth, then took a photo of it, since we couldn't take it home, and got down with the preparations for the remaining 3 days. This is what we got up to in Morocco with Pablo, Mauro, Alex and Alain.

We set off from Marrakesh and headed east towards the Atlas Mountains, then continued east to Boulmane Dades and Merzouga. After that we headed south into the deeper desert near the Algerian border to Ramlia, Sidi Ali, Zagora, Lake Iriki and M'Hamid before heading back across the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh.

​I had my camera in the car so I didn't take many riding photos.

Sleeping under the trailer in a car park near Almería before getting on the ferry. We drove for 12 hours straight, so we stopped to sleep for two hours.

Driving into Marrakesh. We had not stopped since Nador, a 13 hour trip during the night.

Pablo after driving for two days with very little sleep.

Gear check in Ait Benhaddou.

Atlas Mountains up ahead.

The boys arriving for their midday refuel.

Refuelling on the go.

Heading south towards the dunes.

The views from our room were pretty spectacular.

Enjoying a break in the sunshine of Erg Chebbi.

My 1996 Honda XR600 did surprisingly well in the soft sand.

Now this is a playground.

Mauro and me.

Pablo getting the bikes ready early in the morning.

At camp, every night we had to do standard maintenance on the bike. Dust and sand can quickly ruin a trip!

Resting up in Sidi Ali.

Crossing the endless planes near the Algerian border.

Mauro's landy came in handy when we wanted to camp in the middle of the desert.

We got stuck trying to find a cool camping spot, some hand shovelling did the trick.

Camping out in the middle of nowhere.

Good morning Pablo.

A quick wash before hitting the road.

Crossing the desert, empty tracks up ahead.

Alex having a rest on our way back to Marrakesh with the bikes loaded up on the trailer.

One final Atlas crossing.

I wish I had taken more riding pictures, which was the main part of the trip, but I didn't have space to bring my camera with me while riding... Until next time!