Morocco Off-road Adventure: Day 4 from Tafraout to Foum Zguid
Editor Danny Hermans registered for the Morocco Adventure 2023 to finally experience that “Dakar feeling”. He has plenty of motorcycle experience as an ex-motocross rider, but ten days on an enduro with stages of an average of 270 km every day is a completely different story. Follow his adventures on an enduro motorcycle through the south of Morocco for 10 days.
From Tafraout to Foum Zguid
This morning I got out of bed feeling better. The dizziness is a lot better, the purple spots I saw the days before have disappeared. Only those damn fingers on my right hand still hurt just as much. I'm in doubt about getting back on the bike and am consulting. If in doubt, don't do it is the advice and so I get back into the organization's van.
I will decide, if things go in the right direction today, to start riding again tomorrow. In the van we have the privilege to extensively explore those typical blue rocks near Tafraout. Some groups of motorcyclists had already been able to view them yesterday and now it was our turn.
Painted Rocks
3 km south of Tafraout is the village of Aguerd-Oudad, which lies at the foot of a strangely shaped rock called Le Chapeau de Napoléon. So that's where the famous colored rocks are located. “Les Roches Peintes” did not just get that color, they were painted in 1984 by a Belgian in collaboration with Moroccan firefighters. Yes. It was an art project by landscape artist Jean Verame who created similar projects in Egypt and Corsica.
The location was a place where hippies huddled for years, but now the blue stones are abandoned. Every now and then you see a camper brave the gravel road to photograph the unique spectacle. You wonder how much paint was used on this.
Camel cigarettes
The long drive to Foum Zguid runs roughly over stony paths alternating with asphalt. Along the way you cross the Draa river for the first time. We encounter it a few more times in the following days because it is, with its 1100 km, the longest watercourse in Morocco. Along the way we encounter camels.
They walk quietly on the public road and are not bothered by our passage for a single moment. Unhindered by any knowledge of the applicable traffic rules, they walk where it suits them and we are obliged to slow down. I get the chance to photograph them from the bus. So a dromedary has one hump while a camel has two.
I suddenly remember the famous pack of cigarettes from the Camel brand with the image of a dromedary on it. Were those men wrong at the time? I can't find much explanation about this fact on the net, but I do find out that the animal on the cigarette pack is called Joe. This is how I also found out that camels and dromedaries can interbreed. They call those hybrid camels. They run on gasoline and a battery. Along the way I notice that 4G is available almost everywhere, even in the most remote places.
Berber omelette and lemonade
Most motorcyclists stopped in Tata around noon to have a bite to eat. Small restaurants are visited there and tips are given for a tasty lunch. We once again opt for the delicious Berber omelette with herbs and tomatoes. As a drink we use lemonade from a brand that you can buy anywhere in the world. In the afternoon the Draa is passed several more times, after which the landscape changes quickly. The environment becomes flatter and more desolate and in the background the silhouettes of the Atlas Mountains emerge again.
A beautiful hotel awaits us in Foum Zguid with bungalows spread over a fairly large domain. The motorcycles can be neatly stored in the courtyard where the evening ritual resumes: tinkering with the motorcycles. My day went so well that in the late afternoon I decided to get back on the bike tomorrow. I kindly ask the truck driver to get the GasGas ready again for tomorrow morning. I lend a hand to push the engine up to the loading ramp and immediately afterwards install a fresh air filter.
Creative with a gas cap
On the way to our destination today I had to think of the trucker because he had to put quite a few challenging routes under all those wheels. Respect for John who does this flawlessly with such a large colossus.
Everyone arrives at the beautiful hotel on time. There we are welcomed with the usual Moroccan friendliness with sweet cookies and mint tea. The pool is immediately full of tired bikers. Water fun is not for me, I take time to take notes and fish in vain for a fresh beer. Not every hotel in Morocco serves alcohol.
Suddenly I remember that my motorcycle is without a gas cap because I had borrowed it a few days ago. I think of a solution so that the Husky man can keep driving. I grab a can of chain grease from my toolbox and take off the black cap. Maybe it could serve as a gas cap for a few days. I put the thing over the neck of my gas tank and it seems to fit perfectly.
With a lighter, the Husky rider could heat the cap to create threads. Another hole in the top to poke the vent hose in and the problem was solved. The hotel served a very nice dinner afterwards. I'm letting myself go completely because tomorrow I'll be back on the bike.
Missed the previous article of this adventure? This is the link: https://nl.motocrossmag.be/index.php/2023/11/marokko-off-road-adventure-dag-3-van-guelmim-naar-tafraout
Tomorrow: From Foum Zguid to Zagora
Participated in our Morocco Adventure Project:
- Bhr Parts
- Smets Screen Printing Sticker set GasGas
- Galfer Performance Brakes Remmen
- Dam Racing Parts
- Dapa Design Clothes
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