• Date: Nov 14, 2024
• Starting Location: Rabat, Morocco
• Ending Location: Cueta, Morocco
• Mileage: 320 Km
• Total Mileage So Far: 2637 Km (1638.6 Miles)

Breakfast

Breakfast was pretty unorganized, and slow.  We arrived at 6:30, hoping to get an early start on the food, and found out that the Omelette chef was not going to be ready until almost 7:00.  With an 8:00 AM departure, we’d be pushing it so we ate fast, and headed back to the room.

We were sad to hear that another one of the riders was suffering from gastrointestinal issues, and may not have been up to riding. We waited to see just how he fared over the morning’s ride.

The weather

We checked the weather, and there were indications that we would see rain in Cueta. Always the optimist, we hoped that the weather would remain on it’s northward trajectory, and we’d miss the storm completely. We were lucky that we missed all of the weather, and had a nice ride overall.

As we headed to Cueta, the last 50 miles was hot, and we began to shed layers of clothing. I ended up riding with just a mesh jacket, and a short sleeve shirt.

The Ride

Today’s ride would be our last day in Morocco. Rabat is a big city, with lots of traffic. Leaving Rabat would take us more than 30 minutes, but then, off we went.

Some riders had anxiety about riding in this type of dense, city traffic, but it’s part of a trip like this, so we needed to figure out how to make sure everyone is safe, and comfortable. Once out of the city, we made good time, putting 100 miles behind us by 10:00 AM.

Unfortunately, this part of Morocco is more modern, and much more like a city that might exist anywhere in the world. There’s a lot of highway, but none of those fun, winding roads that we’ve come to know in Morocco.

As we approached Casablanca, we had an option to consider. We could either ride through Casablanca, dealing with all of the traffic and subsequent delays, or we could route around Casablanca. In our morning briefing, we talked about the need and the desire to route around Casablanca, but when we approached Casablanca, we seemed to have abandoned that plan, and were headed right through the heart of the huge city of Casablanca.

After sitting in traffic, and dealing with trying to stay intact as a group, we gave up, and took a right hand turn which would allow us to exit Casablanca, without suffering too much more of the traffic. This new route took us by the port of Tangiers.

Riding by this port, you have to be struck by the size of it. The port likely takes up close to 10 miles of the coastline, with most of it surrounded by security fences, armed guards, and razor wire. It was quite a sight to see.

Lunch

Lunch was at a restaurant near the water in Ascila.  Some folks went to the Medina, I stayed at the restaurant, relaxing. It was at lunch that we learned that another rider was not going to be able to complete the ride, and we’d need to load another bike into the van.

Customs and Immigration

The process is overly bureaucratic, but it moved along, and we processed out of Morocco in about an hour.  Processing into Spain took only 5 minutes. During our dinner that evening, Paulo informed us that entering Morocco in only 60 minutes is the fastest that he’s ever cleared Immigration and Customs. As a result, our joyful guide, once again, purchased the wine for dinner.

The hotel

The hotel is a parador, which is a type of building that has historical significance, and through an agreement between the government and private industry, this property has been turned into a hotel. All Paradors are supposed to be beautiful.  Unfortunately, this hotel seems to have seen better days. The A/C is not working, and the explanation is that the hotel has turned off the A/C for the season, since its no longer summer. But, the heat and outside temperatures tell a different story.

With the heat creating some discomfort with our sleep, we decided to open the door to the balcony, and let the room cool down. So, we opened the door, and headed to the bar.

The trip to the hotel from the border crossing was only about 2km, but I filmed our arrival, as it was our last hotel arrival of the trip.

A Report from the road

Dinner

Sometime during our ride yesterday, we were presented with a list of choices for our meal at the Parador. I chose the Veal Chop, and I chose a salad to accompany it. However, when the other options arrived, I decided that the Pumpkin soup looked better than the salad, so I convinced someone to swap with me.

What will tomorrow bring

Tomorrow is the last day of our trip. We’ll start with a 45 minute ferry trip across the straights, and then we’ll head along the coast of Spain until we turn inland, and head towards Ronda. Ronda will be the highlight of our trip tomorrow.