It is quite remarkable an exercise to change direction of travel and organise intercontinental relocation in a short space of time. I had booked the hotel in Rabat until Wednesday on account of what I thought was an unknown variable, the time needed to get the visas. What I has not considered was the start…
Category: Africa
Plan B
Bad news today. My trips to the Mauritanian and Senegalese embassies brought me news that I did not hope to hear, but in truth, that I sort of expected. Having spent the last two days doing intensive research on the way forward from here, I was aware of several possible threats to my route and today…
In Rabat
Today I’m a tourist. I got up late, and I went out with just my man-bag containing camera, videocamera (unused) and my book. The weather is glorious, 19º C in the shade and very few and inconsequential clouds in the sky. My heart goes out to my friends and relative in Europe and the cold…
Getting to Rabat
Kenitra is another of those places I seem to collect that people will not even know they existed before I mentioned them. I think the only thing it has going for it is that it’s close to Rabat. I went out for some food last night and it was nice, there even was a musician…
Milestones: 2000 Miles
Two thousand miles away from Glasgow, and still going. So here are the facts and figures for these 1000 miles. Cycling Continents: 2 (Europe, Africa) Countries: 3 (France, Spain, Morocco) Nations: 4 (France, Basque Country, Spain, Morocco) Cycled distance: 1000 miles (1609 Km) Climbing so far: 35,094 feet (10,697 m) Cycling Days: 20 Rest days: 8 Longest day:…
The longest day
I did not sleep well last night, demons caught up with me, and that was all I needed before getting on the bike again. In the lobby I met the first and only non Moroccan people I have seen this side of the sea. It was a couple of French librarians who are down here…
No pictures
It’s the second day in which I am stationary in a small city in the north of the Moroccan coast. Larache or El Araich is a not exactly what you would call a tourist destination. I have had the chance of wondering about town yesterday in the intervals between the rain showers and I have…
First day in Africa
Wow, I think it will take some time for me to get used to this. I had vastly underestimated the cultural shock I would have got by changing continent. It’s not the terrain or even the landscape, the difference from southern Spain is not so great, it’s the people and their attitude. I suspect the…
A month worth of reading
I have come across a site today that will keep me busy for some time to come. As the preparation activities are increasing and information is sought on the many perils of transcontinental bike riding, the pursuit of the right plastic water tank lead me to http://freewheely.com/. WOW, not only Jean-Baptiste appears to be a nearly bottomless…