From here it seemed like a simple run off the mountain, back onto desert roads, then a quick run to Tafroute, Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. We tried to follow our map but the roads turned into Piste, so we turned back and, taking the advice of non-English speaking Police, we headed on main roads.
Alas, this route took us onto another 40 mile stretch of hillside hairpins and steep drops, which really impressed Jen. On top of all this, the whole day had taken far longer than we thought, and by this time the sun was going down, so while trying to keep fairly slow to avoid divorce, I was also trying to get to the desert in the valley below before it got dark.
We managed this, just, and pulled up to the Hotel Salama. The rooms here are really nice, and fairly cheap, and the staff insisted we put the bike in the restaurant overnight to keep it safe, even moving tables about to clear a space, which was right beside the Bandit of Nigel & Hannah. It was a quiet night, having a couple of drinks and a meal for 4 before hitting the bed for a great nights sleep.
Tafroute – The town, itself, is a very quiet town, very small, but nice enough. The locals, like most small towns in Morocco, are welcoming to tourists, especially those on big bikes as this means money (to them). After they help you lock your bike safely away for the night, they invite you to ‘look’ at their carpet shop, and keep inviting you until you either give in and go, or they give in, which can take a very long time and sheer stubbornness from you.
A wee bit out of town, Nigel had found a small area of desert with fairly solid, but sandy, base, which we found to be great fun for a bit of off-roading. Nothing too strenuous but enough to worry about falling off, which I didn’t, thankfully Apparently, the blue rocks are near here too, but we forgot to go and see them before heading off to our next destination.
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Tafroute – Sidi Ifni – The 4 of us decided we would head off to Sidi Ifni on the coast, so we headed off together, with Jen doing more filming from the back. The road through the Anti Atlas Mountains was fast and flowing, and after stopping off in Tiznit, the coast road through Mirleft (which seemed shut, but if you turn off the main road, there’s hotels nearer to the beach) and on to Sidi Ifni continued the same. A great run after the twisty bits of the previous days ride.
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