A TASTE OF FREEDOM: Morocco 2023 || Solo Yamaha Tenere 700 Enduro Motorcycle Adventure

Spontaneous solo 3 week motorcycle round trip in Morocco with most nights spent in a tent
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This is the exact route: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mi...

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Note: I do not own these music tracks.


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So obviously everybody is different. But when a three week window in my time table suddenly popped up at the beginning of November 2023 and my T7 already had been almost ready to go plus the weather seemed reasonably favourable I just went for it. It was autumn in Europe and it started to get cold. I needed to ride 1000 km from Vienna in Austria to Genoa in Italy. On the highway I reached altitudes of over 1000 metres. The windchill forced me to wear every piece of garment I brought. I was wearing waterproof socks on top of three regular socks. It started to rain heavily but my rain suit managed to keep me dry.
In Genoa I boarded a ferry that headed to Tanger, which is located at the very north of Marokko. I crossed a big part of the Mediterranean. As per usual on my expeditions I wanted to be able to sustain myself for a couple of days when I’m on the trails. This gave me the confidence to start exploring a new continent and even paths off the beaten track. Back in 2019 I had visited the city Marrakech as a regular airplane tourist but other than that Marocco and Africa in general were completely unknown to me. It has to be said though that I had been dreaming of riding my motorbike through this region for a long time. It took more than two days to reach Africa on the ferry and it was arduous I gotta say. My noise cancelling headphones and a lot of literature made things easier. Also you could use mobile data from time to time.
After entering the country I started to head south and wild camped on my first night already.
On my first real day in Morocco I took an extended break in the center of Chefchaouen the famous blue city. I had some tasty coffee and enjoyed the misty atmosphere. At this time in autumn it didn’t seem too overcrowded. I enjoyed it a lot. The shops had lots of nice gifts, but it seemed like a bad idea to add any more weight to my already full motorcycle bags. Because I had some time left in my day I decided on continuing further South.
It was unexpected to ride through cloudy and overcast weather in Africa, but the temperatures were much more pleasant than at home. The things you come across here are pretty unique though. What was I getting into?
I spotted a muddy track which headed in the right direction and followed it further South.
Time flew by and at sundown and I ended up being very close to the ancient city of Fes, nowadays the third biggest town of Marocco. I felt like having a shower and a proper meal so I booked a night at the Riad Damia and called it a night. One of the main rooms at ground floor was given to me and I slept under an ancient cedarwood ceiling. I had a very relaxing night.
The next day I entered the Ifrane national park which is famous for its ancient cedar forests.
I felt more alone than at any other point during my trip so far and temperatures were still pretty low.
It was beautiful riding though. It felt like I only shared the place with sheep and wild mountain monkeys.
And then suddenly the horizon changed.
The forest ended and gave way to a high plateau at over 1500m. At the city of Boumia I bought water, some meat, a big onion and potatoes. I ended up not using my groceries that night though. My petrol tank was filled up again. It started to get dark and the rain got heavier and heavier.
I reached the town of Imilichil, where I actually saw other adventure riders for the first time. Close to the town there is a beautiful blue alpine lake which I visited. That was one of the highest altitudes I reached at 2300 metres. I continued on my loop through the high Atlas on the famous R704 where the Col de Ouane pass peaked at 2900 metres. Close to the town of Ait Marghad in a valley at a somewhat lower altitude I made camp. At the evening I improvised my potatoes and beef in a curry and called it a day at sunet. This day of riding was one of the highlights of my trip.
In the morning I crossed the Atlas again and started to head East into the Todgha Gorge towards Tamatouche. The piste was slowly getting modernized but for me it was in ideal condition to warm up. Things are getting done in Morocco.
At a more quit place downstream I joined two Moroccan women, who were kind enough to lend me their washing bowl and washing powder for some much needed laundry. The scenery started to change dramatically. My first desert tracks were coming up.
I was heading East towards the city of Erfoud. At times I lost the track completely. On my way I passed two known structures where the German concept artist Hannsjörg Voth immortalized himself in the middle of nowhere.