April 25 - 26 Marrakech

April 25 -- Evening

We went to the square with Paul and Theresa. There were thousands of people watching or participating in the activities -- snake charmers, dancers, musicians, story tellers, people with monkeys, and back in the Souks, things to sell.

The food is fabulous.We ended up eating all our meals here -- this is a tent. We ate at this particular spot two nights in a row. (The terrorist bombing was in a restaurant nearby which actually showed up in some of our pictures taken from this spot.)

APRIL 26

We took a toursist bus trip around the city of Marrakech.

Then we went back to the square and went deeper into the Souks.

Went back to the square and had cheesy monkey tourist pictures.

Had Hafita help us put our shalls (foulard??) on.

Mike being a tourist

April 22 - 24 Riding around Carmona

April 27-28 Marrakech to the Atlas Mountatins

APRIL 27

We had breakfast with Paul and Theresa and saw them off. We then went to pick up our rental bikes at Loc tu Roes. Riding off on our 2 Honda Toranados 250cc bikes made in Brazil, the crazy traffic didn't seem quite so crazy once you became a part of it.

Our route following a piste, an old path, soon ended at a river we didn't want to cross but not before we found ourselves amongst a sheep herd.

It was about 90 km to Siti Fatima, the end of our planned trip for the day. Not far, but part of the adventure would be to pick one of the villages to stay the night.

Our village with the hotel in the background

At the end of the road we parked on the river-rock beach when Mohamed Akabli approached us. The river valley is a tourist place -- but it is not high season yet. He spoke English and reminded Mike of his father. We didn't know we needed a guide but he offered to be ours to some of the Berber villiages in the hills; 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours -- whatever we want. Of course, we went for it.

We had a beautiful hike for about 3 hours. We went through two Berber villages. They live very basically; goats, rugs and handicrafts. They seem to be OK with that kind of life.

Tea on terrace

APRIL 28

The equivalent of 7 flights of stairs led to our hotel room which overlooked the river. After packing up, we headed down and crossed the river over the stick bridge. Following close behind was the owner of the hotel who expected us for breakfast.....back over the stick-bridge and up 7 flights of stairs to share breakfast.

We were of two minds for our adventure for the day -- go for another hike into the hills or get on the bikes and to up to the peaks. A flipped coin decided for us. The bike it was. Unfortunately, it was heavily misting (rain) going up the hill so we turned around and came down.

We stopped for a few pictures where Moustafa sold Mike a rock -- some kind of Geode-stalagtite.

Upon returning to the hotel, Hassan, the hotel owner in Marrakech told us of the bombing in the square and that it was all over the news. Our families would be worried. It was a terrible tradgedy for the beautiful city of Marrakech.

Although we have eaten every meal in the square and we were only in one of the restaurants for orange juice, we did not go into any of the terrace restaurants where the explosion occurred. We did discover the restaurant in some of our pictures and videos from previous days.

The nights adventure was to be a Hammam -- a local bath house -- micro-dermabrasion for the entire body.

April 25 -- Sevilla to Marrakech

The plane was scheduled to leave at 1:15.  We had already discovered that the bus does not stop at the airport and a taxi to the airport was 45 Euros.  Our plan was to get on the bus and try to get the bus to stop and close as possible to the airport.....they stopped about 2.5 miles away. We didn't havemuch luggage but we we were wearing our motorcycle gear.  We had to climb over a fence.  We got to the airport with hours to spare.  Quite proud of ourselves, we then went to get something to eat and just wait for boarding.  That is when we discovered for ourselves that Ryan Air is never that easy-- to see more go to Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc
Anyway, a motorcycle helmet does not fit in the dimensions of the metal box for your luggage.  And if your luggage doesn't fit in that square, it mustbe checked.  It doesn't matter that a helmet would fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat.  Two helmets to check?  Let's see...that is two pieces of luggage (we had rearranged them so that the helmets were actually in bags) that will be 70 Euros-- or the equivalent of about $95.  Live and learn.  We will buy a cheap piece of luggage for the return flight so at least we only have to pay for one extra piece of luggage instead of two.

After some haggling for a taxi to get not only us to our hotel but also to get Linda, the woman from Hong Kong, who helped with our luggage, we arrived at our hotel, Toulousian.  And who do you think came up to say hello when we were checking in?   Paul and Theresa.

We said our hellos and then we went out on the town.... walking.  We figured we walked a 10k today.  What a wonderful night.  The food, snake charmers, monkeys, and never ending activity.

 

April 18 - 20 Santander Madrid Bailen

Day 5 April 18

We arrived in Santander Spain after an easy trip. Got the bike packed up and it took us a good hour to get out of the ship. We decided to ride with Tom and Teresa to Madrid. Met Tom who was on an R1. He is a sport bike guy and also has spent a lot of time in Spain. He guided us through Santander and put us on route 623 to Burgos. The sun was shinning and the road was spectacular. Thanks Tom.
We rode the freeway to Madrid. There was alot of road construction so the ride was a bore.

I need to talk about the bike. I researched the bike and saw good to great reviews. We had this thing loaded like a rented mule. Two-up with gear, it was good in the mountain turns and at some points, we were trying to make time so we were curising at 90 mph. This is a 650! I am now a fan. I hope to find another US registered bike for future trips in Europe and this bike will be Beverly's.

Arrived in Madrid a bit late and Paul led us to a Formula 1 hotel. Only 29 Euros per night. We would stay for two nights. Had dinner with Paul and Teresa. We hope to meet them in Morocco. Great time.

Day 6 April 19

Today we didn't touch the bike. We were in the outskirts of Madrid in Mostoles wo we took the bus into cuidad centro. Toured around the town, got a phone card, and went to the Prada museum. It is too big for serveral visits. We mostly looked at Rubens, Belasquez, and Goya. Came home on the bus and missed our stop. Good day.



Day 7 April 20

We left Madrid and went to Toledo; a beautiful historic city in a valley between two mountains. We had lunch and wandered around. Set off late and headed to Cordoba. I made a wrong turn and got on a toll road with no way to turn around. My GPS stopped working so we were flying blind.

Finally got on the frreeway and got caught in a hail storm. Stopped in the small town of Bailen. It wasn't much -- mostly ceramic and brick factories. Got a hotel and met a bunch of bikers from Poland doing a 4000k tour around Europe.



April 21 Bailen to Carmona (Seville)

Day 8

Left Bailen mid-morning for Carmona. Carmona is a small town close to Seville. This is Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Seville hosts one of the biggest spectacles in Spain. Pablo from ADVRIDER suggested we not stay in Seville as it was too hectic. Carmona seemed a better choice.

We drove again in the rain and arrived in Carmona. It is on the top of a hill on cobblestone streets. I am glad and surprised we didn't drop the bike on the slippery streets.

The city is one of the oldest in Europe being first settled 5000 years ago. It is always in the top 10 most beautiful cities in Europe list. Lots of history and a place for Beverly to practice her photo project.

April 14-17 Getting started. Barnstaple, England to Santander, Spain

Day 1 -- April 14

It is finally time to take our trip. Thanks to all the bikers on ADVrider forum for help in planning the trip. I am going to tell the whole story. It is a bit long and perhaps boring, but there may some value to someone thinking of a trip like this.

When I retired a couple of years ago, we planned to tour Europe on motorcycles. I looked in to shipping our F650s to Europe from Seattle, leave them for a few years and have several visits. Shipping the bikes proved to be expensive and a major hassle. The new plan was to purchase bikes in Europe. I wanted a US registered bikes to keep all the paperwork straight.

I found a V-Strom that Gary purchased in California, did some touring in the Americas and shipped it to Europe. We did the deal on line and it couldn't have gone better. The bike is in Barnstaple in the South of England It has 17xxx miles. I was only able to find one bike so we will be riding two up. We will see if Beverly and I are still friends after 5 weeks on the same bike. I hope to find another bike for our next trip.


I have a bunch of add ons to make the bike suitable for two up riding: panniers, top box, center stand, hand guards, accessory circuits, autocom communications and others. I have all this stuff pre assembled and need to install it all in one day.

The route. We are flying to Heathrow, taking the train to the South of England and staying for two days to outfit the bike, socialize with Gary and see the countryside. We get the ferry from Plymouth to Santander Spain and head for Madrid for a few days. Big cities don't usually interest us but the museums and nightlife of Madrid sound like we shouldn't miss them. then on to Andalusia for 5 days. It is Semana Santa and the festivities might prove interesting. Due to time issues, we fly to Marrakech Morocco. We rent two bikes and go to the Atlas mountains for some off road riding. From Seville, we have 12 days to get to Heidelberg. where we leave the bike for the next trip which I hope will be Greece and Turkey in the fall. Will post every few days and report on our progress.

DAY TWO -- April 15

Arrived in one piece. Took the train into London then to Barnstaple. We will be staying in Ron's RV which is parked in his parent's (Ron and Wendy) yard. Ron picked us up at the train station. What service and how gracious they were to welcome us to their house. We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies with all the luggage; mostly parts for the motorcycle.

This is Beverly at Paddington station waiting for the train to Barnstaple. Gary was waiting for us at the station when we arrived. We are staying at Gary's parents place, Wendy and Ron in Gary's motorhome. 

Gary has an interesting work live. He does internet administration and can do his work as long as he has internet access. He travels around the world and his only requirement is that he has Wifi. What a life.

Would you buy a bike from this guy?

DAY THREE April 16

Spent most of the day working on the bike. Installed Panniers, the top box, center stand, hand guards, dash, new fuse box, and wiring. As usual, I estimated 5 hours and it took me 9 hours. This includes a walk into town and some chats with Gary, Wendy and Ron. A good nights sleep and we were finished with our jet lag.

Our gracious hosts welcomed us (strangers) into their home for three nights.



Our home for 3 nights

Went out to a beach town for dinner. This is one of the main surfing areas in England.

Day 4 April 17

We started our ride today. Left Barnstaple for the Ferry at Plymouth. Gary gave us a route through the moors in the Dartmore national park. The sun was shining and the British countryside was green and interesting. (From Beverly -- There are hedges everywhere...criscrossing the green rolling hills and lining all the country roads. Since all the hedges along the roads seem to be neatly trimmed, I was wondering who keep them trimmed.) Arrived at the ferry in plenty of time. Saw lots of other bikers. There was a group from the UK -- a BMW club going to Seville for some touring. Met Paul and Theresa from Enniskillen Ireland. They are also two-up on a V-Strom going to Morocco. We might see them in Marrakech.

The ferry from Plymouth to Santander Spain is like a cruise ship. Here is us loading http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-aE5tXPk68&feature=BFa&list=WL0B55CF873F5C2B14&index=1
We got a room with bunk beds and went to the bar. We didn't have lunch so the beer and wine started us out properly loose. Had a great dinner and went to the ship show. The entertainment was "Tina Turner." She looked like the real Tina. The ferry crossing is 22 hours.

Met Mark and Adam from Wales. They were going to tour around Spain but were going to decide where when they got off the boat. They questioned my manhood on not drinking so we had too much wine and beer. It was fun.