17.04.2024
Where no tarmac goes Paris Dakkar begins – somewhere at the end of this road after Taouz! Upon my Michelin map there shouldn’t be tarmac here at all ...
… a billboard in Agadir. More and more paths and off-road stretches are covered with tarmac. A nightmare for all off-road enthusiast! ‘Modernity’ doesn’t stop at the deserts edge.
Exploring the further area on the motorcycle is on the agenda for today. Originally, I had the idea to visit the land art work of Hansjörg Voith, the “Himmelstreppe” (Stairway to Heaven), northeast of Jorf.
Since I have seen the work sometime in the 90ies in a documentary, I am fascinated about it and want to see it. Climb the stairs and watch the sky and the wide plane..
Credits for the foto „HImmelstreppe” by artist Hannsjörg Voith:
Munfarid1 – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90110399
My research indicates that the access to the site is very challenging and involves crossing an Oued, a dry riverbed. There are no pre-existing tracks. One must find its own way in the terrain. I am not prepared for such an endeavor. And it seems that the site is not any longer accessible freely, but fenced round and guarded. One has to organize the access somehow.. Due to inadequate preparation I – unfortunately – drop the idea to climb the stairs this time.
Instead I head straight for the second site to see: Gara Medouar (or Jebel Mudawwar – “round mountain”), a Portuguese citadel cleverly built into a cone-shaped round geological formation. The trip there is on an asphalt road, followed by an off road track, that I master well. The wind carries a lot of sand. It‘s hot. The sceneries I am riding through are fantastic – eroded hill and mountain ranges with sharp edges with slopes ending in the vast plane desert.
And then the flat conical mountain shows up – it is impressive even from far – alone in the wide plain. One side is funnel-shaped eroded. Only when approaching closer do I see that the funnel is walled up by human hand and equipped with a gate. Like a scene cut from a movie, the scene stands before me. I ride through the wall into the funnel. Expecting an overwhelming “crater”. But… Several heavy motorhomes with German license plates have parked here in the citadel. Already, an older local approaches me, wanting to show me around before I even park the motorcycle. I do look around. See a path winding up to the inner edge of the crater. At his highest point a car is parked. The whole scene doesn’t bring me much joy. Quite busy. I don’t dismount, but rather ride straight out of the citadel again.
Pol Tarres, James Bond, and others have also had their appearances here. A scenic place for many. From outside I find the Gara Medouar much more fascinating.
I enjoy the short off-road track back to the tarmac road – it is the desert highway.
Back on tarmac, I head to my next destination, the sand dunes of Merzouga, and then further to the end of the paved road on this route. The wind picks up in strength, carrying a lot of sand and dust, making visibility difficult at times. The temperature rises.
I am passing many tourist facilities and some tourists, motorcyclists, and campers, I actually drive to the edge of the dunes without knowing what I want to do there. My indecision is immediately seized upon by two “local service providers”, which diminishes my desire to park and explore the dunes – anyway the strong sandy wind and hot air makes it difficult for me to try a ride or walk around. Therefore, I continue straight to Taouz.
.. the dunes of Merzouga. I don’t feel ready for sanddune riding.
How far does the tarmac goes?
Where, according to my Michelin road map, the paved road ends. My map is not up to date – as will be shown later – because the paved road continues, albeit narrower, further west into the desert. I follow it for a while and then turn back. I guess somewhere at the end of the tarmac the piste starts – a part of a past Paris-Dakar Rally was through these part of the desert ahead. Now an attraction for many to challenge their own desire for a desert crossing by bike, motorcycle – any kind of vehicle. I am not prepared for a desert crossing.. Sweating in my motorcycle suit, I feel the heat. It’s very hot. Hot sandy wind. Hot sun. I decide to turn back.
Kara and me, we get badly shaken on this wavy path. It doesn’t look like much, but it is when you ride on it! The plate..
On the way back, I take a turnoff to Mtis, which lies east of Erg Chebbi. The turnoff I take is a very rough bumpy track as it . I have the impression that the motorcycle is falling apart. It rattles and shakes. Now it becomes apparent what is solid I think. The GoPro on the handlebars tilts in an unhealthy way. I stop to fix it and instinctively take a walk around Kara. And then…
“Where’s the license plate!?” The license plate is gone. Missing. Where did it fall off? Hopefully here on the very bumpy track and not somewhere on the tarmac to Taouz many kilometers away!?
I remove everything that could fall off and secure it. Then I slowly ride back along the heavily corrugated track. After a few minutes, I actually find the plate on the bumpy track. The plastic bracket of the plate is broken. I temporarily mount the plate only directly to the carrier. The action in the glaring sun, wind, and sand is exhausting. Sweat pours off me in streams.
I abandon the plan to drive to Mtis and opt for the route back to the hotel via Erfoud – taking another route, than the one I took before. This route is more exciting than the one leading west of it and through Rissani. Just before Erfoud is a region where erosion releases fossils. At every step, one finds all kinds of primordial creatures petrified. I am happy to arrive at the hotel in one piece, me and Kara.
I do learn today to get along with off-road situations. I think that is a good way to deal with it. Step by step with small challenges. Each time I got so exited and nervous when the soil changed from tarmac to sand, stone, earth and a mixture of all of it.
In the evening, with the help – could have done it without, but it’s fun to get in touch – of the restaurant owner, where I have dinner, I find a locksmith to drill two holes in the license plate. This way I can mount the plate more accurate.
The food, a lentil soup, Moroccan salad, and the Berber pizza taste delicious here.
