11/28/2023 Bikepacking Morocco Day 112 : Shrinkage

Morocco has been shrinking. At one point, the kingdom of Morocco included the land that is currently Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, parts of modern day Spain, Mauritania, and Egypt. Now-a-days, it’s much smaller, and some would argue even smaller than certain maps portray.

According to the United Nations, I entered into the non-self-governing territory of “Western Sahara” today. If you look at a map, some will call this Morocco, others will call this section “Western Sahara”. This disputed territory has the honor of being the least densely populated “country” in the world. That’s a plus and a minus for the touring cyclist. On one hand, it means low traffic and nuisance from unwanted tent visitors. On the other hand, it means long distances between food and water. Like up to 120 miles on the main paved road.

The border crossing was uneventful; in fact, I missed the unsigned border. This means that logistically, WS is easy for me. Same currency, same SIM card, no passport stamp, etc. This Western Portion of the territory that I am in is currently controlled by Morocco. In 2020, the US temporarily became the first country in the UN to say that Morocco was the boss of Western Sahara (this was in exchange for Israel and Morocco agreeing to “be buddies”, which they did). You may remember I mentioned this in reference to “Trump - thumbs up”.

Speaking of Trump, during his tenure he managed to build about 455 miles of wall to block the Southern “invaders”. For comparison, in Western Sahara, there is a 1,700 mile long wall which I will not be going near, until the far South when I cross into Mauritania. It’s the second longest wall in the world after China; it’s called “the berm”. I constantly wonder about these global land disputes - but this one in particular. It’s sand, guys. Add this to the list of things I don’t understand.

Western Sahara is divided vertically by this wall, so this side still feels like Morocco, with some minor observational differences this first day: First, less French. North, most signs would be in French and Arabic. Here, the French has been dropped somewhat. Second: military checkpoints along the road. I’ll upload a photo. Each of these buildings is within sight of the next one on the horizon - enabling them to monitor the most land with the fewest people. One or two men would always be standing alert outside in uniform - watching the road. Each had dogs, and almost all of those chased me - unabated by the military men. Remember, I had hardly been chased in Morocco proper. Each building had military outfits drying on the clothes line. Just to be safe, I took this photo while riding, and when the building was between me and the watching man.

I’ll tell you more later about Western Sahara. Let’s do a wrap up on Morocco. I spent 25 days in the kingdom of Morocco, and would have happily spent the full 90 days allowed to Americans. Would I go back? Yes. For bike touring, it’s a top destination: lots of good scenery, mountains, deserts, and oak woodlands. The people were great - some of the most friendly I’ve encountered anywhere in the world. Drivers were excellent, almost always giving me the entire lane and waiting until it was safe to pass. Even paved roads had very little traffic. Prices are very accessible. For the non diabetic with a more robust gut than me, the food is excellent when prepared for you (though “grocery store” selection is extremely limited). Accommodation is easy to find, though you might need to come with a high level of physical fitness due to the (sometimes) long distances on difficult terrain. A variety of tour styles can be pursued here, including credit card road touring (well, ATM and cash touring). French was useful only at a very basic level: shopping / hotels. The richness of the experience would have been 100 fold better if I knew how to speak Moroccan Arabic (which differs from the Arabic on my phone). The best tours I’ve done were in parts of the US and my recent tour with Janet to Southern Mexico / Honduras. I still cherish the many 45+ minute conversations we had with people and what I learned about their lives. This is the most enriching part of any journey (in my opinion) - but it doesn’t always come easily. In Spain and New Zealand, although we spoke the languages, the opportunities were rare. Conversely, in Southern Mexico and Honduras, people loved to deeply share their personal stories, struggles, anything. Here in Morocco, I got the impression that these conversations were just waiting to happen - because patient people would try to communicate in their limited French. Had I known Moroccan Arabic, 90 days probably wouldn’t have been long enough to ride and REALLY talk to people! I felt my French was better than that of about 85% of the people I met - and my French is crap.

If I were advising a friend, I’d say: Bring a fat bike with at least front suspension. Go from September 15 to December 15st. Go online and look for a list of “top places to go in Morocco” and make sure you avoid the PERIMETERS of ALL those places. The touristic centers are OK; I think because there is some education to “not harass the tourists.” The sphere of influence is big, though. I would suggest to spend more time in the Anti Atlas. I would recommend Tetouan for the cosmopolitan, Fes was better than expected. Definitely go to Erg Chegaga (fat bike). Ait Mansour for a gorge (instead of Dades/Todra). Explore higher elevations in September (the cold in November made me skip a couple high elevation sections). I might recommend to bring candy, because that might be my only complaint about Morocco - harassment. Even though you would be perpetuating the problem for the next guy, your own life might be better. Luckily, you probably won’t see anyone in actual need of food, just kids trying to bum whatever they can off of you because it is a “fun game”.

Hope you enjoyed today’s post and learned a little. I took it easy today because I am “staging” for the next leg. If I want to have water at camp, I need to carefully organize the next 10 legs or so. This is because the distance between water resupply can reach up to 120 miles. That may sound like a lot, but it all depends on the wind. If there is a headwind, I may have to wait out “jumping” to the oasis. With a tailwind, 120 miles is no big deal.