Having been out to the start of the Shamrock Rally stage this morning, we are now back at camp. Its 2.30pm, we have just had lunch and Mick, Wil, Steve and Richie are servicing the bikes. The weather is absolutly beautiful and I am sat in a little oasis surrounded by huge palm trees and listening to unfamiliar bird song. Im not sure what make of bird they are – about the size of woodpeckers, black and gray in colour. We will relax for the rest of the day before making our way into the Sahara tomorrow.
Jackie has already written a little about yesterday but I’ll tell the story from the bike ride.

The day before yesterday we had arrived at the spectacular Todra Gorge. Breathtaking. Miles of rough road through a narrow deep canyon. We left camp early (again!) and the bikes left the landrover to take another mountain pass. We filled up with fuel and rode through the town until the road simply ended and we were in the desert. Riding along rough tracks and dried river beds, it was fast and hard riding. The next mountain range was in the distance and we just sped on towards it. At the first chance I had to look over my shoulder, there was as much desert behind me as there was in front and the mountain range didnt seem any closer – that was a little disconcerting, but quite a thrill.
We followed hearding tracks and passed the odd Berber farmer with his goats and sheep and an occasional local coming the other way on a moped!!
Mick kept the pace fast and I really had to knuckle down to keep my energy in tact. Its very demanding to keep the quick pace going over rocks and sand, but we made good time. As we climbed the mountain pass I found myself starting to struggle and I had more than a couple of scary moments where the bike nearly got away from me. At the next stop Mick, Wil and Richie gave me a few tips on better cornering techniques and after that things got a bit better. I had been given one of the big 450’s to ride and the extra weight was taking its toll on me but they do tackle the terrain better and faster than the 250’s – as long as you keep your speed up!!!
Again we climbed the mountain for miles getting up into the clouds and the cold air. Both the engines and riders were beginning to get a little short of breath. At the peak we were at about 9000ft and as we rode around a corner under a spectacular natural stone arch, there was a cafe!! Right on the top of the mountain! We stopped and had coffee and cokes and took a few photos. Again it felt like we were sat on top of the world. From here it was downhill for a good few miles. I like the downhill sections but this one was really, really tough. The track was rocky, stoney sandy, slippy and anything but smooth, and we were riding quickly, inches from the precipice. One mistake and you could have taken the quick way down. At times it was terrifying but it certainly kept me focused and alert. Mark is riding superbly now, keeping behind Mick every step of the way – I’m very impressed with how good he is at this now. They leave me in their dust on most sections now but I’m usually only a minute or two behind them at the next stop point.
As we arrived at the bottom of the pass (still in the middle of nowhere), we stopped for a breather and two young girls appeared over the rocks with little bracelets and charms to sell us. Where they had come from we didnt know but we all bought a little charm and they were happy.
From then on it was pretty much flat rocks, stones and sand to the next town where we met up with Jackie and the Landrover and had lunch at a fuel station. We had a good hours rest while Will went to find a local mechanic to weld a broken crank case on one of the bikes.
Next stop Zagora (Where we are now). The afternoons journey consisted of an hours ride through a desolate valley with huge and striking mountains in the distance on either side. We then hit the ‘Valley of 1000 Kasbahs’ trail which consisted of more tough rock and stone riding and transits through villages which looked like we had gone back in time 1000 years. People riding mules and donkeys and all in traditional Berber dress – so far removed from anything in my experience.

This is an amazing place to be. Jackie followed us through the trail and drove superbly in the Landrover. There were sections which were a real struggle on the bikes – I dont know how she did it but she got a good round of applause at the the end.
As we rode into Zagora, the sun had gone down and the town had a bit of a party atmosphere due to the Rally being here. We passed lots of support trucks and rally cars and there was a good buzz about the place. We stopped at the rally headquarters and Mick and Mark went in to check out the details for todays rally stage. The day ended with chicken kebabs and cold beers at our camp site. And chips!!
This morning we were up early……again, and rode the 40kms to the start of the rally stage. I’ll let Mark fill you in from here.

Thanks for keeping an eye on our journey.

Pete

Finally got a peaceful morning, the bikes have all gone off to watch the Shamrock Rally that is happening here and I have stayed behind because driving the land rover would be manic with all the rally vehicles rushing to the start. It apparently used to be Rally Maroc, goodness knows how it suddenly got to be Irish! They are hoping to see some top riders though so I am sure they will come back all excited.
We area in a lovely camp site in Zagora and the sun is just coming up, promising to be hot today. We have had rain and cool weather until now.
I have been driving the land rover for 2 days now through all kinds of terrain. Yesterday afternoon I think they gave me my initiation test, saying the land rover will never make it through here but I was fine!! It was bone rattling tough terrain but no cliffs to the side, well not much anyway so I didn’t need to panic. Just keep momentum and moving forward slowly.
Morocco is very different to Kenya. Kenya was colonised by the British and lots of those ways still exist, like tea for breakfast and the church is everywhere. Morocco was administered by the French, which everybody speaks so I am struggling to remember mine. It is cafe au lait for breakfast, with the mosque call to prayer in the background. It all feels very new to me, but I am getting to like it. The scenery is dramatic and harsh. Yesterday we drove the valley of the thousand kasbahs (forts) all along the river lined with palm trees, quite amazing. The goat herders wear jallabahs and it looks biblical. We had to stop for a herd of camels to cross the road, not something that happens every day.
The bikers are mostly doing well. It is quite grueling at times. The worst moment was a silly one, Mick was just wandering across the road to talk to us in the land rover and you can’t see or hear much in a helmet and he didn’t look and a car doing at least 120kph almost killed him. He just turned his wheel at the last moment when the car sounded his horn. We had all shut our eyes and expected him to be dead when we opened them, it was horrible. In general though the roads and drivers are ten times better than Kenya, so driving has been pleasant. They actually have road signs and they do pretty much stick to one side of the road. It is the children running down to the road to shout for bonbons that scare me. The other day I had 2 hanging on the bike that is strapped to the back of the LandRover and I couldn’t slow down too much or we would be swarmed by them, not in a  bad way, but it is a bit overwhelming. So I just keep crawling along and hope they give up and jump off eventually.
Mark is hovering over me to check his emails, so I will sign off for now and maybe add more later!!