Will send a longer communication tomorrow. Hope you're having a good day today xxx

DAY 5 - 8TH OCTOBER 2015 - GRANADA TO MALAGA - 80 MILES APPROX.


Yes that's right folks, a measly 80 miles today and no crossing to the 'Promised Land' today I'm afraid!
By 8.30am I was down by my bike tools laid out in the car park adjusting my chain. The trouble was by the time I'd tightened everything up I only had a couple of notches of adjustment left and I knew there was no way after a week and a half of riding in Morocco some of which would be dirt roads, that the chain would last. And the chances of being able to get a new chain there would be extremely unlikely. Secondly I did a careful check of my oil to find there was no oil !! Well that's what my dipstick said anyway! I had bought 500ml of oil with me, half of which I used right at the beginning of my trip. So in went the rest and thankfully my dipstick was happy; for the moment! The fuel problem is still occurring although seems to be ok whilst the engine is running, so I must just remember to turn the fuel off when switched off
So it was first big decision time. Stay in Spain to try and get the problems fixed or risk it for a biscuit and travel on regardless. It was a no brainer really, I had to get at least the chain and oil leak seen to and thankfully with modern technology I used my laptop to locate a motorcycle repair shop in Malaga and then programmed in the address to the satnav.

WILL THIS SHOP SAVE MY DREAM?
Within a couple of hours of riding, once more in glorious sunshine, I pulled up outside Moto Sprint in Malaga. Thankfully the female receptionist spoke a little English and together with the mechanic who came outside to check the bike I was able to explain about the chain and the oil leak ( I had already bought a gear shift shaft oil seal just prior to my trip as Malcolm, my mechanic back home believed that's where it may be coming from. The annoying thing was I took the bike out for a good 20 minute test ride during the week before leaving and I swear on that occasion it didn't leak. Hence the reason I didn't get it seen to prior to leaving. B-----ks!!) As I suspected he would, the mechanic recommended I also have the sprockets done at the same time. Cue several phone calls from the very helpful lady. After about 40 minutes of phoning round she announced the best they could do was order the parts today and hopefully they would arrive first thing tomorrow. I then asked if she knew of a cheap hotel nearby. She pointed along the road 25 yards and there was the Hotel Guartin right in front of me! After parting with another 40 euros I was shown to my very pleasant room and being assured it was a safe area I was able to park my bike just along the road from the hotel.
Trying to look on the positive side I made good use of the afternoon by going for a jog to downtown Malaga to take in the sights. ( I intend to walk back down later to get some pics and probably have a sit down meal). Also it's given me time to catch up with this blog after yesterdays setback.
So you must all be on the edge of your seat now wondering ' Well when are you going to Morocco Dave?!' Well I think even if they get the bits and the job is done by early afternoon it will be too late to go tomorrow as I don't want to be arriving there late afternoon looking for accommodation as it gets dark, so I'm afraid it looks as though tomorrow will also be another night spent in Spain.
I spent a delightful evening wandering around the city centre. I arrived at the wide main marble, yes marble, pedestrianized shopping street just as the sun was setting and all the street lights were coming on, magical!
For anyone who's interested I've worked out how to copy and paste maps on to this site, so I've updated all the previous days travelling if you want to take a look!

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Hi K I'm checking e mail fairly regularly. Probably best to reach me there. x

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DAY 6 - FRIDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2015 - MALAGA TO ALGECIRAS ( 87 MILES APPROX)



Greetings all I bear good news. My bike is fixed, well sort of! The chain and sprockets have been replaced, brilliant. The oil seal was also done but unfortunately it appears the leak may be coming from the seal right next to the gear shaft that senses when neutral is selected. So I have bought another litre of oil and hope this will see me though the next week or so, fingers and everything else crossed!
Thankfully I didn't have to be out of my hotel room until midday so this allowed me time to book my ferry ticket at a nearby travel agent (one less thing to worry about!) for about £60. Worryingly my Santander Zero credit card wouldn't work in the ATM so I thought the logical thing to do was go into a Santander bank after all they are based in Spain! However the branch I went into was a small one with one girl serving a long queue and knowing my midday deadline I went back outside and used my normal Santander debit card instead which, thankfully, worked fine. Back at the hotel they allowed me to store all my luggage and riding kit down in the basement.
Back at the bike shop the parts still hadn't arrived, but I was assured they would and the job would be done by the end of the day. So camera in hand I wandered down towards the city centre and came across the official city tour bus. Twenty euros later there I was on the open top bus enjoying the warm Malaga October sunshine and learning all about the city.
Factoid: Pablo Picasso was born here! Half way round the trip we alighted from the bus and were taken on a walking tour of the city centre which is all pedestrianized. It was one of those hop on hop off services with buses passing every 20 minutes. So having done one circuit I stayed on board and this time alighted at the old castle high up and overlooking the city. The views were stunning and after some hastily taken pics it was back on board the fun bus to continue my 2nd tour of the town, although this time I did alight early at one of the stops that was closer to the area where I'd stayed the previous night.

THE DREAM LIVES ON! MY SAVIOURS FROM THE BIKE SHOP!
Back at the shop it was now 6pm but there was my bike resplendent in new sprockets, chain and oil seal ! So after parting with another £100 and hastily getting changed back at the hotel I was back on the road heading for Algeciras. However at my next fuel stop, as stated earlier, I realised oil was still dripping and the fuel coming from the breather pipe from the carb is getting worse.
I arrived at the hotel Victoria Marina, which was situated immediately adjacent to the port, in darkness. As I couldn't park directly in front of the hotel I rode round into the side street where there was little, if any, street lighting and further along in the gloom I could see a large group of mainly black African looking men. As they heard my engine and saw my headlight they seemed to all stop whatever it was they were doing and look towards me. Thankfully I was able to do a quick 180 and head back past the 'lady of the night' hanging about on the corner, to the bright---ish lights at the front of the hotel. The hotel was a bit seedy with a scruffy greasy haired male receptionist who curtly told me I couldn't leave my bike out the front and that there was a car park down the road for 10 Euros (£8) for one night. I agreed to move it once I'd unloaded my gear. The room,up on the 7th floor, was basic but large and clean. Once sorted I returned to my bike and simply moved it about 15 yards away from the hotel entrance and used my cable lock to secure it to a nearby lampost.
It took me a while to drift off thinking about catching the right ferry, being there in plenty of time, complications with the administrations of getting into Morocco, finding a cash machine, purchasing insurance and finding accommodation once there. Not much to worry about then eh?!!

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If you still are in Algeciras tomorrow we can have a , if not just enjoy Morocco!!!

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http://www.wanderclan.com

That's very kind but I'm on the 11.30 ferry, hope you enjoy Morocco to.

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Hi Dave, are you online at the moment. I've just been reading all your news in more depth.

How's it going; where are you now. For some reason I can't seem to see anything after the 7th October?

Karen xx

Yay, all your latest posts have just come through. All sounds brilliant Dave.

Are you enjoying it? It's cold here :-( x x x

Going by the timing of the last post, 18 hours ago, i'm guessing you must now be in Morocco. Bet it's starting to get hot? x x x

Hi K
Just managed to get hooked back on to the internet, so I can continue my story although maybe not with pics as just checked and all the maps and some of the pics don't seem to be coming up
xx

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DAY 7 - SATURDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2015 - ALGECIRAS (SPAIN) TO TETOUAN (MOROCCO)
(APPROX. 70 MILES)

Upon leaving my salubrious abode I was greeted by a more congenial receptionist who nonetheless had still stuck another 7 euros from nowhere on the bill. But being paranoid about getting to the ferry port in plenty of time I couldn't be arsed to argue the toss so I just paid and was glad to saddle up and get going.
Five minutes later I was at the port and joined the queue for the Mediterranea giant catamaran. We were due off at 11.30am but because it wasn't a roll-on roll-off ferry the big artics all had to reverse into the cargo hold and one particular lorry seemed to take an eternity. Consequently we finally sailed out of port some time after midday.
Soon after sailing past the great rock of Gibraltar it didn't take long for the great continent of Africa to come into view and after about one and a half hours we were docking in Tangier Med.
Now this is where the fun and games started! Apparently the Moroccon police come on board to carry out the first passport checks. So initially we were all directed to the middle of the boat, then we were all sent to the front of the ship and finally all herded to the back where 3 plain clothes policemen had miraculously appeared! After about 40 minutes I had my first passport stamp and was riding into freedom at last, WRONG!! We then had to queue at the first set of booths where some more plain clothed police carried out some kind of other check. At this stage I was discreetly and pleadingly asked for 'Une cadeaux s'il vous plait?' (A present please?). I pleaded ignorance and was therefore directed ahead to customs where several other uniformed Keystone Cops seemed to be randomly checking documents and searching what appeared to be mainly Moroccon vans and cars crammed to the gunnels with all manner of household goods including a toilet, it's true! The wait here was interminable!
It must have been at least an hour before my documents, including vehicle this time, were checked. Even then I got sent back with my documents to the first set of booths, only to be told by the original cops there that all was in order and I could go back to customs again! After further conflabs about goodness knows what amongst themselves I was finally told to go! Hurrah! Documents safely packed away off I rode only to be stopped a hundred yards later at yet another bloody checkpoint! One final passport check and this time it really was Morocco here I come!
After all that the feeling of relief once on the open road was quite euphoric. So with a big smile on my face I headed east with the initial intention of ending up at a town called Chefchhaouen to look for accommodation. First though I needed money and insurance. The former was sorted quickly as the first seaside resort I went through had banks along the seafront. But despite Chris Scott's ( The Moroccon overland guru) assances there were plenty of 'Bureau's d'assurance' along the road, I'm dammed if I could see any! Placing this small problem at the back of my mind I needed to deal with a more pressing problem, oil, or lack of it! So I pulled over and using the litre I had purchased back at the bike shop in Spain I guestimated an amount and continued my journey skimming the edge of the Rif mountains. Certainly along the first 20kms or so from the port the roadside was populated by small groups of very dark skinned African men apparently doing nothing although some did hold there hands out as I went past in a kind of begging gesture. All would become clear later.
The first major town I came to was called Tetouan and as I negotiated a busy roundabout looking for signs to Chefchaouen a local biker on an ancient 250 Honda semi-trail bike pulled alongside me and the friendly faced man said, 'Hey I speak English, if you are lost I can help you'! Here we go I though be prepared to be scammed, ripped off or murdered! But I was lost so I pulled over anyway! After various pleasantries he assured me his job was as an official tour guide in Tetouan. So rightly or wrongly I thought let's go with the flow Dave and I asked if he knew of any reasonably priced hotels in the town. ' I show you now, follow me'! So off we went and 10 minutes later we pulled up outside, ironically enough, The Malaga Hotel, situated right in the town centre. In we went and after a short conversation with the receptionist, Mohammed had booked me in and secure parking for the bike for 350 dirhams ( £24). The room was basic but clean and tidy. Mohammed said, Ok so now you shower, change, and I meet you back here in an hour and I show you the Medina, the Palace, the Souk and maybe you want something to eat?!' I dutifully did as I was told and sure enough Mo was waiting for me and off we went all around the market, the alleys,the mosques and sure enough there is a palace there, not as grand as Buckingham, but apparently the king does stay there for a couple of months each year. Apparently Mo reckoned he'd been tour guiding around the town for over 30 years, taking mainly Spanish tourists who nip across like we used to do on the booze cruises to Calais , in order to snap up cheap bargains at the Tetouan market. And in line with his job as a tour guide I was subjected to the carpet salesman and later the exotic herbs, spices and oils man. Those that know me know I keep my wallet more firmly shut than a cell door in Wormwood Scrubs! But going with the flow I ended up buying a delightful silk carpet for £250, having an essential oil massage and buying some fancy nail ointment. So wallet lighter, all relaxed and oiled up we continued our tour finally ending up in a friendly fast food establishment where he left me to enjoy my sheeps heart and chicken kebab!

MOHAMMED, 'I KNOW EVERYBODY'!
What a character Mohammed is! He seemed to know everyone, which he was obviously quite proud of as after exchanging pleasantries with a shop keeper here and a policeman there he would say, 'You see I know everybody'! Before he left I gave him 150 dirhams (about £10) to say thanks as he'd been absolutely brilliant and helpful. However he wasn't finished there! 'Tomorrow, even though it is Sunday and everything is closed I meet you here, I know some people and we get you some insurance so you can continue your journey without possibility of going to prison and having your bike locked away!' GULP!! I never realised it was that serious!
I asked about the men along the roadside and apparently Morocco is very much like Serbia, Hungary and Greece are at the moment, with illegal immigrants passing through trying to get into Spain and beyond. The main difference being in Morocco they get absolutely nothing, so they tend to congregate at the roadside, begging in the hope of being given some food and water on their journey before they jump into a dingy to try and cross to Europe.
For some reason a lot of my pics and maps seem to have disappeared from the blog at my end,not sure why atm.

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DAY 8 - SUNDAY 11TH OCTOBER 2015 - TETOUAN TO TETOUAN (1 MILE APPROX.)

10am sure enough there was Mohammed in reception beaming smile, but with the news that he was not able to wield enough influence to get an insurance office to open. Mohammed cannot move mountains it appears!! Obviously now worried about the prospect of being locked up I made a decision to stay in Tetouan for another night. However knowing I now had the day and the weather being awful what a great opportunity to get stuck into this blog. Problem, despite assurances their Wi Fi was working I just couldn't get connected. 'Take computer, come with me'! Mohammed commanded so without further ado in the drizzling rain I hopped on the back of his bike, no helmet! 'Don't worry, I am experienced rider and I know all the policemen!' Sure enough the 2 or 3 policemen we did see simply waved us through like a couple of VIP's! We stopped at a local phone shop where they quickly established there was nothing wrong with my laptop. 'Ok so we change hotel and you get wifey!'. So packing up my kit as quick as I could I followed Mohammed to a slightly newer part of town where I booked in at the hotel Panorama, cheaper, quieter and with beautiful views overlooking the northern Rif mountains and the 'WiFey' was working!

IT'S NOT CALLED HOTEL PANORAMA FOR NOTHING!
His work done for the day Mohammed jumped on his bike before announcing 'Ok I will come back tomorrow morning, 9.30, and I take you to get insurance' What a man!! So having the afternoon free I have managed to do some clothes washing and get this blog up to date. Looking outside there is now a nice warm breeze, my clothes are nearly dry, and the rain has stopped. So I'm off to do some exploring. Laters!!
In fact my exploring took the form of a 30 minute jog down into the newer part of the town and finished off with five sets of up and down some steps connecting the road of my hotel to a lower road running parallel. Everywhere I have been in Tetouan so far there are cats, but as yet I haven't seen one dog, strange that! Any theories? Also another factoid; Morocco's population is over 33 million and over half that population is under 20 years of age - a bit scary really! After watching a beautiful sunset from my balcony I walked to another little fast food joint recommended by Mohammed where I had a hot toasted chicken baguette, chips, a kind of spicy chicken samosa/pastie, a drink and some delicious sweet sticky almond cake for afters, two quid the lot, I kid you not!!
After I get the insurance sorted tomorrow I'm headin' south towards Fez and wherever the road takes me!

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So your adventure started!

You could get insurance (and cash) at Tanged Med, just after the customs. And please don't pay 350 dh for secure parking, it's usually 10-20 dh, 25 dh is the maximum I paid in Morocco.

Don't worry anyway, be ripped off is part of the adventure ^_^.

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http://www.wanderclan.com

OMG Dave, it sounds like Mohammed might have been quite a blessing. So how on earth have you got room for a silk rug on your bike? Karen xx

Hi Dave,

I'm glad the weather is improving. I know the food is cheap, but have you attempted to buy a in the hotel? You might get a shock then ;-) Karen xx