Day 17: Get to Africa

The hotel was cold last night, so a poor nights sleep as I was awake at 5am. Another hot shower made up for that though and the view from the window wasn't bad either.

I had an unsuccessful day of trying to do chores before heading to Morocco. Two motorbike shops didn't have the engine oil I needed and the micro fuel filter was a no go, even at the KTM dealership. I didn't get any money transferred into my travel account as I'd forgotten the passwords and got locked out of the account. This means I have to call their offices and try to get it unlocked now! I never got the bike washed before I got on the ferry and finally, I never got any euros out to pay for both the Moroccan insurance and the Mauritania import fees. Hey ho, I did get on the ferry, 3 hours later than it should have as it had some issues that were sorted whilst it was in port. 

I stupidly allowed myself to get scammed by a dodgy Moroccan 'fixer' and thus paid more for the ferry  ticket than I should have. Next time, stick to the plan and don't let chatty folk distract me! 

Whilst waiting at the ferry port to load, a couple turned up in an old military camper truck. We ended up spending the ferry journey swapping travel and life stories. Such a lovely couple, he was a classic car mechanic and she was a professional singer. Both had retired after living in Spain for a few years and were now off on jollies in the truck! Their truck is a proper adventure on its own, coupled with the saga of trying to get their Syamese cat into Africa which goes everywhere with them apparently. You can follow their laid back trip on usual social media platforms. (twogeeseandagaz)

Once off the ferry, we split up and as I was on a bike I sailed through all the customs. I then waited for them to say goodbye. Hopefully, we'll catch up again in the Anti Atlas region somewhere. 

I headed off as the sun was setting and the drizzle was starting to come down. I took the eastern coastal road down past Tetuan towards Chefchouen, a route I've never traveled before. The towns are very cosmopolitan and really busy.

 Once I left the lights behind, the road started to climb to a pass, then descend via a series of bends and roadworks, where the road is being made into dual carriageway. In the dark, this was interesting, so I kept tagging onto the back of vehicles and following their line as there were no road markings and no lights anywhere. Folk just walk out across zebra crossings too, usually wearing dark clothes, so you only catch them because they are moving, then its on the brakes sharpish! 

By 9.30pm, there was no sign of anywhere to camp and I knew the bike needed oil, so I pulled into a garage and asked what oil they had. The guys spoke really good English, so I also asked about places to stay. They offered to let me sleep in one of their rooms for the night, then fed me with lamb and cauliflower stew thing, some mint tea and some coffee. The bike got tucked into a locked room for the night and it turned out my room was one of the lads who was working for the night. Their generosity was amazing and very much appreciated, as was all the stories we swapped all night.Bedtime was about midnight, although, again, I've lost track of the time. 

Tomorrow is Guercif, plus a few small chores to the bike, although now the engine oil is sorted, I feel a little better. Its 10/40 synthetic as opposed to 10/50 but it is still better than nothing!

Day 16: The Algarve...

I woke up before dawn, frost sat on the bags on the bike and the moon was in its last quarter in the sky. After ablutions, I got back into my sleeping bag to await sunrise. When the sun crested the ridge opposite my camp, the warmth was really welcome. I'd started packing up just before this and once it had cleared the ridge, the tent was all lined up to catch its rays and warmth. 

The way out of the valley was to climb to a small village, then the route traversed to a cafe perched on a crossroads. I stopped for coffee, but not before I knocked over someones little 2 stroke bike, my pannier caught it and it was so light, it just fell over. I picked it back up and leaned it against its tree and went in for coffee. No one inside aid a word. 

Once back on the trails, the route wound on all morning. It seemed to be heading back towards the coast and the Spanish border at a town called Castro Marim. The last of the trails were a bit underwhelming, wide and easy. But if you're starting from the south heading north, as most do, it's a good intro to the route. The very last bit finished on a section of motorway, after taking me the wrong way down an exit ramp. Obviously, the route was planned the other way!!

I stopped at a cafe to eat some fish and ended up with a really odd fish omelete type thing. Still, it filled me up and set me up for what turned out to be a long ride. 

I set off into Spain with a plan to find somewhere to camp along the coast. What I didn't know was that there are orange plantations everywhere, a lot of which are fenced in. The coast road is also a dead end at a place called Matalascanas. Before this, you also have to pass the energy supply storage yards, of which there are miles as it's the main incoming supply for southern Spain!

Matalascanas turned out to be an odd place. It looks like its a holiday destination town, surrounded by a huge national park zone. All the roundabouts have statues on them, dolphins, Atlas holding up the world etc etc. Anyway, a look at the map showed there are no bridges over the estuaries along the coast between there and Jerez. I'd have to go up to Seville, then south from there. 

I ended up on the motorway, chewing up miles. In the end, I opted to crunch out the miles and just ride to Algecirus and stay in another hotel for the night. Arrival was 10.30pm, which meant I ridden for about 12-13 hours in the day. The hotel was expensive, as expected, but the shower was superb and very welcome before I crashed for the night. 

Tomorrow is chores before getting on the ferry to Morocco.

Day 15: Deep Sand & Superb Trails

A grand day all round really. Set off after a nice continental breakfast, straight into deep soft sand. Two things became immediately apparent, 

1. I was wearing too many layers and 

2. I didn't bring any water if I was going to have to work this hard first thing. 

It took a good mile for me to stop oversteering, understeering and remembering not to use the front brake at all! I finally figured out, put my backside on the rear top bag, keep my hands light on the bars, click 2nd gear and go for it. All worked well until I had to go down a slope full of cross ruts. I nearly came off, but for whatever reason, the bike straightened at the last minute and we were down. 

After this, the trail went back to hard packed sand, then gravel, so two hours of sweating and constantly thinking 'bloody hell' was short lived in reality. 

The rest of the day passed with a mixture of open fast hard packed surface, then into the Eucalyptus for some ups and downs, before picking up a ridge for about 10 miles that just climbed and wound on until I crossed a tarmac road and saw the sign for a scenic viewpoint overlooking the last bit of the Atlantic coast, just before it turns into the Algarve. 

I did have a few moments where the back end slipped out under me, the first plopped me straight onto my right hip in soft sand, the next two or three were near misses. The back tyre is officially bald as a beagle, soft mud, hill climbs are now becoming hard work and a bit dangerous. 

At Foia, (The viewpoint), there was a cafe, so I checked out the map and found Faro was an hour away. Alongside this I got a message from a couple called Paul & Louise offering me a bed for the night as they were TET folk and staying at a house above Faro. That was the plan sorted then. I dropped onto tarmac to Faro, found a bike shop and got a new rear tyre fitted. A Mitas to match the front. I doubt it'll last long as its a softer compound, but hey. 110 euros fitted. The owner was Italian, married to a Portuguese lady, who he met whilst living in Venezuela! Whilst at the garage, I fitted new brake pads as the rear was metal on metal and the front was about to be the same. (Air filter and oil change to come up next). I also sorted out a missing bolt from the left side fairing which had vibrated out days ago. By the time all this was done, I needed to find some WIFI to confirm to Paul and Louise I was on my way, but in a town full of shops and cafes, none had WIFI. 

I gave up as the sun was about to set and headed north back to the TET. Once on the route again, I rode into the dark until I eventually found a flattish knoll to pitch the tent. The stars were amazing, no villages nearby and on the edge of a deep valley.

Day 14. Sand Blasted and Windswept.

Another good day of mixed trails. The morning was fast and open, hard packed and well graded trails. I really got a shift on those, forgetting the lack of grip on the back tyre, I found you could really weight the front end and the outside peg and then power round the bends. I had to reign it in a bit when the back tyre didn't want to grip so well after awhile!! 

The afternoon was at first, winding narrow sections through dwarf cork trees, meandering up and down short valleys. In the bottom, there was always a river, some short and shallow, some long and deeper. Still all were crossable today. On the tops of ridges, the wind picked up and the smell of the sea became more present. At one point, I started to get a little cross as I kept seeing the Atlantic just over the next ridge, but the trail always seemed to wind in and out, but never actually got there. 

A section dropped into some really soft sand,. Luckily, a vehicle had gone before me and left two distinct and compacted lines, which was good news for me, as this section went for miles and was quite hard work in terms of maintaining a balance and the concentration needed. 

This then changed into another cork forest section, that wound between ruined and abandoned houses, before disappearing altogether at one point. Once I realised it was just completely overgrown and got myself orientated, I followed the GPS line and then nearly papped my pants as I dropped through some steep thorn bushes to a washed away section. No choice but to get on with it, so with my butt cheeks definitely clenched, I rolled across a narrow washed out bit, praying the back tyre would not slide out behind me. All good and back onto hard packed sand/mud trails again. Lots of lorries used these sections so it was wide and fast. 

At midday, I stopped for a coffee and got chatting to a local Portuguese lady who had visited Scotland and spoke good english. She owned the cafe and was curious about what U was doing, then made me extra strong coffee and internet access. 

The day passed and I got into a place called Nova de Santo Andre. I did a bit of shopping, then looked at a map and headed off the TET to Sines. A small town with loads of energy storage, from fuel, gas etc etc. A huge port and the Atlantic crashing onto the rocks on the coast. After taking some footage and photos, I headed back to Nova and booked in to a nice hotel for the night. A small birthday treat for myself which included some nice wine and a huge room! Happy days...

Day 13: Blasting Along in the Sand

 Another wet and windy night, with dogs barking, as I was so close to a town and perched on a ridge, hidden in the pine trees underneath some rough looking rock formations. 

Today was a transition day, moving from the eastern side of the country to the western coastal areas. The riding was pretty easy, always on hard packed and well defined trails. 

Livestock dominate this landscape, cattle mainly, but plenty of sheep and pigs and the odd field of goats. There are miles of green open pasture lands and the ever present cork trees. The villages are either really small or really large, nothing in between. I passed two beautiful ruined hacienda type quinta's today too. They would make great places to renovate.

Throughout the day, I seemed to skirt the edge of some huge rain cloud. Every now and then just getting a drizzle. At one point, the trail follows the edge of a huge reservoir. The trails here were a mix of hard packed red soil, then some really deep soft mud, with one deep river crossing. I had a few issues with the mud, mainly as my back tyre is now down to about 2mm of tread left. Once in a mud hole, it often took a fair bit of power to get through it. 

After this I started to hit sand patches. These killed the power on the bike and the front end went all over the place. 'Power really is your friend' is the saying for sand and it proved correct many times today. I dropped the bike a couple of times as well, usually trying to turn around off the track as I'd missed a turn. Once off, its weird deep granite crystal sand, traction is a nightmare and the front wheel just drags to a standstill. 

I also found several more locked gates today, forcing some big detours. I get protecting livestock, but blocking public highways annoys me. Feels like being back in the Peak District or certain parts of Wales with the intolerance that seem to have become acceptable behavior in UK society in the last few years. 

One thing that surprised me was passing a bull ring stadium in the middle of nowhere today. It seems bull fighting is a thing here, you never hear of it outside of Spain, but given the size of the bulls around here, it's not a surprise when you actually think about it. 

My only people interactions for the day were waves to farmers on tractors or in 4x4. One really friendly chap towing a trailer full of fresh cut cork, practically smiling his head off as we passed each other on a narrow section and I stopped to let him pass. 

At one point today, I did my typical, changed from one GPX track to another and found I'd done it too soon and missed about 2 miles out. I decided to follow the obvious tracks to the start of the next file and ended up on a narrow single track next to a river. This turned into a wooden boardwalk which eventually exited into some kind of theme park bit. It was all closed up and no one was around, so I sheepishly scooted off before I could get shouted at. 

I reached a large town called Montemore O Novo, pretty place with a big castle on the hill. It must have been important in its day with all the huge buildings and grand entrances, but now, I'm not sure what it does. 

I decided to find somewhere to stay. That's not an easy thing in Portugal. After a good half hour of riding around looking for any accommodation, I finally asked someone. They pointed me to a place run by a tiny old lady. Outside was just a door and two windows. Inside was a labyrinth of stairs, rooms and corridors. The room was basic, a double bed, a wardrobe and a TV. Our conversation was a mix of Spanish, French and Portuguese. We worked it out, but it was a lot of frowning on both parts. In essence though 25 euros and don't make a mess was the message. Difficult as I was covered in sand! 

Once kit was sorted and bike was locked up, I headed into town to search for food and a beer. I found the beer in a bar full of old Portuguese guys, all drinking tiny glasses of red wine and eating platters of bread and some meat. The atmosphere was lovely and the bar tender was busy opening new bottles of wine as each table finished another one. All the time, people were arriving or leaving and it seemed a ritual social event for everyone involved. Food was a trip to a mini market as I never found an open restaurant. 

The room was cold, the shower one of those old shower in the bath type of things, but there was cheesy Hollywood action films on TV, so that took me to sleep time!

Day 12: Wide Open Trails, Well Mostly!

The day started as norm, heavy cloud, some drizzle. I left my cork tree in the mist and headed along the trails coming to a reservoir. 

The trail dropped down the edge of the dam to a river crossing. Slight problem though, the dam release was happening. The flood of excess water caused a fountain taller than my bike, the river flow was rapid and deep to say the least. Turn around time, that 0 for 3 on big river crossings so far on this trip. 

The sun came out and the day warmed up to a beauty. The trails weren't difficult today at all and the landscape was huge grass lands full of live stock. There are loads of flocks of birds everywhere. A field full of Storks hunting, Black Kites and Buzzards circling overhead, hundreds of Lapwings taking off from a field as I came past, disturbing them no doubt, and lots of Partridge flitting out from the undergrowth. 

I passed plenty of hunters as it was a Sunday, all camo kitted out, getting guns out to go shooting something. In one village, a group of guys had just beheaded a pig and were washing off the blood from the chopping table. The others all just chatting to one side. I'm not sure if it was a slaughter or a hunted animal, but it was big and there was plenty of meat for each of the guys for sure. 

Another round of locked gates seemed to keep appearing today too. One place clearly wanted no one on their land, every gate had new chain and lock or a mound of material and a deep trench... A proper 'Get oorf my land' mentality.

In another of the villages, I found a beautiful Defender 110 TD5 Highcap Pickup. It's condition was superb and it shone in the sunlight. I took a picture to send to a mate who has one! 

For some reason today, I was happy to keep riding, so I found myself above Alter do Chao on a ridge line at sunset. I took a photo, which never does justice to the actual and then headed up into the trees to find somewhere on the ridge line above the town to camp. 

A dead end piste took me to a water pipe inspection point. Here was as good as anywhere and I set up camp in the trees. The wind was howling, dogs were barking, but it felt a lonely place for some reason. Pitch the tent, eat, then book time. I've almost finished this book, not sure what I'll do after that!

Day 11. Hilltowns and Eucolyptus

Another cloudy start, but the temperature stayed good all day. Winding south is starting to show the sun slowly. Good mix of trails today from boulder hopping narrow buggers to wide open fast flowing ones through open farm land. You still have to watch out for the mud holes and loads of little diver crossings.

The bigger ones are still a no go it seems, with high water levels and string current. I had to detour around again today. 

The area around Penmacor has just had the Eucalyptus felled, and as usual for forestry work, the landscape is a mess. Add mud to that and it's not pretty.

As I dropped into Monteforte de  Beria, a beautiful hilltop town, the route climbed up the narrow ancient granite slab roads to the main town, passed underneath the tower and church and dropped back via another beautiful narrow granite road. A guy waved as I went passed his house. It was BBQ time it seems. 

The area is big with both beef and sheep farming, so more gates and fences around. Along side this is the cork and olive trees.fruit trees seem to be normal in people's gardens, especially oranges. The place feels calm and relaxed.

I camped under a cork tree off the track. It was super quiet after two nights next to fast flowing becks.

See what tomorrow brings...

Day 10: The ACT or the TET?

I woke up cold this morning, no wonder, everything was frozen. 

After lingering to let things defrost a bit and to ease my numb hands after handling the front tent flysheet, I set off down the steep hill on tarmac with some trepidation. In the UK the tarmac would have been icy and a every bend a dice with a fall, but here, the road surface was rough and no bother at all.

The trails were the same as always, winding through some beautiful woodland, down some steep inclines and rolling into the next valley. At around 10 ish, I was hungry and thirsty, so stopped by a steep beck to boil up some coffee and porridge. Once repacked, I set off again feeling much better, until the front tyre slid out and dropped me on my side in some mud. On a bend which  switched left, then right, it slid again, this time leaving me with around 4 inches between me and the several hundred metre drop. That's it, time for a new front tyre. Once back on tarmac, 

I found a coffee shop in the village of Paramio, then worked out the route and decided to bail to Braganca, which looked like a really big town. Once there, I stopped ata garage to ask for tyre places and the owner jumped in his car and said 'follow me'. We wound through loads of bits of town to a little back street motobike shop called Brigmoto. The lass in there had a Mitas C19 and, (I think), her dad was the mechanic. There was some sweating as he took off the E09 Dakar and he punctured my existing tube, so replaced this with a 4mm Continental, which I've never used before. Once done, I debated about finding a hotel and a bed, but decided to do some shopping, get fuel and then head out again. I haven't seen a shop or a fuel garage since I crossed the border yesterday. 

The road between Paramio and Braganca, wow. A perfect bike road, superb tarmac and just awesome bends. A 690 supermoto or a great little sports bike and you could have a right giggle on that road! After looking at the TET route and the ACT route, I found out the ACT started about where I was parked,so I took that for the day to see how it panned out.

It's fast, on open trails until you hit the muddy bits, then its a slog. The navigation is much easier than the TET. I was just getting bored, when it came to Castelo de Algoso, which looks like a medieval tower perched on a big chunk of granite. One hell of a job building it! From here, the ACT drops to a beautiful pack horse bridge, then has a steep climb out. Both sides of which were good fun. It does a similar thing later on, but between them is some big distances on bendy tarmac. 

I guess if you want to blast along and are on a big 200kg ish bike with limited time, you'd enjoy this, but I must admit, I'm hankering after the TET route again, so have picked where I'll turn off and pick it up tomorrow. 

Camp tonight was next to a reservoir on a scenic loop of the ACT. The sun was turning the sky red as I parked up, some clouds have been dogging my path all day, so I'm hoping they go away and it is dry tomorrow again. It makes such a difference and I really need to dry some kit again. 

Hey ho, sleep time.