Riding my Motorcycle through Western Sahara
Update 75 (December 2024)
Agidir to the Mauritania Border
I kept moving south after one night near Agadir. My accommodation was nice but there wasn’t much nearby and it was a bit touristy (backpackers).
This stretch down the coast to the border with Mauritania is quite long. There is plenty to see but each day is typically 500km+ between towns with accommodation. Fortunately the one road to the border is sealed and very good. I was back to having to think about fuel. My 350km range is fine but you can’t rely on petrol stations being open or having fuel. I just needed to be filling up more frequently.
The desert and coastal scenery of the ride reminds me of crossing the Nullarbor Plain in Australia. I haven’t written that up properly yet but I do have a story on riding the old abandoned highway – Crossing the Old Nullarbor Highway
Northern Morocco had been fairly green and hilly but the terrain was starting to change.
There was a nice stretch through some small mountains and rural area.
There was evidence of some farming but it was pretty harsh country.
The road returned to the coastline after a while. Still some nice waves coming in. No more surfers. I have left the main tourist area. Most foreigners that seem to come this way are now longer term travellers going south or north.
The coastline just north of Sidi Ifni.
My guest house in Sidi Ifni. My room on the first floor. And my motorcycle was in the courtyard behind a locked gate on the left.
Local fishing boat.
Sidi Ifni was an appealing little town with lots of locals out enjoying the evening and kids playing in the street everywhere.
My dinner in Sidi Ifni, very nice. Local fried fish.
An enjoyable Moroccan breakfast at my guest house.
Western Sahara starts just before my next stay of Laayoune. Western Sahara is a disputed territory. Morocco is in control of 70% and the region I was passing through. There are a lot of roadside police checks in Morocco. North of here I would just get waved through. As I approach I try to remember to lift my visor so they can see my face, in case it helps make things easier. Once I was in Western Sahara this changed and I was stopped most times. Normally they will just inspect my passport and ask about my travel plans. They would take a photo of my passport and record my details. I never had any issues and the longest stop was probably five minutes.
Through Western Sahara there was certainly a visible military presence. I would pass small convoys along the road and every one kilometre or so, by the coastline, there would be a small building that was seemingly an outpost for military personnel. It would be a tough gig, only a small solar panel and a plastic water tank.
But they were certainly doing it better than some other people who were living in an old canvas tent or makeshift structure. No photos as that seemed to be bad manners.
Perhaps in the top left corner you can see one of the military posts and people that came out to check on me? There is very little around. I could have been the first and last activity for their day.
There were long stretches of cliffs along the coastline. If you look closely you can see some men fishing off the cliffs. It is interesting that the man closest to me seemed to be using some hi vis gear. There are still a few small traditional fishing boats around so maybe he was hopeful of getting picked up if he did fall in and survive the drop?
Looking across the gulf to the town of Dakhla after leaving. There is a tourist area north of Dakhla with accommodation but I decided to go further into the town itself. The town seemingly had aspirations to become a tourist destination but it didn’t seem to be getting there. Many of the tourist developments were not started or abandoned and unfinished. But I was glad I went in. It was a pretty raw town but a good chance to see a more local community. This was the final stretch of about 380 kilometres to the Mauritania border.
The area was becoming quite isolated. There were still some trucks and cars but few and far between. I had seen a few travelling cyclists just north that I assume were coming through here also. There are still a few small settlements so presumably they find enough water. I had mobile phone reception most of the time.
Some rare colour.