A Moroccan Road Trip is good for the Soul ……
by Helen Tait-Wright
Deal with what is in front of you. So no need to worry about what is happening outside of your forward vision. Leaving Marrakech we took the route north towards Tangiers which would take us past Casablanca and Rabat. The larger Moroccan roads are not that dissimilar to those in France, but a 120km speed limit is present with an instant fine if you are caught breaking it. Not that that matters in Priscilla as she prefers to run at 100/110. Most are péage, although if you don’t have the automatic badge, you must remember to take cash as that is all they accept.
A
fter the rally and our time in Marrakech it was time for Priscilla and I to start the journey home, Sue having left by plane.
Of course when driving a right hand drive car with no passenger, this requires many ins and outs of the cab, but on the plus side it’s a little stretch for the legs!
I love a solo road trip; just me and my Landy, with my music. It is my happy place and gives me time to think and relax. Feel the rhythm of the road, be at one with the car. Driving in Morocco is actually a joy too …. well for me anyway. First we had a million point turn to get out of the cramped parking garage (which costs just over 2 euros a day) and into the Medina street, but once we had negotiated the inevitable donkeys, dogs, Dokkers, carts, people, stalls and children to get out of the Medina, the highway beckoned.
The motorways are generally pretty empty, although you nearly always see a lorry in bits by the side of the road, people crossing the road and a few stray chickens! The service areas are well appointed and have a prayer room should you need it. Fuel stops are a pleasure, firstly as diesel is only the equivalent of 92 cents a litre, but also there is always someone there to fill your tank, and while that happens, someone else washes your windscreen! Very civilised. Also very often there is a building where someone will wash your whole car for the equivalent of 2 or 3 euros! You really can’t beat a Moroccan car wash. On our way south three weeks earlier, we used many smaller roads, but still found similar services. 36 | The Deux-Sèvres Monthly, December 2021
All photographs courtesy of Helen Tait-Wright
The Medina streets, or indeed most town and village streets in Morocco, can seem pretty daunting as there are people, vehicles and animals coming at you from all directions, but actually it’s easy to drive once you get used to it because everyone works by one simple rule.
