Dogs are everywhere in Morocco. They are found foraging and lounging at any point and any time. One large mangy cross between a yellow lab and a blue tick single handedly caused a traffic jam in rush hour. Fortunately, they are not inclined to chase motorcycles so they were not the hazard they might have been in North America.
Leaving Chefchouen we headed east on N-2 through the Atlas mountains to the Issaguen. The road conditions reminded us of ‘ a box of chocolates’ as understood by Forrest Gump – you never knew what you were going to get. There was lots of fun with reasonably smooth GS type twisties as well as busted sections littered with pot holes and crumbling tarmac. At times it was like a nice road in the Alps, at other times it was like forestry trunk roads back home. Rounding a corner we ran across an anxious chap retrieving a lost bag of grain right at the corner. His truck was overladen – securing loads is an optional practice apparently. A little later we saw a fellow with a load of plastic tubing about 6 feet high on top of his Sierra van. Wouldn’t’ take much to tip it over in a corner.
Stopping for fuel in Issaguen we met two brits on bikes who met the night before. They had stored their bikes in the parking at Hotel Madrid. One was riding a KTM 1290 and the other a V-strom. They were planning to take some very secondary roads. Given the state of Morocco’s national roads we wished them luck.
Heading south on R509 we rejoined N2 on our way to Fes. This latter part was busier with traffic, taking us through several small towns. We arrived in downtown Fes and found our hotel easily. The Royal Mirage was like a large Western resort hotel with all the amenities and ample parking. We settled in to a pool side dinner and then hit the sack.
