The later ferry sailing allowed us to divert through Ronda and Gaucin. The first part was the usual 120 highway north but then we cut off for Ronda. These roads were much more to our liking. Classic GS roads (the reason we come to Europe). Rolling hills, idle windfarms, and perfect pavement.
We stopped quickly in Gaucin, and had fun navigating their alley width “roads”. About the width of a HumVee they were tiled, and sloped to a drainage ditch in the middle. Fortunately we didn’t meet any oncoming traffic. An old castle acts as a sentry for the town.
Dropping down out of Gaucin on the beautifully windy A-397 we rejoined the AP-7 route to Tarifa. We gassed up and arrive 2 hours prior to sailing. After check in we had time to kill so we went back into town for an espresso before queuing up for the ferry. An old fortress that stood guard over the ferry port was visible from our post.
After espresso, we checked in and were positioned all off on our own (motorcycles are given priority on exit apparently.) The 3:00 ferry was delayed. Another competing ferry showed up and four tour buses disgorged their contents in the form of Moroccan women ostensibly returning home after their fruit picking season in Spain. Four buses full of coweled women towing huge bundles of clothing and other goods to take back home.
Our ferry finally arrived and set sail at 4:30. We were processed through Moroccan customs on the trip over and when we got to Tangier we were on our way to Chefchouen. A miscue in Tangier involved getting back on track where at a semi-controlled intersection. Steve nearly got T-boned by the oncoming traffic. It appears that there are some intersections with lights in only one direction. So we happened to be crossing at the wrong moment. Tangier was definitely a city where you had to have your wits about you. At one point we stopped to get our bearings and were hailed with a chorus of horns. Once we were out of Tangier we could relax a bit. The ride to Chefchouen was uneventful and we arrived rather late at the Hotel Madrid.
Our guide recommended a restaurant tucked in among the maze of blue tinted alleyways characteristic of the city. As our restaurant did not serve beer we had to locate a market nearby and stock up. We had a simple meal on a terrace overlooking the city sharing the table with a young couple from Nottingham England. Dinner done we turned in after a very long day.