RawHyde’s Spain, Portugal and Morocco Tour

Today we head for the mountains riding through verdant forests with big sweepers which will slowly straighten out as we head into what’s known Morocco’s bread basket.

You will see vast fields of grains and a few scattered villages few villages until we get closer to Marrakech and the villages will become larger as we approach the incredible and historic Marrakech! You will have time to visit the Famous Djemaa el-Fna Square before our dinner in a typical Moroccan Restaurant in a 14th century medina house. FYI the word medina refers to the Historic “old city center” of Marakech!

We have an epic ride today beginning as we leave Marrakech and ride the famous Tizi-n-Tichka Pass in the High Atlas Mountains. This pass is over 2000 meters high and will offer us many awesome photo opportunities! This ride will start off with some big sweepers in the beginning which turn into tight switchbacks as you approach the mountain top. Before arriving in Ouarzazate we will stop in Ait Benhaddou for lunch and a walk around this ancient fortified village! It was originally constructed in the 11th century and has been used as a filming location for many movies including Gladiator. After our visit we will continue to Ourzazate for the night. AND – staying with the movie theme Ourzazate is known as the Moroccan Hollywood and many major movies have been filmed here. (such as: Black Hawk down, the Mummy AND Star Wars!)

Today introduces you to the magic of southern Morocco. From Ouarzazate we will ride on “The Route of the Kasbahs” which will provide amazing views of the desert with the Atlas Mountains in the background. We’ll take a slight detour to visit the Todra Canyon and stop for a special lunch that you won’t forget!

From Todra you will continue through the scorched desert and past surprisingly green Oasis’s of date palm trees, and finally to Erfoud and the vast Sahara Desert!

Today is a rest day and you can relax by the pool, go to the hammam or take a day trip to the Erg Chebbi sand dunes. You can rent a wide variety of toys at our hotel to do some off road exploring. You will find Land Cruisers, quads, and dirt bikes that can be used to explore the beautiful red dunes. You can also go for a camel ride in the dunes or you can watch the sunset from the top of the highest dune!

Today we will start off in the Sahara Desert and wrap the day’s ride in Fez, which is one of the most fascinating cities in Morocco.

The morning will find you riding along a date palm oasis on curvy desert mountain road. This road will take you slowly out of the desert and into the Middle Atlas Mountains. These are green cedar forest mountains… and get this… you’ll most likely see monkeys swinging from the trees. These mountains also boast several ski resort and the “Swiss” village Ifrane! Then toward end of day as you descend from the mountains the Imperial City of Fez awaits you!

Today is our second rest day and we have a special guided trip organized for you to the Medina. The Fez Medina (old city) is the largest in the world and boasts over 13,000 streets with ceramic shops, leather tanneries, handmade rugs, food markets, and just about everything else. You feel like you have gone back in time a thousand year.

Our last ride in Morrocco will bring you north to the “blue village” of Chefchaouen. This quaint Rif Mountain village is a perfect stop to stroll around the old medina and have a mint tea in one of its terraces before crossing the Spanish (yet still in Africa) border. We will get there through a smooth road along the Rif mountain range to Tetouan. Only a few more kilometers along the Mediterranean national road will have us saying goodbye to Morocco. Tonight we’ll have our last dinner on the African continent in Ceuta, Spain!

Today you’ll leave the African continent on the morning ferry and cross back over the strait of Gibraltar. You’ll head up the coast and ride through the Doñana National Park which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site for the incredible bio-diversity that exists in its wetlands. From Doñana we’ll then continue up the Atlantic coast road to the historic city of Lagos which was the epicenter of the Portuguese “Age of discovery” and home of “Henry the navigator” and our hotel for the evening.

Leaving Lagos we’ll meander through the Algarve region of southern Portugal which has remnants of history dating back to the Phoenician settlers. This area is steeped in history with many Roman antiquities still visible today.

Today we’ll move north into the gently Rolling hills of the Alentajo region, which is the heart of Portugese wine country. One of the unique things about this área is the “cork oak” trees which provide much of the worlds supply of cork for wine bottles.

Today we leave the wine region of Portugal and head for Sevilla, Spain. Sevilla is one of the oldest cities in Spain, and was settled by the Moors from the 8th to the 15th centuries. Sevilla was also a centerpoint of the crusades and the conflict between Christianity and the Muslim culture.

Sevilla restday – Today you can take a half day optional ride OR spend some time roaming this historic city. One very special possibility would be to visit the famous Moorish Cathedral where the great explorer Christopher Columbus is buried.

Today we leave Sevilla and will be riding the mountains of Southern Spain on our way to Malaga. One thing that’s interesting about this region is the “Pueblos Blanco” or White villages! The stark contrasts of the glaring white villages against the backdrop of the mountains is pretty spectacular.

Day 16: Our last day on the road as we head back to Malaga from the Pueblos Blanco region and a “Farewell Dinner” where we’ll surely be sharing stories of favorite moments…. And maybe even planning our next adventure.

Flight home.