Pass the sheesha Zeina!

Allah u’Akbar, you could almost believe it based on the incredible landscapes that surround the Moroccan Atlantic coastline. We have seen some amazing sights in the last week coming south through this fascinating country:

Farmland next to the ocean that relies on the sea mist sweeping in every morning to water the crops, camels randomly wandering by the side of the road, goats that climb up into trees to eat the nuts, which are then collected (part-digested) from the goat poo to be processed for argan oil.

The Moroccan people have helped make this part of the trip very special. The people in almost every car or lorry that passes us on the road gives us the thumbs up or shouts “Bon courage!” from the window as they go by. Everywhere we stop we are surrounded by people who ask us where we are from and look at us like we have a screw loose when we say we have come 4,500km from London on our bikes. Children walking to school literally stop in their tracks to watch the crazy folks cycling by.

It has been hot every day and that has taken its toll physically, we are sunburnt and exhausted by the end of each day and coming from the lush green vegetation of southern Europe to the dry and dusty Moroccan coast taught us to carry a lot more water and to try and get started much earlier than normal to avoid the hottest part of the day. Since we’ve been here, we are more knackered at the end of the day than any other country we’ve come through and this is down to the heat, quite depressing as we thought this must be the time when we are at our fittest! The other thing that has made the last leg of the ride the toughest is that our saddle-sores appear to have reached critical mass, our bums are pretty much in agony after only two or three hours on the bikes now. When you know that you have to be in the saddle for six to eight hours a day, it makes for a real challenge to keep going. We’ve just arrived in Essaouria, only 120 miles from our finish line in Marrakech and we are really, really, really looking forward to a break from the bikes for a few days! We were shown to our cool and kooky little apartment, right inside the Medina (the oldest bit of the city, like a citadel) when we arrived by a local guy called Hicham. Bizarrely, the apartment is owned by a lady who comes from my hometown of Scunthorpe, a fact we discovered only after Zeina found it online and we booked it. The owner gave us a little discount (thanks Maggie!) and has subsequently followed our story in the local newspaper. We had decided ages ago to have a break in Essaouria before the last leg to Marrakech as it’s a pretty little town on the coast where we could give ourselves a few days to see and appreciate Morocco before packing up the bikes and flying home.

There will be a final entry from Marrakech when we arrive, until then we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us and donated to the cause. We are more than halfway to our target now and we hope to make it with our charity auction which will feature a dolphin watching holiday to Fiji, surfing holidays in Portugal and Australia and loads more amazing things that people can bid on to win. There is going to be a two day event in Brighton on the 5^th and 6^th of November called ‘Whalefest’ where I will be attending to talk about of the Whale of a Ride charity auction and how you can take part for a chance to win one of these holidays and some of the other great things we’ve had donated to us. You can also learn all about dolphin and whales, with celebrity guest speakers and WDCS International running games and workshops. Our new partner in Fiji, Global Vision International, will also be there to talk about our exciting new Spinner dolphin research and conservation project which is due to start early in 2012.

Goodbye/Hello

Goodbye Spain/Hello Morocco

Well, we've said goodbye to Spain and are saying hellow to our 5th and final country, Morocco. After a very windy couple of days in Tarifa, we boarded the ferry full of day trippers into Tangier. As we sat, looking out the window, on the 35 minute ride, we spotted 3 different pods of dolphins. The water was super flat, with the sun shining right on it, and they were easy to spot.

Goodbye 4 Panniers/Hello 2 Panniers

We also said goodbye to our camping gear. After multiple people advised us not to camp in Morocco, we decided to pack up our tent, sleeping bags, cookery set and 4 of our panniers and send them back to the UK. From here on out, we're riding with 2 back panniers and our front handbar bags, making life lighter and easier. Our trusty camping guide that took us to all our camping in Spain and Portugal, was given to a lovely couple we met in Tarifa who were motorcycling from Bristol down to Morocco, all around Morocco and then back up to Bristol. After a couple of beers, we all realized that they were basically us, but with motors. I can't say that I didn't feel a pang of sadness when I handed over that camping guide and map. We relied so much on them for the past 7 weeks, I was sad to relinquish it.

Goodbye Sun/Hello...Rain??

Our ride this morning started under the wet drops of rain, the first this area has seen since April, according to our gracious host. No worries...we'd much rather be riding under the rain than the scorching hot sun. Funny though, to think that we had a month of no rain in Europe and the 2nd day in Morocco, we're getting soaked. After 2 nights in very budget accomodation, including no hot water, we decided to splurge and stay in a beautiful riad in the medina of Rabat. I write this from the terrace that looks down into the courtyard, 3 stories below. On each level are 3 rooms in traditional Moroccan decor, cool and quiet, a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of the medina.

Goodbye Lycra Goddess/Hello Mz. Modesty

I felt the necessity to purchase a pair of loose, linen pants and a cycling shirt with sleeves to wear while in Morocco. As much as my butt looks good in lycra cycling shorts that come up 4 inches above my knees, and my tight, sleeveless sports top makes me look like a buff, athletic heroine, I didn't think that the folks in Morocco would appreciate my feminine sportiness. So Mz. Modesty stepped in and now my shoulders are covered and my knees are covered and my butt and cleavage aren't as prominent. Hopefully the heat will stay away a couple more days so I can get to Essaouira without fainting from heat exhaustion. I've been lucky so far...fingers crossed.

Goodbye Thoughtful Driving Practices and Indicative Signage/Hello...Whatever The Opposite Of That Is

I won't say we weren't warned. We knew. We knew the whole way. Moroccan drivers aren't used to bicyclists. Moroccan drivers don't look before they charge ahead. Moroccan drivers will kill you. We didn't heed any of this advice and we're now in Morocco and I have to say that I'm not too scared for my life. Yes, there's a lot more horn honking and disregard for human life, but even in the rain, I didn't have any major scares in the last couple of days. Again, fingers crossed that none present themselves. The lovely signage in Europe that clearly indicated where to go to get to a destination have been replaced with vague or non existent signs only to the larger cities. Luckily we're following on route most of the way down, but getting into and out of the bigger cities has been a major hassle. We've found that the traffic cops sprinkled around the cities are super helpful and have used mosques on multiple occasions as landmarks, once causing us much frustration as there were two mosques in the same roundabout.

So I guess the moral of this blog is...please keep your fingers crossed for us. No major worries and we're finding everyone here lovely and helpful. The fresh juice is gorgeous. The couscous is absolutely delicious. The cities are beautiful. And the roads have been pretty flat so far. We're hoping (and expecting) more of the same for the rest of the ride to Marrakech.

Whales & Dolphins in the Straits of Gibralter

After three full days of cycling into strong headwinds, we finally arrived in Tarifa, the port where we will take the ferry to Morocco. Our campsite is near the beach and we realised quickly why there were so many kitesurfing and windsurfing stores everywhere, Tarifa is W-I-N-D-Y! Just cycling the 2km into town from our campsite to buy supplies, we were nearly knocked off our bikes by the wind. Zeina was ahead of me and I could see her leaning over at an almost comical angle to counter the massive gusts threatening to blow us off the road. Amazing conditions if you're on the water with your kitesurfing gear, not so great for a couple of tired cyclists. I had broken a spoke on my back wheel and took it to a local bike shop for repairs, the guy who fixed it for me asked about my Whale of a Ride T-shirt and after I explained what we were doing cycling to Marrakech, he promptly called his friend Dominique who operates the 'foundation for information and research on marine mammals' (FIRMM)

We then were able to meet Dominique and he explained to us about the work being undertaken to protect cetaceans in the Straits of Gibralter, where 300 boats a day travel through an area with many cetacean species present. We met some of the volunteers who give their time to educate visitors about marine mammals during the summer and traded stories about Moon Reef in Fiji and some of the other places in the world where whale & dolphin watching forms part of the local economy. It was great to meet Dominique and we look forward to meeting him at 'Whalefest' in Brighton on the 5th and 6th November. You folks who are interested in all things marine mammal related should note this event in your calendars as there will be many educational workshops, celebrity presentations, games for children organised by WDCS International and many whale and dolphin watching operators talking about their eco-tourism opportunities.

Zeina and I are very excited to be on the final leg of our challenge. When our tyres hit Moroccan soil for the first time in Tangier we'll celebrate with a glass of mint tea and then hit the road to Marrakech. The next update should have us posing near a Kasbah or Riad in the north of the country. We're hoping for a bit of cloudy weather as well, despite just getting a message from a friend at WDCS that Marrakech was absolutely boiling hot when she was there a few days ago....

FREE ENTRY, after hours, to SEA LIFE London Aquarium!

SEA LIFE London Aquarium. Whale of a Ride and South Pacific Projects, invite you to join them for an exclusive, after hours, celebration of marine conservation and the stars thereof. An Ocean of Stars! On the 7^th of November SEA LIFE London will be hosting an evening dedicated to those with a passion for marine conservation. The evening will kick off at 7pm with a glass of bubbly on entry, some tasty (sustainably sourced) canapés and a special dive and feeding of the stingrays in our ocean tank. The evening will include a few short talks by special guest speakers and stands run by some fantastic conservation organisations. There will also be an exciting raffle with prizes including Sea Happy Goody Bags, SEA LIFE Annual Pass and Junior Aquarist for the Day – Feed the turtles, rays, terrapins, coral reefs and sharks!

Tickets are free but must be booked in advance by sending your name, the first line of your address, the number of tickets you want and the organisation through which you heard about the event (South Pacific Projects) to oceanofstars@londonaquarium.co.uk. The cut off date for bookings is the 17^th October. Tickets gain you access to the whole aquarium (normal admission £19.02). There is a suggested donation of £5 on the door which, alongside raffle donations, will go to Earth Sea Sky to help protect endangered loggerhead sea turtles.

The amazing people we meet....

Story #1: It was a hot day and we needed more water in our water bottles. Hobos that we are, we fill our bottles from any sink/hose/tap that we see and we were approaching a gas station. As we got closer to the air/water station, we met eyes with a fellow 'tourer'. He had way more stuff on his bikes than we did (and if you've seen some of our pictures, you know that we're carrying a ton of stuff) and we gave the obligatory cyclist nod. After a couple of minutes we decided to break the ice and started chatting with him. Turns out he's spending a year cycling the entire continent of Europe. Alone. We exchanged stories of bridges we had both crossed, strange encounters and some weirder 'hobo' moments (the guy has an extra plastic tub he keeps filled with water for him to shower with if he finds himself wild camping without a shower). And, true to the year we live in, we exchanged email addresses and blog sites. We rode with him for a couple of kilometers, but he was heading in another direction and we parted ways. -- Zeina

Story #2: Cruising through a small town in Portugal, Caldos De Reinas I think it was called, my peripheral vision picked up a large Union Jack emblazoned on a storefront. The store was called 'Union Jacs' and stuck out like a sore thumb. I obviously screeched to a stop and insisted that Zeina do the same. After running into the store I found an Aladdin's 'Cave of wonders', Marmite (obviously), Wagon Wheels, Angel Delight, Rolos, Fingers of Fudge "are just enought to give your kids a treat,they're full of Cadbury goodness and very small and neat....etc." We bought some supplies and chatted to Ginny the store's owner who was lovely. Scoffing our very British candy and slurping down 'Ye Olde British Lemonade' from a can, we left happy and I had a new jar of Marmite to nuzzle on these hot nights..... -- Howard

Story #3: We had a little break in Baleal to try surfing, did I mention that we did it to take a 'break'? Well, for anyone who hasn't tried surfing before, let me tell you that after the first few hours in the water your arms feel like they're going to drop off at the shoulder. So basically, we exchanged cycling for hours and hours with aching legs to paddling for hours and hours with aching shoulders. So, not quite the 'break' that we were hoping for!, though it was bloody good fun all the same and despite being the oldest bloke there by a long shot, I managed to fall of my board loads and get just as mashed by the waves as the youngsters, happy days! Hold on, this is supposed to be about people we meet isn't it? So, we met some lovely people, there was the cool, Swiss Brother and Sister duo of Cindy (stop rubbing your hand Cindy and fill in those postcards!) and Stephen with the most imnpressive abs of the trip so far: "When I was in the Army we'd do 120 push-ups at once" (?!) We also had the pleasure of Sarah, the Teutonic, blonde Amazonian lass. Sarah's lovely friend Bianca arrived as well for a short break and the pair of us were able to empathise with each other as we are both recent victims of the menopause, her at the tender age of 33yrs. On our final night in Baleal the gang invited Zeina and I out for dinner at a little local place, we had a hilarious evening which started when Sarah asked the very young looking waitress (literally, she looked like the Boss had roped his 12yr old neice in to cover a shift) for a bottle of red wine, a few minutes later the waitress returned and started pouring white wine. "No, we asked for red wine" said Sarah. "We don't have any red wine" responded the 10yr old waitress, we all looked at each other in amazement that if the restaurant didn't in fact have red wine, that they would just bring white instead and we wouldn't notice. However, Sarah's eagle eyes had spotted an 'exhibit' of approximately 40 bottles of red wine on an adjacent shelf: "What's that? Isn't that red wine?" she asked. "No" came the obviously misguided reply from our 8yr old waitress. It all got sorted in the end after a litre or so of 'Soup of the Day' was slopped all over the floor by another waitress of Justin Beiber fan club age and after a few stressful mninutes of me wondering whether I'd ordered a large plate of prawns, or more worryingly, one rather immense prawn the size of a large plate. -- Howard

Story #4: After 5 hours of up and down on the bikes, climbs which even in 'granny' gear felt impossible, in 38C heat, cars whizzing on our left, the sun blazing from on top, we were following signs for Lisboa (the white ones, because the blue ones mean 'highway'). We got to a spot where we couldn't go any further without risking our lives and getting in trouble with the law...again. So we went down the side street, hoping against hope that it would get us closer to Lisbon. Again, more climbs (the climbs always feel longer than the downhills) and we were giving up hope, we were about to break our cardinal rule and just get on a bus to Lisbon, when we spotted 3 handsome coppers having a cigarette on the side of the road. We stopped and asked for directions to Lisbon and, intially, got the same reaction that we got from everyone else we stopped...'Oh, Lisbon, it's very very far'. Hmmm, well, that didn't help us very much. So we pushed them and they palavered and waved their arms and yelled at each other and in the end, we got some concise directions, that when followed, led us straight into the center. Thank you, Portuguese police, you've come to our rescue once again. Note: The Senior Officer couldn't pose for the picture without finishing his cigarette and was too cool for skool to look at the camera (the other two hid their fags behind their backs) -- Zeina

Story #5: Rebecca - 12 years later! This incident was one of those rare moments in life which makes you really believe in fate or synchronisity. The first day in Baleal, I went to the Beach Bar to use their wi-fi. As I sat logging on to t'interweb,a bronzed, blonde, surfer-chick strolled in from the verandah. There was defintely something about her that piqued my interest, but I couldn't put my finger on it. A few minutes later I wandered outside to have a look at the waves (the same waves that Zeina and I would soon be getting pumelled by) and I heard a voice: "Howard?" The blonde surfette lady stood up and it finally clicked in my addled brain, it was Rebecca from 15yrs ago who I first met when I was the Manager of a Pub in Reading called the Purple Turtle. This was rather bizarre as it was 12yrs since we'd seen each other and she looked exactly the same, but more tanned. When we had first met, she was a 'regular' in the Turtle on Friday and Saturday nights. After we got chatting one time she admitted that she was actually 15yrs old, but she and her sister were so nice that I let her keep coming in the Bar anyway. By the way, if anyone from Reading Pub Licensing Authority is reading this, I live in Fiji so it's not worth trying to prosecute! After I got to know Rebecca, her Mum used to call up the Pub late on the weekend to check that she was ok, so I acted like a bit of a chaperone and got used to chatting to her Mum to reassure her that she was ok. Anyway, Rebecca is now working as a masseuse at the surfcamp and Zeina and I both availed ourselves of her services, which were excellent thank you Rebecca! Life is so full of pleasant surprises and meeting Becca' again was one of the nicest ones on the trip for me. -- Howard

An amazing one week surfcamp in Portugal donated to our charity auction!

Yesterday we experienced yet another example of the kindness of strangers, or rather some new friends that we made on the Portuguese leg of our fundraiser. Zeina and I pitched up in Baleal for a couple of days break to mark over 1,800 miles of cycling. We’d heard some very positive things about Baleal Surfcamp and decided that as the area was renowned for surfing, we’d try our hands at it (that’s another story!) and enrolled for some lessons. The surfcamp was set up by Bruno Bairros in 1993 and has been teaching beginners to ride the waves along the beautiful coastline here ever since. The setting is gorgeous, the staff and Instructors who work at the surfcamp are really helpful and passionate about what they do and there is a great mix of people from all over the world learning to surf. Not only that, but it is obvious that there is a genuine commitment to sustainable tourism being made by Bruno and his staff and the surfcamp is very environmentally aware. Every week the Instructors take all of the surfers to a local beach and clean up the refuse and plastic debris that has been washed up. The garbage is then properly disposed of and it was a pleasure seeing a tourism business really trying hard to look after the environment that they depend on for their guests to come and enjoy.

Bruno told us a little bit about the history of Baleal and the fact that it was the site of cutting and carving of whales on their migratory route to the northern seas. We also talked about the work that South Pacific Projects does with WDCS International in Fiji and our fundraising efforts and once he heard this, he very kindly offered us a fantastic contribution for our upcoming charity auction: a one week surfcamp, including two surf lessons a day with a professional Instructor, as well as accommodation and equipment hire. We were both very touched by his generousity and it was a lovely end to a great few days getting to know Baleal and meeting lots of pro-active and interesting people. Bruno and his brother Marcos are obviously committed to working in harmony with the environment and were very keen to support the conservation work being carried out by WDCS International. They told us about some of their future plans to reduce the surfcamp’s environmental footprint, whilst continuing to provide their guests with a unique surfing and lifestyle experience.

A big thank you to Bruno, Marcos and all the other great guys we met, including our professional Instructor from Australia, Sam (his favourite phrase: “Paddle, Paddle, Paddle!”). If anyone is ever visiting Portugal and wants to have a great time whilst supporting a genuine eco-tourism business, then check out Baleal surfcamp and get some waves!

Brigg Lions Club sponsors Whale of a Ride!

Today we received a generous donation from the Brigg Lions Club in North Lincolnshire. Lions Club International is the world's largest service club organisation. Whenever a Lions club gets together, problems get smaller and communities get better. At present there are 46,000 clubs with 1.35 million members in 206 countries around the world. My Dad has been a member for many years and it was his suggestion that he approach his local Club to raise some sponsorship for us. Janice Radford then got in touch with us during our ride through Spain recently and it was through her efforts that Brigg Lions decided to sponsor Whale of a Ride and the International Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society.

Our thanks and appreciation go out to all the members of the Brigg Lions Club (some of whom are pictured here fundraising last Xmas) and we look forward to meeting them in person in October when we plan to attend one of their meetings to give a presentation about the conservation & community projects that they have helped by sponsoring us.