Asilah

Asilah, Morocco 

Saturday, January 13, 2024 

The bike ride yesterday was a far cry from the ride from the port to Tangier. Yesterday was a bright, sunny day. The temperature was in the 60s. I even had a tailwind! The trip was from Tangier to Asilah on he coast about 30 miles away. The road was flat and took me through the “ville nouvelle” or new town. It was the more commercialized and westernized part of the city. After about 15 miles the autoroute took most of the traffic away and I was left on a two lane road leading me to the beaches of the coast. Despite the beauty of this place there is always a nagging sense of neglect that bothers me. I have seen this on my motorcycle trips to Latin America. It is the trash that people dump in the prettiest of places. On a bicycle it is impossible to ignore. This is not just a few plastic bottles strewn around. This is purposeful dumping. As if from a truck. The river I crossed looked pretty grimy too. I have thoughts of writing the king. Not that he would pay any attention to a foreigner giving him a piece of his mind. It would give me the piece of mind that maybe he would listen to me and do something about it. After all he is the king. In Asilah there are fortifications built by the Portuguese as they colonized and pillaged the coast of Africa. I do not think that Asilah was a major slave trade port but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had a hand it. So many players have had their hands in making Morocco. The Phoenicians, the Romans, the Vandals after the fall, Christians, Muslims, British, French and Spanish. Then there are the Berbers and tribes of Africa itself. And America calls itself a melting pot?

I stayed in a very interesting hotel called the Sahara for just under $20 a night. Bathroom and showers were down the hall. There was hot water and a comfortable and clean bedroom. There was a nice terrace at the top of the hotel. The staff recommended the restaurant at the end of the street. It was good and meals were about $4 to $5. Since I did not get ill there I went back during my stay. The Medina was inside the Kasbah. However, most things seem to happen right outside the walls down one long street. I found a great coffee shop that I revisited at night to watch a football match. An interesting thing I noticed about the coffee shops is that they do not seem to mind people bringing food in from elsewhere and eating it with ones coffee. I followed others doing this and was not chastised. 

There was a big surf along the beaches. I believe Morocco is known or is becoming known as a surfing destination. 

Tomorrow I head toward LaRache.