Morocco by Motorbike – Day 1-2 – Portsmouth to Santander

Day 1-2
Preparation and Portsmouth!

England to the Sahara Desert, Morocco on my 2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro.

Days 1-2 – Portsmouth to Mérida, Spain
In part one of this road trip, I ride from East Sussex to Portsmouth, two nights onboard Brittany Ferries to Santander.

Locations:

– Day 1 and 2 – Onboard Brittany Ferries Portsmouth to Santander.

Moroc and Roll

Well, I’m on my way to Morocco!
I initially planned to do this in November, but things got in the way, so I scheduled for February. I planned a solo trip, taking the ferry across the Bay of Biscay to Northern Spain. two days through Spain through Morocco hit the Sahara turn around and come back. I stuck my plans on a few Facebook forums, offering it out to any strangers who wanted to book themselves and tagalong and now there are five of us!

We all met for the first time at a pub on the outskirts of Portsmouth, having travelled from different parts of the country. All absolutely soaking wet!

There was a yellow warning of rain across the whole of the south of England, and it seems that storm is now battering the Atlantic. The forecast is for rain all the way until we’re well into Morocco!

Boarding the ferry Portsmouth was a right palaver. Security were checking one in three vehicles and decided to pull all the bikes over for inspection. Loading was just slow, but we got underway only an hour behind schedule.

There is nothing to do on the ferry, except for drink in the bar and a self-service cafeteria. This is a two night crossing and we should land in Santander at 8 am on Saturday morning with the plan to just cane it down to Merida.

We’re really rocking and rolling, now the storm has kicked in. It’s like being drunk, when you close your eyes and the room spins, coupled with being pushed around whilst standing shoulder to shoulder on a bus or train. This has resulted in a lack of sleep.

Friday evening. I’ve left the guys in the bar.
I’m a bit sea sick. Who’d have thought it?

Planned route:
741km in Spain.
Portsmouth – Santander via Brittany Ferries (2 nights).
Santander via A67 to Salamanca for lunch (no tolls).
Salamanca via A66 to Guijuelo then SA-214 and wiggles through Parque Natural de Las Batuecas Sierra de Francia, to Merida.

Find me on:
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/mototraveldude
BLOG: www.traveldude.co.uk
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/mototraveldude
YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@mototraveldude

My video gear:
GoPro Hero 11 – https://amzn.to/41CqbRZ
Insta360 v3 Motorcycle Kit – https://amzn.to/3twe4ZW

My bike and gear:
2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro
SW-Motech engine crash bars (top and bottom)
Molle pouches on top crash bars – https://amzn.to/3TUSmK7
Cinch straps – the most useful little Velcro straps – https://amzn.to/41I6mZl
Lomo Motorcycle waterproof leg bag – https://amzn.to/48mFqRe
Bull-it Icon II Covec Jeans – https://amzn.to/4b4CrPh

My bible for this trip:
Morocco Overland (edition 3) by Chris Scott has been an invaluable resource for this trip – https://amzn.to/48zosPD
Horizons Unlimited website.

Cheap hotel bookings? After checking on TripAdvisor, I find TravelUp have better deals: https://www.jdoqocy.com/click-101065671-15602558

Some affiliate links may be used. You won’t be charged a penny for clicking on them, but I may get some commission from any purchases

Like – Comment – Subscribe – Ride

[Applause] Hello I’m on a ship on the salamancer it’s about 1:00 in the the morning we’ve just left Portsmouth um late and yeah uh so as you know I’ve um on my way to Morocco I decided I’m just going to go on my own um I stuck it

On Facebook on a few uh forums and stuff and said hey does anyone want to come with me here’s my route here’s my itinerary you can uh book your own places I’m not a tour guide and um four other guys who decided to join us uh

There’s uh Mel from South Wales um Tim also from Wales um Paul from ipswitch Lincoln somewhere up there and uh Martin from uh Colchester S6 way and um what a great bunch of guys um they’re all all right actually it’s a little bit worried that might not get on

With any of them but everyone’s straight up um we’re all on different bikes we’ve got a 10 air 700 uh a BMW big thing um touring thing um a tiger i00 and uh something else um and my tiger 1200 so we’re on our way to Santa there

In Northern Spain um it’s a two night Ferry um so you got SP the whole day on board and there is nothing here apart from a bar um at a restaurant of course but uh that’s it so um oops might have to spend a bit in the bar but hey hope and then

We’re going to hit Sant andere on uh Saturday morning I think um and then uh Kan it all the way down to Merida um in the south west of Spain um there’s uh tractors uh the farmers are doing their whoar at the moment knocking all the motorways in Spain um

So we’ll be taking non-all and non Motorway routes which should be a bit of a laugh but yes I’m on a ship um it is Pitch Black outside and um yeah chaing now w It’s a rainy Thursday Afternoon day one my trip to Morocco the weather is appalling horrible horrible horrible wetness but hey ho suppose got to go through the rain before we can get to the Sun traffic a bit rubbish as well On my way to Portsmouth to go meet four strangers who I bumped into on Facebook never actually met them before I met one of them just before Christmas we sort of met halfway for a McDonald’s breakfast and uh it was the first one that signed

Up and then uh the other three of all decided to tag along as well so yes could be interesting meeting um going away for two weeks with uh who knows there could be a bunch of Weirdos This traffic sucks let me tell you a bit about what I’ve been packing for my little trip hi some of you are wondering what I am going to be packing going to Morocco so in my trusty back box um I’m basically keeping everything do with the

Bike in one of the side panas is uh my overnight stuff um including electronics and gadgetry things I want to take to the hotel and in the other Pan um not a lot that’s pretty much spare I’m packing as light as possible because um I need a

Spare place to put a jacket and such like in case I get too hot on the way or or need to get something out so what have I got fitting in my trusty battered giby Triumph branded back box these are great by the way uh I picked these up on

EBay uh they’re aluminium and they come with these um little ridy things that kind of partition up your box and it kind of works um they’re a little bit loose there’s a little bit of tape involved um so on that subject the most important thing to bring um Gorilla tape

Gaffa tape Maring whatever you call it gaffa tape duct tape um this stuff’s absolutely amazing fixes everything to anything um while I’m on my my little tool kit uh a little bit of electrical tape few bits and Bobs um fuses very important and uh pliers wrench little

Bits um spare earplugs I’m always losing my earplugs um alongside that uh hidden in here is a box of tissues um I know it sounds crazy but clean tissues wiping your visor wiping your screen blowing your nose whatever um spare pair of stomach gloves uh spare nnude um I seem

To misplace mine all the time um this thing is absolutely great I’ve had this for years is it’s a little microfiber Tower picked it up at Mountain Warehouse um it’s a little bit greasy but uh it does the job and it is just a tower at

The end of the day uh battery operated air Tire compressor um absolutely fantastic bit of Kit got it on Amazon uh this one’s an oasa I think they’re all pretty much the same they’re all made in somewhere in China um and uh that one does bar PSI the gauge seems to be g8.5

Accurate so that’ll do for for me um tire repair kit never used it but uh the bit seem to still be sticky um and it’s got the drill broad Wy uh bo downland first a kit plasters tweezers um tick remover um after bite um the usual little bits and Bobs anything more and

Uh that’s uh that’s an ambulance job in this massive pack on my waterproofs I’ve got some stormx Oxford trousers um um with a massive zip on the sides which go over everything including my boots and a giant HIZ waterproof jacket with taped seams um it’s in a bag so that I can put

Stuff back in wet this bag didn’t come with it it’s just a bag that I found Allen Keys um full set of Allen Keys uh picked this up on Amazon um most useful thing um my trusty opal knife had that for years and goes everywhere and a

Lighter you can never know when you need it um this stuff is absolutely fantastic Starbucks double shot espresso um it’s a quick pickme up and uh whenever you’re feeling a little bit um nauy but you’re trying to get to your final destination um it works a treat and uh it’s ready to

Go um a it’s an old bottle of some um glasses cleaner fluid um I filled it full of windling because um it works for me um and I’ve left it in a plastic bag the last one I had decided to explode in my top box I probably put something

Heavy on top of it and it went everywhere this is absolutely great um great little bit of kit it’s uh no it’s not for building up my hand muscles um it’s for clipping my fairy ticket onto my windscreen um which uh is is always a handy thing uh where else are we right

Um hord’s uh jump start battery um this thing is great it’s uh comes with a jump start s you got to make sure that it’s the one that can work with lithium batteries if your bike’s got lithium battery but it also is a ginormous 13,000 Mah power bank uh with two USB

Ports um and an emergency torch because no one has one of them stuck on their phone um great bit of Kit and uh so yeah power bank and or jump starter unfortunately he comes with this massive nugget of um gizmos to do uh jump STS thing uh bit of hand sanitizer um yeah

Never leave home without it um a bog standard Oxford bike lock cycle lock as it were um it’s great if you just want to padlock your helmet up um with your bike when you’re when you’re just in a cafe or something you don’t want to carry all your clubble with you

Um it is a deterrent yes if someone wants to Nick something they’re going to Nick it anyway but uh it’s just stops that first off opportune theft um alarm dis loock um this is great um it’s noisy it’s irritating but uh again Amazon made in China Jep um it works and

It’s again it’s a deterrent and that’s that’s all it is uh a couple of spare bits so obviously spare um phone charger cable um and an adapter um from uh USBC to lightning uh with a headphone port on it um didn’t thingamajig with USB bits um I

Don’t really use it that often but it is a good backup because I seem to get more juice out of the uh din socket when charging something off the bike than I do off my quadlock charger um and these things are absolutely great it’s a stretchy

Um velcro strap that goes into the loop there um it’s kind of got like a a rubberized back to it so it kind of gets a bit sticky um it’s great you can use these to strap anything down pretty much anywhere um I think there’s a link for

Them on uh uh on the YouTube notes um so that is basically what’s going into my trusty back box um this is stuff that I need to get a hold of possibly every day um and it’s just it’s the grab and grow go box uh in there I’ll also Chuck

Probably a couple of spare charger cables um pens and uh probably the B standard paracetamol and um what we got paracetamol and renie um most important things to take with you when going abroad I think oh that’s all going in There right that’s the box of Wonders done um so next up overnight bag uh this is by great bikers gear.com anyway uh yeah Chinese made yet again uh picked it up on eBay um they fit the giby Expedition paniers perfectly um you just need to measure them up find your

Giby code um and Zips at the top zip at the front little side pocket at the front as well so you can open up flat um and a shoulder bag um and slots in absolutely perfectly um brilliant piece of Kit so uh far cheaper than to give

You Originals um this is going to be my overnight bag the one bag that I’ll uh take away from the bike every evening um so basically uh yes socks and pants and t-shirts um swim shorts um wash K few drugs tummy tablets uh most importantly

Um adapters um my uh camera setup bag um which is uh GoPro Hero 12 uh and an insta 360x um with uh the selfie pole um and with that will be my iPad um a few charger cables and that’s it um and that works for my open

Ey pack yes I haven’t bought enough clothes for 2 weeks I’ve brought uh five sets of undercrackers and socks um reuse and inside out and uh wash them when I can um pretty much or most of the places that we’re staying at I do have some

Sort of laundry facility so uh it won’t be that bad anyway I’m not out there to uh impress anyone I really care And finally uh what I’m going to be wearing um my richer Adventure boots um I love these boots they’re well cool um I’ve had them for ages and uh I found this called uh duck wax um it’s as you say water repelling leather tonic um

I’ve used it quite a few times now um dubbing wax wax the boots um give them a Polish it kind of soaks it all up and uh adds an extra layer of waterproofing and um these ones are yet to leak yet they will at some point uh under my base

Layers uh I will have thermals and Reno will um LLY seve top um and probably L John’s um definitely for the uh uh first part of it um gear Bing heater jacket um micro wire it’s worth the investment with the programmer thing and the little plugs for gloves and yes I’ve got the

Heated gloves which is why I’ve packed my summer gloves in my top box but my heater gloves will be uh that’s what I’ll be leaving with um I’m going to go mesh um on my layers um my trusty Frank Thomas mesh jacket uh compl with um bits

Of Road trapped into it um and my bullet jeans um I’ve done something cool uh in my bullet jeans um everyone says you need to bring a spare key with you you know you get this stupid pocket on the right hand side um in uh jeans well I’ve

Put my spare key in there and I have sewn it shut um just uh by hand need and thread um I figure that uh my jeans are never going to get locked in my boxes or in my bike or anything um no one really knows it’s there oh told you now um

But my jeans are with me all the time so um it’s quite handy that’s what I’m wearing and that’s it I’ve got a paer free basically to put jackets hoodie um whatever else in bit of gt3e and uh which is all good I’ll also have um a

Spare mesh hook net that uh can stretch over the back seat um if needs to be um if I need to put anything in there I’ll also have uh in that spare paer spare bottle of fuel um some water and some snakes and that’s about it cracky

Gow and finally the important bits and Bobs um pass obviously uh triph assist European Breakdown Cover uh v5c um so that you can temporarily import your vehicle into Morocco and then you temporarily export it out afterwards um Insurance um vehicle insurance for European cover uh and uh maybe some

Medical insurance um all going in a zlock plastic bag and then into my trusty Lomo bag uh these things are great they um sits on your thigh with a like a belt loop um easy to access um totally waterproof this stuff’s like made out of diving material or something

Um and uh yeah really handy and it’s it’s there by your side all the time and two wallets yes two wallets um I generally take two wallets whenever I’m traveling uh one uh as you know in the past um I was pulled over in France

By a policeman who wanted a bit of a payoff um same thing happened in Sri Lanka in a Tuk Tuk um cuz I overtook someone in a Tuk Tu and uh policeman wanted a bride basically um so I would keep my driving license Maybe One bank card and a little bit of

Cash so £50 worth of whatever equivalent um in an accessible wallet um as my as my go-to and then anything else um would go in a separate wallet stashed away somewhere um main reason being is that uh more likely than not someone’s going to want to see your driving license and

If you have a w of cash there they’re then going to want dibs in on that as well so um it’s always good to have some some readies um easily available and not show that you’ve got loads of money when I got pulled in France um I didn’t have

Any cash in my wallet I just had a bank card and uh he was insistent on giving me a fine and when I explained that I have no cash and showed him my empty wallet um it it proved the point and uh and he let me off because he didn’t want

To escort me to an ATM to get cash out because he was obviously just after a bit of beer money for himself so uh that’s my tip tips um that’s it I’m all good to go um just need to wait now and uh day before I’ll print off some Ferry tickets and such

Like and uh rest of it will be on my phone anyhow good Good you Haven noticed still raining [Applause] [Applause] [Applause] he [Applause] Youe How yeah a pick this is my cabin I have a lovely view of sunlight it’s about midnight at the moment so uh yes is just a picture on the wall um but I have the cabin all to myself which is quite nice it’s a full birth cabin at one budo I found out

Something very interesting today on my way down through yellow warnings of rain through the south of England that my boots are not waterproof they were once upon a time but um now they are rather permeable uh anyway this is my little cabin it’s um quite Pleasant and uh

Bre cramps for uh four people I have my own sad bar um shower little cubicle thing it’s uh reminds me of a Formula 1 in France um formula those little cheap hotels a bit like travel lodges but hey this is my home for the

Next 36 or so hours on the way to Sant um and uh I’m with a great bunch of guys we all met up in the uh beef Feer outside of Portsmouth um had a couple of drinks and uh had a burger um got to know everyone so as you know I put this

On Facebook I plan the routs and uh myself to go to Morocco sorry if I’m moving around but the ship is really Rocky already um it’s just going to get worse going through the bay bis um bis and uh yeah I suck it on Facebook and um

Thought hey does anyone want to join me because I’m going down to the Sahara um feel free if you want to and Five Guys joined me um four four other guys joined me so there’s five of us um and uh we’re a good Bunch um we had some dinner

Together first time I met everyone well one of them I met just before Christmas um and um yeah should be an interesting couple of weeks Ching out morning [Applause]