Cycling The Globe

A Cycle Touring Expedition Around The World

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Day 2131, Rabat – Kenitra, Morocco: Walking Between Centuries

Posted by Thomas Andersen Posted on Dec - 21 - 2016

Distance: 40.3 km
Ride time: 2:16:56
Average: 17.7 km/h
Max speed: 37.4 km/h
Total: 53805 km

We had been staying at a hotel in the modern part of Rabat and went for a walk around the neighborhood in the morning. With wide boulevards and fancy restaurants and shops, this area of Rabat reminds me of a southern European city.

Then you can walk 10 minutes away from the nouvelle ville and you are suddenly in the old medina where things doesn’t seem to have changed for a thousand years. I find this kind of walking from one world to another mighty fascinating.

Then when jumped on our bikes and started the short 40 km ride to Kenitra. A difference I noted between Morocco and the rest of Africa is the fact that there is so much garbage everywhere. In the rest of Africa the villages would be very basic, but things would nearly always look pretty tidy. Unfortunately not so much in Morocco.

The other unique thing about Morocco is that fact that over half of the cars you see on the roads have European number plates, mainly from Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It seems like all the Moroccan people who live in Europe is on holiday back in their home country these days.

In Kenitra we found a municipality camp site. It could probably be described as a parking lot in a not so interesting part of town – not the most spectacular camp spot in Cycling the Globe history, but a safe and cheap spot to spend the night.

Categories: Morocco
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2 Responses so far.

  1. Suzanne Jager says:

    Beautiful pictures!! Was that spices in those bags that were hanging?? Also, does it feel funny walking after biking for so long? Need to see more pictures with Manon in them!!

  2. Hi Suzanne! Hmm, I’m not really sure what these spices are – I’m afraid you will have to go to Morocco to find out 🙂 And it was not a huge hike – just a short walk around town. I’m almost always doing that when I’m in a new city… Christmas greetings from Colombia!