#tafraoute

The Painted Rocks of Tafraout 🇲🇦🏍️

These painted rocks are an outdoor exhibit by the Belgian artist Jean Verame. In 1984 with the help of the Tafraout Fire Department, he created the exhibit as a tribute to his late wife. The project took three months and used 18 tons of paint.

Rock climbing in Tafraout! 🇲🇦🏍️🪨

There are some really cool rocks to explore out here. I really wanted to rock scramble higher and farther, but it’s tough in moto boots with no ankle rotation. I always feel like I have clunky horse hooves when I wear these things.

Hello from Tafraout, Morocco! 🇲🇦

It’s pretty sketchy riding at night in the countryside. There’s no street lights, no reflectors and Moroccans LOVE to drive in the middle of the road. It’s become a pet peeve of mine as each vehicle has their own lane, but oncoming traffic insists on sharing my lane with them. I’ve had to swerve out of the way into dirt a few times. My fast paced heart reminds me I’m still alive after these encounters that I’ve survived another day to do it all over again.

And here I am riding off to see more rocks. The dust game in Tafraout is strong. The fine powdery sand creeps onto the road and turns two lanes into one. Still rideable, but sketchy as some parts of the road are especially thick and I don’t feel like getting stuck like I did in the Sahara.

Morocco’s arid environment is harsh to survive in. No matter how much water I drink, I always feel dehydrated. My fingertips are cracking, my throat is dry, my voice cracks and there’s fine sand and dust everywhere. But it’s all about perspective isn’t it?

Despite all these factors, I’m still grateful I get to live like this.

Scene in Tafraoute, Morocco

Après 180km de routes, de plages sauvages, de musiques arabic-techno (pas fou-fou..), on se pose à Tafraoute, un village haut en couleur, peu d’habitations juste des restaurants qui borde l’océan, quelques ruelles...

On décide quand même de dormir ici, et en cherchant on tombe sur un troupeau de dromadaires (1 bosse) qui broutent autour des maisons !