#tafraout_city

[chasingcrystal]

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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.

Would you want to explore here?

[chasingcrystal]

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The Painted Rocks of Tafraout! 💙🇲🇦🪨

I didn’t really have a reason to ride 6 hours out of the way out here in the middle of nowhere. It’s man-made, unnatural, but I thought to myself, when am I ever going to off road to see a bunch of blue painted rocks anywhere else in the world?

So that’s why I did it, for the experience. Your choices don’t need to make sense to anyone else except for yourself AND as long as you’re not hurting anyone.

So ride on! 🏍️💪

[chasingcrystal]

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There’s beauty in brown 🪨🤎

[chasingcrystal]

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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.

Clip clop, Crystal is climbing 🐎

[chasingcrystal]

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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.

Do you see my sticker? 😈

[chasingcrystal]

Not all camping spots are perfect.

I always scout the area before I set my pitch for the night. I tried to wild camp in Tafraoute and thought I found a perfect spot behind a giant palm tree. When I turned off my bike and listened to my surroundings, a few minutes later I heard footsteps. It’s pretty common for Moroccans to be walking literally everywhere late into the night, they just have a later waking culture. Most are harmless, but I just don’t like another human knowing I was there alone.

Good thing I didn’t set or unload anything up yet, I just rode away to the other side of town and picked this dusty RV parking lot. No services, but you can’t beat paying 15 dirham or $1.50 for peace of mind.

We’ll look for the perfect camping spot another day.

Would you have stayed in the first spot or moved onto this RV spot like me?