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TRAVEL FEATURE - WESTERN AFRICA FABRIZZIO MITROTTI
A SHORT RIDE TO DAKAR
After years of travelling extensively in Eastern Europe , it ' s time to head south . The idea of getting to Dakar by land flashed through my head when I was still driving the roads of Europe .
I like to plan future trips and that , as I tell you , was born on the beaches of Normandy . It may seem bizarre , in fact in the eyes of many it is , but I like to imagine and dream of new destinations and the Paris- Dakar that I admired as a child it did the rest .
I left Turin on a warm evening at the end of August , as I usually do to avoid the city traffic and the heat . After crossing France and Spain , I board a ferry in Algeciras with the destination Tangier .
Arriving in Morocco in the evening , the customs officials are very kind and helpful and in just over twenty minutes I am out of the modern and functional port . After purchasing insurance on site for the bike and changed a little Euro , I stopped in a nearby hotel . They have secure parking and I don ’ t mind spending a few euros more and sleep without worries .
I leave heading south , Dakar is far and I have to go a long way . The Moroccan roads are in excellent condition , there is also a motorway with petrol stations and wellequipped rest areas . The police are ever present and in case of necessity are always well disposed in the help of two-wheeled travellers .
Stopping in Tiznit , a lively town , I allow myself a walk through the alleys of the Medina and a Visit to the mosque . I leave and treat myself to a tasty tacos at Tan-Tan but I will pay serious consequences later in the evening . I ' m lucky because the sun is always shining , and the colours of the sky , grass and the clothes of the inhabitants are beautifully bright .
I then decide to stop in Tarfaya , a well-known place on the Atlantic
TRAVERSE 115