Hey everyone

Looking at my calender I realize that I've spent basically the whole of last week with Fernando and his family and friends in Totana and Mazarron. I had motorcycle problems and it turns out that many of Fernando's friends know more about my bike than I do (you thought so, I know) I asked the mechanic Miguel Angelo to look over King Kong because of a higher pitched rattling noise (which, it turns out - are the rocker arms - listen carefully for the sound in the road video below) I have been hearing since Switzerland. He however heard another noise that I hadn't noticed. Turns out I needed a new camshaft ("arbol de levas" :). Apparently he’s seen this in a couple of old Honda XLs and he thinks it’s do to use while lack of oil. Possibly when started cold and then reving to high. I’m not exactly sure how this might have happened. I was however running low on oil at some point a ways back around Barcelona (despite doing oil changes at the required intervals – and as I thought frequent enough oil checks).

I feel lucky that Miguel Angelo was able to find a new camshaft within a couple of days. Plenty of time for Fernando and me to hang out at the beach (alias motorcycle repair).

Back in town Miguel Angelo had my bike in working order except that the initial higher pitched rattling sound is still there (seriously - any tipps on this sound are appreciated). He says it’s the rocker arms and shaft (numbers 4 and 5 in the picture below) that need replacing. These however are hard to come by as single pieces. If anyone has a tipp, this is what I’m in need of.

The overall strategy is to try and find these parts in Africa (hopefully) and in the meantime keep the oil level up, as much as possible. I’ve been checking my oil every 100 km now and adding a tad for good measure.

With the bike more or less in order (he does run much smoother with the new camshaft) it was time to say goodbye to Totana, Fernando and all the lovely people. I postponed leaving to Sunday in order to have a last day and night in Totana. Special thanks to Manuel, Juan, Juan Fran, the whole trasiego crew (especially Pedro for the great food) and most of all Fernando for the help, hospitality and company! It's been a blast :)

I left Totana for Almeria on Sunday 31. September and arrived in the afternoon, in time to get sorted with my ferry tickets and have a last swim in the Mediterranean. 

I decided to take the ferry from Almeria instead of Gibraltar because it’s only about 200km from Totana and I wanted to finally reach the African continent. The ferry ride to me was a special experience. We left at midnight and arrived at 8 am sharp. For EUR 89.00 there was a bed with clean sheets, a shower and most of all the passage across the sea.

Once in Melilla, I made it across the border to Morocco with no major hassles. I got out some Dirhams, added some oil, fuelled up and took the country roads from Nador through Taza to Fes. I wanted to come to Fes because my brother and I really liked this city back in 2016 when we travelled here together. 

I’m not in my rough vibe yet, having spent the last week sleeping in beds at Fernando’s, on the Ferry and now in a Hostel. The tent might be a bit too clean at this point. I will remedy this soon I’m sure :)