New livery-new name but same old bus!

While we had been away in Brazil the bus was sprayed silver.

Renamed 'Kalbarri Silverstream' it looked much smarter as we left Betchton to head south.

Driving through France the weather was appalling and we had to follow a snow plough as it cleared the road.

The rivers were overflowing and lots of towns and campsites in the south were under water.

  The weather had improved by the time we reached Morocco and when we  stopped for lunch at the motorway services near Rabat the sky was blue. 

These narrow streets were in the village of Idikle.

Fortunately a lady showed us the way around along an old donkey trail that led us across the hillside back to the main track

  A fort close to the oasis at Sidi Isni looked as though the French Foreign legion were still in residence.

We stopped to admire the art work on this sign post and along came a fellow traveller.

Dot celebrated her 65th as we drove back along the coast and was delighted to find a use for the shipwreck symbol on the GPS.

More shipwrecks as we followed the coastal road to the old Spanish port of Sidi Ifni.

After an overnight stop at the campsite right on the beach we drove to Tiznit and turned inland again.

This World Heritage site hill ksar at Ait Benhaddou has been used many times as a film set.

The climb up to the top gave us good view.

                             Up into the High Atlas mountains.

The drive eastward was across the plain and over the high pass at Bachkoum.

 Up here there are fine views of the snow capped Atlas mountains on the horizon.

We made out base just near Tinehr at the superb Le Soleil campsite.

 Out came the bikes and off we went to explore the Todra Gorge.

The road through the gorge is no longer a rough stoney track.

 We had 20kms of tarmac before we emerged out onto the high plain.

We went out for a look around to find out how we could safely make the long journey through the mountains.

The track across to the Dades Gorge is fantastic but without a fuel stop it would be impossible.

Then  fellow travellers were to provide the perfect solution.

At New Year we had been partying with Liz and Bill Thompson from Yorkshire who we met again at Tan Tan.

Quite by chance they arrived at our campsite and were keen to do some serious off-roading in their Mitsubishi 4x4.

Sensibly they decided not to attempt the track on their own so we did a deal

They left camp 2 hours before us with a jerry can of  fuel on board. We all met up at the 2800 metres pass for lunch-refuelled the bikes and carried on together where the track was more tricky for a car.

Then they drove on to find the main road while we turned around and enjoyed a fast ride along the stony trail arriving back at camp at sunset.

It was time for us to start on the journey north along the Ziz valley and into the snow.

We stopped overnight at the ski resort of Azrou where every chimney and post has a storks nest.

At Midelt we had stopped for supplies but decided not to buy any meat at these roadside shops.

As we drove north the fields and road side verges were full of freshly sown crops and wild flowers.

The almond trees were in full bloom and spring had arrived in Morocco.

                     Along the mountain tracks in Spain.

Back in Spain we decided to stay a while at Orgiva, the gateway to the Alpujarre region.

Here we found a lovely new campsite set in an old olive grove with fine views of the town below.

 Located between the high Sierra Nevada mountains and the Mediterranean coast, just to the east of the main route to Granada it is a perfect area for trail riding.

At this time of year the cold air falling from the snow covered mountains gets trapped in the deep valleys as the sun warms the air above.

As we rode up the tracks behind Canar it felt like being in an aeroplane as we looked down onto the clouds.

This little bridge crossed a river deep in a ravine and the ride down had been easy.

However getting up the other steeper side was a bit more tricky. Jim had to push his KTM and my Yamaha up around sharp bends until we could get onto a track in the forest.

Travelling eastward we rode for almost 60kms without meeting anyone along a track that ran parallel to but higher up than the main road in the valley.

Not marked on the map it was just one of those lovely tracks you can find by chance.

Going in the other direction we visited Trevelez the highest village in Spain and found the centre full of coach loads of day trippers.

We escaped along another track to arrive at some other villages nestling under the rim of the mountains.

Our route continued back to the coast of Almeria and the awful sights of acres of plastic greenhouses. Here most of  the fruit and vegetables to supply the supermarkets in the north is grown in quick rotation. There is no countryside left to enjoy.

The National Park at Cabo Gato is a protected area and this lighthouse is on a cliff surrounded by turquoise sea.

The coastline all along this park is unspoilt by development. Even at Las Negras the new properties are single story and the campsite is in a cleft in the hills right on the beach.

A lot of the tracks we had ridden four years ago had been tarmaced but we still managed to find a few new ones to explore.

This is the site of an old lead mine at La Roq and the workings were clear and for once the description was also in English.

Now the villagers have turned their skills to growing exotic plants-a much healthier occupation.

               World Superbike and Enduro Championships.

 The weather was cold and windy up in Valencia for the first round of the 2004 World Superbike Championship. The current Champion Britains Neil Hogdson had gone to GP so all out hopes were on James Toseland.

We signed on as journalists and made ourselves comfortable in the media centre.

Dot was able to get close and personal with the action in the pits and on the starting grid. The boys back at home watching on TV were just a little bit envious of their mum.

The first race was close and when Toseland stepped onto the top step of the podium with Walker on third we couldn't wait for race two to see if the Brits would be best.

Between races we wandered around the paddock and admired the many hospitality centres. Dot wanted a balcony and spiral staircase adding to our bus just like Foggies.

The team were on a high as their riders finished the weekend with good results.

Toseland got second in race two and was very happy with his Ducati.

We had two weeks to wait down at Puerto Mazaron.

We explored the coastal tracks and found a huge gun emplacement up on some cliffs.

We laughed at the cute Disney like barracks where the soldiers had lived.

From this vantage point we could see a great track snaking along the hillside.

We stopped for a picnic and along came three German trail riders who were riding the same track towards the guns.

Back at the campsite we enjoyed many fine sunsets across the bay.

This area is full of English and Germans who are living here in the warmth of southern Spain.

While out riding along the coastal track a lorry came along the beach road and dumped a load of rotten tomatoes.

 The goats immediately began to feast themselves.

We had met this French couple parked with their converted truck along the beach.

When we arrived at Puerto Lumbreas for the Enduro they were waiting to give Jim a haircut.

This is a view of the paddock at the first round of the WEC.

All the big teams were here and we met many old friends.

One of the special tests was just beside the start. The crowds were there to see their heroes perform.

Young Ivan Cervantes and Dakar winner Nani Roma got the loudest cheers.

Our support was for David Knight having his first ride on the big KTM for a new British team D3. Justin the team boss waited at the end of every test to give Knighter his results.

He finished on the podium on both days-a great start. He would finish as runner up in his class and secure a factory ride for 2005.

                        Long drive home with a plaster cast.

While out on the test track Jim parted company with his KTM and the bike landed on his foot.

A small bone broke and he was given this smart plaster cast at the local hospital.

There was no point going to the next round in Portugal so we set off north with Dot at the wheel and Jim demoted to navigator!

 Once we reached the coast in France we took a breather at St Nazaire.

Dot was able to look around the German wartime submarine emplacements.

We were disappointed to find the new Queen Mary liner had already left the shipyard. But the children provided entertainment.

As we were catching the ferry from Caen we visited the museum at Arromanche where parts of the Mulberry harbour still lie in the sand 60 years after D-day.

Just a few weeks later the Queen would be here to take the salute from the veterans march past.

 Jim enjoyed the visit to the Memorial- a museum to peace-apart from having to go around in a wheelchair.