Step 1 | Marrakech - Lake Bin el Ouidane

 

The recos 2023 team left Marrakech early in the morning in angry weather!

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Backlit palm trees and storm-blackened clouds soon gave way to powerful sunbeams and equally vigorous zef kicks. Gradually, the snow-capped peaks of the Atlas are revealed and remind us that tomorrow we will cross this splendid mountain range. But to be patient, this first step is far from being an ordinary hors d'oeuvre. Between small winding roads and other nuggets of view that arrive at the rhythm of the mountains climbed this day, the participants will return serenely and quickly to what Morocco offers most invigorating. To crown their arrival on the evening of this start of the Babyboomer's Adventure, they will certainly be amazed by the immense turquoise lake of Bin El Ouidane towards which they will meander gently before a night at the foot of the big white mountains.

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Step 2 | Lake Bin el Ouidane - Erfoud

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For this start of the second stage, the whiteness of the snow mixes with the turquoise waters of Lake Bin El Ouidane. As we rise rapidly above the clouds, the rocky aisles and fir trees give way to a patch of snow whose limits are simply endless. Here we are already in seventh heaven, where we successively cross three culminating passes each around 3000 meters.

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The characteristic ocher mountains of southern Morocco are gradually revealed. The freshness, in place in December, will however be perfectly bearable in May for the participants and their vehicles. At the end of the day, we finish the Atlas with the Amesker Gorges, a rocky bottleneck as imposing as it is tenuous...unforgettable.

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Just at its exit, the road to Erfoud leads us straight to the desert, already. The first dunes are revealed as the palm trees reappear under a magnificent setting sun. That's it, we are indeed in the Sahara… Although Morocco's victory in the World Cup and the scenes of jubilation that follow remind us that this country also lives a huge and overflowing passion for sport! Well done to their team!

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Step 3  | Erfoud - Erfoud

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For our entry into the Moroccan desert, what could be better than going to greet the highest dunes in Morocco? But to win them, you still have to reach them by the tracks whose secret Yann passed on to us... Direction therefore to start the extreme east of the territory, up to this immense palm grove, sip of water, which remember with emotion all the Babyboomer's who have already passed through this timeless place.

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Just out, the sandy tracks turn due south and lead us inexorably towards the famous mountains of fine sand. A few slaloms through vast craters and, at the bend of a passage of Crete, Merzouga is already revealed.

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A veritable pocket of sand about forty kilometers long, it will accompany us the rest of the day. We follow the eastern side, then the south, and finally the west thanks to a beautiful very rolling track, which ends in the shade of the palm trees...

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We can already see you there, the Babyboomer's 2023, taking advantage of these magical palm groves to land and admire the panorama with the adventure companions!

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Step 4  | Erfoud - Erfoud

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The stage of wide open spaces.

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Leaving Erfoud in stormy weather, we are heading due south today, towards one of the jewels of the Babyboomer's raid: the Marech pass. To reach it, we have to cross kilometers of “open” desert. The picture around us is of absolute grandeur, and the black mountains draped in golden sand close off these breathtaking views in the distance. We probably find here what is freedom in its purest form. From there to imagining yourself on Mars… there is only one turn of the wheel…

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Finally, at the end of this infinity, our pass emerges from the surrounding mist. A real bottleneck in the heart of a barrier of impassable mountains, it is paradoxical to say the least. In stark contrast to the rest of this day of the great outdoors, it offers a wealth of small desert pleasures in such a confined place. Orange rocks taking in the light, caravans of hundreds of dromedaries, lush emerald green palm trees, fine, buoyant sand whose channels lead us wherever they want…

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At the end of the pass, a huge dazzling white chott will gradually take us back to the North, in order to find Erfoud on the evening of this 4th day. Along the dunes streaked by the wind and the mountains blackened by time, we imagine, for a few more moments, having left the Earth for a cosmic journey… Lunar!

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Step 5 | Erfoud - Erfoud

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A last incursion into the Sahara before leaving it tomorrow... Yes, our walks definitely pass too quickly. So, as usual, we take advantage of this last beautiful day around Erfoud.

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Starting with a magnificent sunrise that tears a sky whose clouds look like flying saucers. That's good, the road-book takes us today to the Celestial Staircase then to the City of Orion, two architectural constructions worthy of another planet, placed in the middle of the desert and whose lines are visible to tens of miles around.

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As the sun runs towards its winter zenith, we continue our journey towards Errachidia through a pretty pass between two steep mountains. Swarms of children await us to accompany our passage, and at the bend of a small bend we overlook their beautiful ocher village surrounded by lush palm trees.

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Finally, the southern route towards Erfoud leads us on very rolling plateaus dotted with sandy wadi which will certainly delight the participants of next May. Another great pleasure in perspective to close the sandy part (with parsimony, of course!) of this Babyboomer's 2023.

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Step 6 | Erfoud - Boumalne Dades

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As usual, a stage with a mountainous profile starts early in the morning. Dazzled by an orange cloud and a sky bordering on purple, we take the opportunity to immortalize our recce team in photos. Happy and serene, we leave Erfoud behind for a few months...

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If there are still a few barchan dunes and other acacias bordering the rolling track that we are taking this morning, the place is quickly left to a relief which becomes uneven as we reach it. So here is the Djebel Saghro massif and its landscapes of creation of the world that is coming.

The track rises, narrows and gains in intensity. The aisles are transformed into cliffs whose size the human eye struggles to measure. Overlooking the tangle of mountains, we almost believe we are on a small cloud...

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Finally, the gentle descent to Boumalne Dades connects us to civilization. The continuation of the Moroccan epic in the World Cup makes many stars float in the streets. When night falls, it's ours, the star, of which we think very hard. It has been shining above this city since last October 23 and has offered us a magnificent adventure that we can't wait to share with you.

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Step 7 | Boumalne Dades - Marrakesh

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So here we are. The recognition of the final stage of the Babyboomer's 2023 is for today. While the city of Boumalne is barely waking up from a more than festive night, the five of us take to the track one last time, in order to complete the adventure. Again, a retina-breaking sunrise rises in the Moroccan sky, as if someone up there wanted to paint an indescribable picture of elegance...

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Road to the West, then track to the North. The scheme is simple and oh so nice... Daylights run at full speed on the side of the mountains and illuminate the bodies of water that strew our path. We gain altitude, but less than on the outward journey. The landscape is therefore greener and certainly less snowy!

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The final descent leads us quietly towards a more urban region, then finally until reaching Marrakech. And already the memories of the week are jostling: the turquoise waters of Bin el Ouidane, the immaculate snow of the High Atlas, the golden sands of Merzouga, the black rocks of Marech, the orange City of Orion in the early hours of the morning... But also, the gaze of the Moroccan shepherds, the smile of their children, the silhouette of the Berbers... Already, a sudden lack sets in. But he is quickly overtaken by the happiness of having traveled 2,000 kilometers through a country that carries sharing, meeting and conviviality in its veins.

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Dear Morocco and dearBabyboomer's Adventure, see you very soon to share this moment together.

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ThanksYann.

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Erick, Didier, Alain, Arnaud & Lucas.

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