55mph - This is Africa ! Chapter 02

On the way, when I got off the bike at service areas where we stopped for fuel, we would sometimes look across at each other with expressions of satisfaction. It was like we were both saying "Really enjoying this...these bikes are great ..." Even with our over 30 years of motorcycling experience, the Ténéré's were performing even better than we thought they would.
Designed as adventure models, naturally they are better suited to dirt and off-road environments. However, in keeping with its performance, the Ténéré 700 has unwavering stability at high speeds and provides a very comfortable and supple riding experience. Even though we were just starting out, it was more than enough to reassure us that the bikes had all the performance required as grand tourers.

The sun went down while we still had over 200km to ride before getting into Seville. Oblivious to the poorly lit highway we continued our journey, finally reaching our city hotel in Seville after 9pm, capping off a seven-hour ride from Lisbon.
Seville is the capital of Andalusia and is the political, economic and cultural center of southern Spain. It is an ancient city with a long history and has many historical buildings, including its Cathedral, a World Heritage Site. However, unfortunately, time restraints meant we couldn't afford to take our time and enjoy the sights due to the journey we still had ahead.
Early the next morning, before leaving the city, I took photos around the world's largest wooden building, the Metropole Parasol, and then we headed for our next destination, Tarifa. From the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula, we took the ferry to Morocco, the entrance to the African continent.

But that was just the start of what actually took up our time. There were customs officers waiting for us to disembark, and they asked us questions repeatedly (although this was largely taken care of by Luis, a Portuguese staff member from Yamaha Motor Europe who accompanied us on this journey). The whole process took nearly two hours! I got mentally prepared thinking "Is this it? We aren’t going to be allowed in here, we’re going to get sent back.” We did, however finally get through, but by the time we got to the city of Tangier, sunset was fully upon us.
Japanese coming to Morocco on motorcycles... Perhaps it was a "weird" thing for them. It was only a 40-minute cruise, but it was very clear to us that we had crossed a significant “borderline” here.

As we left the harbor and rode through the city of Tangier, that feeling became even stronger. The streets were full of cars and motorcycles, but that's not all. Bicycles, pedestrians, horses and dogs suddenly appear in front of you and cross without warning. No matter how big the intersection, there are no traffic lights, and you need to navigate the roundabout (rotary intersection) in the direction that you want to go with some very careful timing.

Rowly (Rowland Kirishima), riding right there beside me, could see I was looking around the streets in sheer astonishment, and just said - This is Africa! -“This is Africa” - The first time I heard it said. He continued... "TIA, is a term used in business and travel when encountering accidents or trouble that you would not expect in the West. It literally means, "This is Africa!" And you either work with it, or go home " Stopped at the Tangier port - Congested and bustling street
Even though we only had a few hours in Morocco, I could come to understand the full meaning of Rowly’s words - "This is Africa." And in anticipation of the "TIA" events we were to see and experience in the future, our hearts were soaring with expectation and anxiety.