Karin's camel was called "Bob Marley" and carried her all the way through the dunes. Karin's attempt to then sneak "Bob" home was met with failure at the border. Sorry Karin!

A huge amount of fabrics can be bought in Fes.

The obligatory group picture was taken on a big sand dune close to Erfoud.

The entry to the Gorge du Dades was very tight and one could get a bit claustrophobic riding through it.

We were quite happy to see that the road signs are bilingual – otherwise we might have gotten lost.

The visit in the Atlas Film Studios was very interesting and we could see some well-known film sets.

What we all know is the film set of the movie Asterix & Obelix which was partially done in the Atlas Film Studios.

Our residence in Erfound was very exotic and we even had time to relax for a day.

Chefchaouen was our first overnight stay and very charming with its blue-colored houses.

Lunch in Morocco was always an experience since the restaurants offered much of the local flair.

Some of the roads were paved, however, sand and gravel on top made continued attention essential.

The landscape in Morocco was gorgeous and different from place to place.

We set out for the African continent by ferry with an Edelweiss group. While we can still see the Rock of Gibraltar behind us, the Moroccan coastline becomes visible in a shiny haze far away at the horizon. Just one more overnight in the Spanish enclave Ceuta and we go for the border crossing to Morocco. It takes us about two hours to fill out a bunch of forms and to let the border control inscribe the motorcycle numbers into our passports. Small talk in the group and last minute tweaking of the bikes helps to kill the time. This gives me a chance to set my F650GS up for me. Adjustable seat height, as well as levers, means I can get the bike to fit me perfectly. As soon as the tour guides return with our passports, we forget all about the clever flexibility of the GS and get on our bikes and start the engines. As we finally roll over the border, it seems that we enter a different world: People look different, the landscape looks different and the smell of a forthcoming adventure is in the spicy air.

Beautiful, winding roads along the coastline await us when we start our adventure toward Chefchaouen. Normally the day's route should be 100 percent paved, but due to unexpected road construction the day turns out to be an off-road training day. Initially we start with a few kilometers of pot-hole slalom, but the farther we go the tougher it gets and we soon move on to dirt roads. Fogged in a huge dusty cloud, we continue up on the pegs and most of us get on quite well with these riding conditions. The little F650GS is light and easy to handle on the off-road sections, flattering my riding. Even the professionals find it hard to cope with the toughest parts. The following section through deep, loose gravel is a real challenge. With a concentrated look and gritted teeth, I grab onto the bars and am glad that nobody can hear the drum roll of my heart over the beat of the exhaust. When we arrive at our destination, we celebrate the extraordinary day with our first traditional Moroccan food: Tajine. Tajine takes its name from the cone-shaped pots in which they cook vegetables and meat for hours before it is finally served.

Compared with this exciting first day, the route onward to Rabat and Marrakech is much more relaxed. To get to know the cultural side of Morocco we make a loop to Casablanca, the most important trade and industrial center of the country, where we visit the famous mosque Hassan II, the second largest mosque in the world and the only mosque in Morocco which non-Muslim tourists are permitted to visit. Inside the mosque there is space for 20,000 believers and 80,000 more find a place outside the building on the huge prayer platform. When entering the building we need to take off our motorcycle boots; in addition, as a woman, I am recommended to cover my hair with a cloth.

Next stop Marrakech, also known as the "red town." From afar we can already see this city where we will stay for two nights. In the morning of our rest day we go for a ride up to the famous skiing area, Oukaimeden. Riding the winding and twisty roads we make our way up to the top at 10,730 feet. It is a memorable ride with pegs and even panniers scraping. Every now and then we interrupt the ride to enjoy the fantastic views down in the valleys and to take some pictures. Whenever we stop we are immediately surrounded by groups of Berbers, who try to sell necklaces, rings and other souvenirs; a very persistent man even offers my colleague 4000 camels in exchange for me. After this great excursion we go for a sightseeing tour in town in the afternoon. A local guide shows us the highlights of the medina, the old town, and leads us through an amazing labyrinth of tiny alleys where one can buy a wide variety of things from all over the world. Before we return to the hotel, we go to the "Jamaa el Fna," the Place of the Vanished Mosque, where we see an exciting mix of acrobats, snake charmers, musicians and sales people, and of course hundreds of Moroccans.

After we cross over the 7,410 feet high Tizi-n-Ticha Pass the next morning, we continue on our way to Quarzazate; the Atlas Film Studios are our next stop. Famous Hollywood movies like Asterix & Obelix and Alexander were partially made in these studios; parts of the film sets still exist as well as a mockup of Jerusalem, which was used for the movie The Prince of Persia.

When we take off the next morning, we are anticipating one of the greatest riding days we will ever have. Close to Boumalne Dades, our next destination, we turn into the Gorge Du Dades to ride the most famous hairpin combination in Morocco. Curve after curve, the beauty of this canyon unfolds and when we reach the far end we turn around and ride all the way back to make sure that we didn't miss any of the incredible curves or amazing vistas. We are still in search of adventure, so we decide to ride across the Gorge Du Todra the next day. Even the tour guides don't know if this will be possible without some serious off-road riding, but we are keen to find out. On our way through the canyon we don't meet anyone. There are just a few hamlets but no cafes, no gas stations and no sign of civilization; it's just we and the road. The tarmac is in perfect condition except for a few short water-crossings, where the snowmelt overflows the bridges; we enjoy the incredible and uncomplicated ride.

The next day is a rest day. About 44 miles from Erfoud, we spend an entire day in a hotel in Erg Chebbi to relax at the pool area and to enjoy ourselves on a camel ride through the sand dunes of the Sahara desert. The air is quite chilly when we take off the next morning and the weather forecast says that we will encounter rain. When we finally reach the famous Berber forest near Ifrane, we are already soaked to the skin; in the dense fog we vainly look for the Berber monkeys.

The blue gate marks the entry to the medina in Fes, the oldest of the four Royal Cities in Morocco. Similar to our guided tour in Marrakech, we also have a local guide in Fes, who shows us the town's most important highlights. We visit a madrasa and a famous leather tannery. While I enjoy the smell of mint leaf, I commiserate with all the poor guys who have to work in that heat and stink all day long. Right from the start of our tour we have seen many poor people, most of them in the country but also in urban areas. The "luckier" poor people just don't have any money; those who are really badly off are crippled or deformed. One day when we were riding on a long straightaway, I was shaken to the core by the destiny of a legless man who dragged himself across the street by using his arms.

The tour guides warn us that exploring the Rif Mountains could be dangerous and we need to take care, but we are still seeking adventure, even on our last day in Morocco. Ignore the fact that the Rif Mountains are the center of Morocco's drug trade; the roads are every motorcyclist's dream. They can be in the middle of the road or sometimes a bit more unobtrusive at the roadside, but the dealers trading their crop are unavoidable-the smell of a burning joint is omnipresent. While we are swooping up and down the olive-covered hills, we can sense that our adventure is close to its end.

Like the beginning of our guided motorcycle adventure, the border seems to be the door to a secret world. We leave Morocco and the fascination and uniqueness behind and return step-by-step to reality. While we are almost back home, we leave a piece of our heart in Africa - forever.

See more images from this Morocco adventure in the November issue of the BMW Owners News.