Where the Wild Things Are: The Road to Morocco
February 1, 2008
Unlike the mechanical travails
suffered by Gregory Anderson in the Belizean rainforest, the obstacles I face on
a beach along Morocco’s Atlantic coast can be surmounted without the physical
intervention of a support team. All I need is advice, and one of Land Rover’s
intrepid Scottish guides to tell me exactly how to attack the tall sand dunes
that lay ahead. "Put some wellie in it," he says, referring to knee-high
Wellington boots. My passenger embraces the word with gusto and I’m treated to a
chorus of "Wellie! Wellie! Wellie!" as I approach the first dune. Burying the
gas pedal in the floor, I charge up the steep hill of sand, no problem. Not all
of my attempts will be as successful. Later on, for instance, the course
contains a steep section immediately following a sharp turn. I have little
chance to build speed beforehand, and can’t quite crest the dune on my first
try. On the second, however, I keep my foot firmly on the accelerator and power
through.
I’m in the North African nation to sample a variety of Land
Rover offerings—including the freshened Range Rover and Range Rover
Supercharged—and the sand course provides a prime venue for the manufacturer’s
impressive Terrain Response system. Up to five unique programs, each with
specialized transmission and traction settings, tailor performance to conditions
as diverse as sand, snow and rock crawling. Land Rover first introduced Terrain
Response on the LR3, and it has now become a welcome feature across the model
line-up.
I’ll use the system to navigate boulder-strewn off-road courses
later on, but today it’s sand—and lots of it. In addition to the roller coaster
ride through the dunes, I have the chance to blast around an improvised seaside
course that showcases a Land Rover’s speed and handling capabilities on the
challenging surface. Unfettered by the soft, deep sand, I achieve high speeds in
the straightways and maneuver with ease through turns. There is usually a slight
drift sideways when changing direction at a clip—it feels something like a
momentary loss of traction on snow—but it’s easily controlled and
corrected.
The availability of a supercharged engine—with its extra 95
hp—only makes a great car better. Though it can’t touch a Porsche Cayenne Turbo
in the acceleration department, a Supercharged’s power comes on in a satisfying
surge. A well-controlled ride and quick steering would be appropriate in any
sport-oriented luxury car, and despite its high center of gravity, a Range Rover
can be driven aggressively on winding roads—throwing it through turns is
exhilarating.
Everyone in Morocco seems to be going somewhere. They walk,
ride donkeys sidesaddle, and crowd onto mopeds or horse-drawn carts. Almost no
one has a car. The few automobiles on the road tend to be ancient Mercedes-Benz
and Peugeot taxis, and typically occupied four-across—even in the front seat.
Nearly every Moroccan I encounter waves, and before long waving to strangers
becomes second nature.
The general lack of motorized traffic makes high-speed jaunts
along the region’s well-maintained network of blacktops tempting. But I’m
monitoring the speedometer. Earlier, one of the Land Rover guides issued an
emphatic warning about speed traps in the region surrounding Essaouira, a
fortified city located due west of Marrakech and down the coast from Casablanca.
But I soon realize that the speed traps are not difficult to spot; generally,
police officers—the jackets of their stylized French Foreign Legion uniforms
sporting exaggerated cuffs—stand next to small, white Citroën vans, pointing
radar guns. Already conspicuous, they further reduce the odds of catching anyone
by selecting positions on the way out of crowded towns, where common
sense dictates a moderate pace.
Navigation systems prove indispensable in a country where road
signs seem nonexistent. The Navteq system in our cars is incredible, noting even
the dirt tracks that hardly qualify as trails. A glance at the screen regularly
displays a maze of accurately mapped "unnamed" roads. Without such navigation
assistance, I would never find my way back to our base in Essaouira. Founded in
the 14th century by the Portuguese (who called it Mogador), the large town
underwent a dramatic transformation in the 18th century when a sultan
re-imagined the place in the dual functions of fortress and port. The waterfront
battlements dating from this extensive program still exist, as does the
protected harbor, which welcomed Muslim, Jewish and Christian merchants; an
ecumenically-minded city gate near the harbor features symbols of all three
faiths.
