Day 184 – Moulay Bousselham to Ben Mansour

Day 184                                                          19th January

41miles (Moulay Bousselham to Ben Mansour) Average speed  11.7mph Top speed 23 mph

 

What a crazy day!!

I was up early and had brekkie of omelette and bread. Then I set off to see the shoe man at 10.

He did a great job sticking my shoes back together with epoxy resin type gunge and took his time and only charged me 20 dirham. I gave him 3 as a tip and went back to check out of the campsite. 140 dirham for 2 nights and a lukewarm shower but plenty of firewood and a beautiful location. I left and followed the road around the lagoon.

I was glad to have worn long sleeves and trousers as the wind made it quite chilly. I got to Dahlia and witnessed a proper traffic jam at the market where chaos reigned. There were cars, mules, carts, horses, chickens and all sorts all over the road, but I weaved my way through, getting all sorts of strange looks.

I carried on until it was about to rain and I stopped at a roadside bar at Ouled Mesbah where I met some good people. They offered me a fish sarnie with tomato and onion relish, I had a large bottle of coke and they helped me shelter from the ensuing thunderstorm. We had a good chat and I was offered some hash but explained I wouldn’t be able to ride in a straight line and this was enough to get a laugh and not offend at the same time. After about 40 minutes and having enjoyed their company I offered the owner 10 dirham and he accepted and gave me some sweets for the road. What a pleasant shelter.

After the town the road became a mix of very little tarmac and lots of sand. It was difficult to stay upright at times and I had to get off and push on a few occasions. but after a while, although tiring, I discovered it’s like the opposite of driving on snow. Keep a low gear and a high cadence and concentrate on keeping the front wheel straight. This method continued on and off for quite a few miles.

I was pretty much running parallel to the motorway but could not quite make out its signs.  I came to a point where I had to decide my next move, with only an hour of daylight, I stopped at the junction to turn left to Ben Mansour and asked a boy if there was a hotel in town but his reply was no. I couldn’t make it to Kenitra, so chose to gamble and having found the centre of the village realised I wasn’t going to find much. There was no shop for meat, which meant I couldn’t wild camp with only onions and pasta, but I was getting some very strange looks so chose to carry on through the village and take my chances at the next. I stopped at the last shop out of town and asked for tinned meat but was only offered Pepsi.

Then things took a change for the better when Kamal offered me a room in his house. I was concerned after many stories I’d heard but after some consideration decided to take a look as my options were limited. Kamal showed me to a beautifully decorated room with cushions and bench seats all around and said I could sleep there. Still a bit dubious I locked up my bike and returned to his shop to watch life go by and night to arrive. I met his sons Yousan and Aman.

Then I was invited in to watch the card school in the hut next door to the shop. Yousan at 11 can and does pretty much run the shop on his own.

It was really dark with no street lights at this busy T- junction, but very busy with fast moving traffic and many people getting in and out of buses, taxis, horse and carts, motorbikes, many on foot. Back at the house he showed me around the large farm and the banana plantation, we had mechisa for dinner with the men of the family, before eventually going to sleep after Kamal had made and tucked me into bed. I don’t remember the last time anyone tucked me in! His wife and all his family are incredibly hospitable. I’m overwhelmed by their generosity.

 

Kamal’s house