Day 201 5th February
28miles ( Ouarzazate to Ait Souan) Average speed 7.7 mph Top speed 31 mph
Awake at 6 and then I read till 8. Brekkie at Renaissance cafe of omelette, oj, coffee and bread. I packed up, and after another coffee, got the address for camping from the man in the shop and hit the road at 11.
I thought the first 20 miles were going to be easy but how wrong I was: the road was a complete mess and roadworks, with diversions through dustbowls, meant I was covered in dust and dirt from the lorries and finding it hard to breathe in the heat too.
Roadworks; heat and dust
The surface was terrible and I had to slow down every time I had some momentum to carry me into the next hill. It was a really tough climb all day with hardly any let up.
It was impossible to find any shade, but eventually I used some pipes on the side of the road to hide from the heat and have a drink.
The only shade around!
I made it to the top at 1500m and then enjoyed a bit of downhill before climbing back up to a restaurant where I had salad and Berber omelette. As I left, knowing it was a long way to the next big town, a guy on a rock up above shouted down and asked if I wanted a campsite. He offered me a place in his oasis for 20 dirham, but before I agreed I went into the village to check it out and found no food or anywhere to stay, so I went back to see him and he took me down to see the spot.
A beautiful, if remote, spot to camp
There were no facilities but running water from a stream and what he described as a pool was in fact full of frogs and weeds. It was a beautiful place though with many almond trees and birds. I got set up and made some tea and chocolate before heading down to the village to eat and watch the African cup final with the locals. Cameroon won 2-1 with a late goal which I was pleased about as I didn’t fancy extra time again and wanted to get back and light my campfire. I bought water and cakes for brekkie and went back to light a fire and make tea. The moon was so bright I didn’t even need my torch. It was great to have a proper fire and I was torn between watching the flames or the sky. I was in bed by 10.30 and enjoyed listening to the wildlife around me. it did get very cold in the night though.
Watching the flames of the fire
Camping oasis 50 dirham