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.
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.
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.
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.
Camping oasis 50 dirham