Day 220 – Erfoud to Errachidia

Day 220                                                        24th February

 

46 miles (Erfoud to Errachidia )  Average speed 10.2 mph  Top speed 27 mph

 

Up at 8 and packed up in the rain. Had coffee and the croissants I bought the night before with Hakan. By the time I was ready to go the rain had stopped though the wind persisted. The first hour was an average of 5 or 6 mph into the wind. It was hard work but the views of the mountains up ahead looked good and the palm trees beside me too. I was running low on water and there were no shops or villages. I spotted a geyser springing high into the air and went to investigate but there were only souvenir shops.

I asked one for water as it wasn’t possible to get close enough to get any fresh from the spring but of course they had none, just silly camels and fossils. The next try was at a fossil shop with a T.Rex outside and a mother and baby camel. The guy came out of the shop, locked the door, said hello and walked off; so no water there either.

Next stop was a cafe and shop which was fairly busy but the shop was closed. I ordered a coffee and asked for water and another guy came and opened the fridge and gave me water and an energy drink that cost as much as my beers the night before. It was worth it though as I needed a boost.

I decided to take a trip around the oasis to take the road via Lemarka and soon regretted my decision. As I crossed the bridge over the river I saw about 10 boys firing catapults at birds in the trees and it wasn’t long before I became their target practice. They seemed a pretty good shot with stones flying past my head at regular intervals. I shouted at them and turned to chase after them and they soon ran off into the palm trees. Then as I came through the next village another group of boys lay in wait, anyone would have thought they had phoned ahead to let them know I was on my way. This time I picked up a stone of my own and they soon stopped but as I was shouting at them a man on a moto also gave them a piece of his mind. As I came past Hakkou campsite there were 4 or 5 younger kids who said Hi and waved and this restored my faith a little but I don’t think I will be taking too many similar detours in future! It was good to see the river running fast and I was soon on the lookout for food again. I went through Aoufous but had passed a few restaurants before I realised that I was out of the town and wasn’t going to go back down the hill so I carried on. Then at the next village it started to spit a bit and I wished I’d stopped for lunch! I found shelter in a concrete bus stop and prepared my lunch of orange and chocolate with my energy drink.

The schoolkids were on their way home and found me quite amusing. Three boys waited for their bus while I had my lunch and played music on their phones to keep me entertained. Eventually I decided I could wait no longer and put on my wet weather gear and headed for the gite 2 miles up the hill. The rain stopped but I was still getting sprayed by the passing cars and trucks. The gite was closed and it didn’t look very promising so with bright sky ahead I pushed on. Then I came to a very big climb that I could see lorries struggling to get up.

I asked people parked up if I could get through on the lower road but they said the only way was up , just like Yazz. So up I went. When I made it to the top the views were spectacular and looking down the other side even more so.

There were lots of tourists at the top in coachloads and in cars, they seemed to be enjoying the view. Then I had a fantastic gradual run down into the valley below. 40 minutes later I was enjoying Errachidias’ answer to Hackney Marshes.

I stayed and watched a very competitive game against the spectacular backdrop of mountains as the sun began to set. The pitch was sand but mainly stones and I can’t believe that there were no injuries as the teams really went for it. I continued on to a garage that was supposed to have a hotel attached but it was closed. Then I clocked up 6000 miles and celebrated with a beer on the football pitch.

When I got into town I asked at a couple of hotels but they were both asking too much money and more importantly had too many steps. I found a hotel Meski towards the end of town and with no steps and a good price I checked in. After a very good hot shower I went to the restaurant across the road for pizza and Sprite. It wasn’t the best pizza bit I quite liked the town. The hotel was a bit run down but it had a certain charm. Dris the owner was very helpful and honest. After dinner I went in search of a beer and found it at the Hotel Rassini. As with many of the hotel bars in Morocco it felt pretty seedy and there were some dodgy looking characters about and some very drunk ones too, despite it being quite a posh hotel. I went back to my hotel and had an early night.

Hotel Meski 100 dirham  – Double bed & single with shower