March 7, 2012
Rest Day
gite
I need a rest day. Yes, the tour is only a few days old, but I'm still suffering jet-lag and have yet to recover from 36 hours of travel. Then there's my lack of fitness and all the climbing.
Waking at 4:00 is a bit better than 2:00, so my body clock is slowly adjusting.
I wash a few clothes and type up some notes - the first time I've had the energy - but still can't get the dongle to work. It seems there won't be a signal until I get out of the High Atlas. No doubt Debbie is wondering what's happened to me.
The owner - at least I guesshe's the owner - invites me to join him and a worker for a tangine lunch, sitting outside in the warm sunshine. We eat with our fingers - as is the tradition - and the food is piping hot, but using pieces of flat bread mop up the vegetables and juice. It's an enjoyable experience and comes free of charge... such kind people.
During the afternoon, a German woman living in England arrives with her guide-cum-boyfriend. It's nice to chat. Tomorrow they plan to hike up La Cathedrale. Looking at the monster, I'd assumed it'd be a week's trek, but they say it only takes a three to four hours.
Around seven, as darkness takes hold, a pair of German cyclists arrive in a slightly confused state. I tell them I know the feeling only too well. They got lost along the way and a villager has transported them here. It's becoming a houseful.
Later, the five of us have dinner together and I glean some more info' about the Asif Melloul ride. What I'd been told before turns out to be true - the river was very high earlier this year and a section 20 km away has been washed away. One of the gite workers doubts I'll make it, but there's no way I'm going back.
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