March 4, 2023
Day 17: Ait Benhaddou to Ouarzazate
Short day
“I’m glad we already decided to take a rest day in Ouarzazate,” Patrick says, he’s not feeling well. Rachel has a bit of a sore throat but nothing major, just non stop blowing her nose, more like allergies. It’s always nice to have a preplanned day off the bike.
We have arranged for breakfast to be ready at 0800. We carry gear down and load the bikes and sit down to a nice continental style breakfast. Then we are off for a short ride today. The air is hazy as the sun is just up. Patrick rides behind Rachel. We are losing altitude though not all downhill. We sail down, the wind helping us. When we see ahead a hill, the downhill gives us enough momentum to almost all the way up the incline.
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We reach the “Hollywood” of Morocco passing by the Atlas movie studios where many films such as Gladiator, The Mummy, and The Jewel of the Nile were filmed. The long boulevard is lined with fancy streetlamps and has a Las Vegas feel. Interspersed of the modern there are still women riding donkeys crossing the road.
The road into Ouarzazate goes through a huge round about and by the industrial area, yet at the Hotel Marmar there are stop lights. Go figure, in the land of round about’s this town still uses stop lights. We get a “welcome tea” as we are early and the room isn’t ready yet. There’s not a long wait and we get settled into the room. Rachel does laundry in the sink and Patrick hangs it on the roof of the Hotel. All dries quickly.
After cleaning up and a rest, we walk to the city center, Place al Mouahidine for late lunch/early dinner. We hail down a taxi to go back to the hotel, 5Dh per person. We will explore the souks and the Taourirt Kasbah tomorrow.
Today's ride: 30 km (19 miles)
Total: 549 km (341 miles)
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