12/03/2023 Bikepacking Morocco Day 117 : On the road again

Last night, the wind from the South / East abated and did a U turn. The tropics has been delivered to my tent fly on a curtain of air - and you could really feel it. You could smell it too (luckily you don’t have to) - for the first time since leaving Spain, I noticed my underarms had gotten a little stinky. The dry air seems to preclude the need for deodorant. As the sun set, the tent got so wet that raindrops fell inside; the result of a 67 degree dew point and 65 degree air coming in from the North.

Things change quickly out here, and by morning, the soaked tent was completely dry. Back to our regularly scheduled programming! But I have a fresh reminder of how much I prefer the desert over the tropics.

I had read that this section was super remote, but have been happy to find a place to get water and tea every 45 miles or so. I came into this with the expectation that it would be remote (and difficult as a result), but the people who wrote that must not have cycled in the Southern California deserts where you can easily ride 120 miles with zero services. Maybe if we stopped to pray more in the US, we’d erect a few more stations. The gas stations here have dedicated rooms with little prayer rugs or mats.

Today was the first time since I began the flat stretch that a driver didn’t stop to offer me water. Not that I’m expecting it, but drivers continue to be friendly and polite usually giving the full lane, waves, and thumbs up. My human contact is exclusively at gas stations now, but the people are largely jovial and curious about the trip. I continue to enjoy this section immensely more than I thought I would - perhaps the benefit of setting low expectations! It feels hedonistic with all the tea stops and good pavement.

The winds have been tough for camping; I didn’t sleep optimally last night due to the noises of the tent. The 3 person tent is proving to be beneficial, though, as I can sleep on the middle - further from the moving sides. Sand management is a time consuming project, as my electronics and diabetes kit are struggling a bit (the port where I put the test strips is crunching - occasionally refusing strip entry, the glucometer zipper is struggling to open and close, the finger stabber is having trouble, and the clicking mechanism on my insulin pens still works, but resists movement periodically). The AQI was 142 this morning. In spite of this, I reveled in the beauty and isolation of last nights camp; watching the shooting stars for quite a while - wishing Janet were here to also enjoy the nice spot.

The following portion goes into some negative stuff, and I suggest you stop here if you don’t like bad thoughts or are reading to children.

Surprisingly, I haven’t been asked for any of my fiche cards since Boujdour. I had read that there were many many police stops through Western Sahara for the safety of travelers and because of the conflict. Tourism is very important to the Moroccan economy, and in 2018, two backpacking women were beheaded by Jihadists. I think that this inspired heavy security that has since faded somewhat in the last 5 years.

The other sad news is that the sick puppy I mentioned yesterday died today. I appreciate the vet being in touch with me daily. I’ll post a happy video of the remaining four. I like to tell myself that his passing was better in their care than it would have been otherwise. I am sad that this happened, but I still feel happy that he was amongst his vibrant siblings when it happened.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow’s plan is another day like today!