Paris Dakar Stage 26 to Ouazzane

Stage 26 of 60, day 31 of 71: 126.6 km, 1804m, 5:25, 356 shifts, ave speed 23.3, max speed 63.6

I slept ok but it was too hot in the room. Breakfast was delayed until 7:30, then we headed out at 8:30. We rolled back one time zone entering Morocco so that was not as early as it would be in Spain.

There was lots of traffic as we headed out of Martil. It didn’t feel right without Andrew and Wytze. It got hotter throughout the day, and stops for cold drinks became more and more vital. The first was at a nice place called Restaurant Panoramique. We talked to the new owner who built the big deck that looks out over a lake. Drinks and snacks were great there.

From there it was quite a climb up, hot hot 🔥. We found Ype exactly at halfway, 62.5 km. Lunch was the same as we’ve been having and there was some shade under a fig tree. I pounded electrolytes.

We headed out in a good sized group, cranking up yet another hill through construction zones and pretty nice scenery. I really liked the people we passed, they were so positive, adults and kids. Our group split at an intersection. Daniel, Jan and I continued up a very hot climb to the famous “Blue City” of Chefchaouen. First up we needed shade and drinks. We got off the road into an inner courtyard and found a perfect bar. We drank long and hard, multiple sodas, lots of water plus fresh squeezed orange juice. Each of us had over a liter and there was no hint of peeing.

Next we got Jan a Moroccan Sim card so his phone can function. 3rd try worked, a tiny shop that sold coffee beans but also had a Tele-boutique sign and set him up. It’s 120 for the card plus 10gb of data, about €12.

We had around 50 km to go, a little daunting, but there was lots of fast downhill. We ended up stopping part way up another brutally hot hill, for more cold drinks. The new one was Citron Menthe flavored Sprite. It must be made specially for the Moroccan market as they love mint here so much. It’s quite good on a day like this (understatement).

After that it was a mere 13 km to camp. We did that and were relieved to be done. Soup and snacks, shade, water and still no peeing. Eventually I set up my tent and had a cold (would’ve liked colder) shower. I sat in the shade and started this post then had dinner duty. We washed all the dirty dishes, set everything up then ate fresh fish, bought from the market in Martil in the morning and packed in ice. Potatoes, veggies delicious avocado salad and cake for dessert. I cleaned up and started on dish-washing duty but was excused early to finish this.

It’s not quite 9pm and I’m ready for a long sleep 💤💤