Paris Dakar Stage 42 to Sidi Ifni

Stage 42 of 60, day 49 of 71: 78.6 km, 964m, 2:58, 268 shifts, ave speed 26.5, max speed 70.0

The last stage to our rest day in Sidi Ifni was easier and we resolved to make the most of it. After breakfast, we took off at 9:10 and rode through Tiznit, then headed along the rolling highway, with little traffic. It was interesting riding with a smooth road. It wasn’t long before we were cruising along on a high plateau and could suddenly see the blue Atlantic Ocean! After descending, the road followed the coast southwest. It was great to smell and hear the ocean. By this time we had the regular group of four plus Kris and were out in front.

We stopped at a café for drinks and of course, Daniel wandered away, then came back with a couple of boxes of pastries including a cheesecake that was seriously good. Bart rated it 93 on the Zaragoza scale but he may have been delusional a little. After all this time and kilometers, no one can really be sure how that legendary cheesecake tasted.

We continued along the coast, up and down, loving the fast descents and the climbs were short and easy. Ype had posted that lunch was by the beach and we were on a really fast descent and I noticed passing lunch. Others didn’t notice, but we had other plans anyway. Our rogue activity for the day was to cruise up to a beach restaurant we picked, another 15 km ahead and have lunch there. We got to the turnoff and had a 90m descent, the last part of which was super steep (>20%) and sandy/rough. It dropped us down to a group of beach restaurants and we finally did find the one we picked (by rating of course). We sat down at a table overlooking the ocean but couldn’t sit still. We had to try the water. Stripped down to bike shorts Wytze and Daniel and I ran out to the water. The beach was really shallow, with large waves coming in, over and over. We waded in and went a long way before we were chest deep. We dove into the oncoming waves with perfect water temperature. I tried some body surfing which was super fun.

We eventually got out, dried off and ordered lunch: a triple order of poisson tajine plus two orders of grilled fish. We chatted away and maybe an hour passed with no sign of food, but we had a ton of drinks. Then we had a couple of salads and finally the tajine arrived as well as two plates with large grilled flounders (or some similar fish). It was a huge feast that somehow all got eaten. Absolutely delicious and the price was under Mad 100 per person.

By now it was after 3pm but we only had 9 km left so it was time for camel riding! Liz and Harry had tried it out a couple of hours before. Now, only Kris was up for it so she and I got on two camels and took the standard tour which is to walk down the beach, maybe 1 km to an amazing giant archway, take pictures and return. The walk is awkward feeling but it’s pretty fun. The saddle has hand grips and small pegs for your feet. But it’s possible to just grip the belly with your feet and ride without hands too. Kris said she had to pinch herself to realize where we were: on the coast of Africa, riding camels! I felt the same way; it was somehow magical.

We got back and Said, the very nice camel driver, let Bart mount up for photos for free. Then we put on shoes and headed off to Sidi Ifni. The first part involved climbing rough sandy >20% which was surprisingly easy for me in 38×52 but no one else had a gear like that. We got up to the main road and quickly rode to town and found Bike Dreams at the campground, right by the beach. It looked like a great place to sleep due to the wonderful ocean sounds but the campground itself was barren and really only suited to motorhomes. We were glad we had opted to upgrade to an AirBnB. Others had done the same.

We first had snacks, then packed everything we’d need for two days into a single bag and headed up the hill. It was the hardest AirBnB to find of my life. The map was wrong, so we went to the right address on the right street – no luck. Leaving out a bunch of funny encounters with locals, all that was left was the picture of what the house looked like. A couple of guys pointed down the street and in the end, Daniel and I checked and sure enough, there it was! Another local knew the name of the host and called him – I had texted but didn’t get a reply right away. Anyway, Rachid came and let us into his strange, 5-story high house. We had the whole house and that might sound like a lot but there is only one room per floor, so only two bedrooms. But it has a nice kitchen, living room, washing machine, hot showers, WiFi, in short everything we need.

We put in laundry, had some snacks Wytze bought, then just before 7 walked back down to the campsite for a pumpkin risotto dinner with the group. After fruit salad, we walked back but noticed the bar (somewhat hidden with semi-shady looking guys kind of guarding the entrance). Inside we found maybe eight kinds of beer and many bottles of wine. They were selling for takeaway or drinking there. So we bought a bottle of Moroccan Merlot for Mad 90 and drank it outside on their deck overlooking the waves breaking on the very wide beach. It wasn’t great but we had fun and got to talk to Andrew, still in the hospital for a couple more days.

What a long, full, fun day! 😃