My morning search for inner tubes of the right size and valve having been successful, and Richard having found a bank to get some cash, we were off on a 55 mile stretch that would take us to Tazzarine.  The road was the N12, which by and large was a decent road, but the ride seemed a bit long, and we both found ourselves getting short on water.  So, note to self, no matter how many little villages and possible watering holes you think there might be along the way for replenishment, still take lots of water with you !  Basic stuff really, 101 of bicycle touring !  I did stop at one little hole in the wall place, and the guy didn't have any bottled water, but he did have bleach, and a little warm yogurt drink that I took, and probably shouldn't have because it had consequences down below a little later on.  Even the petrol stations we passed on the way didn't have water, or only some mankey looking stuff out of a jerry can.  Petrol stations here, even if they look all modern, don't seem to have a shop attached, so no supplies and water available.  

So, both Richard and I were hot, thirsty, dehydrated and frustrated when we arrived at our hotel at Tazzarine, which hadn't got great reviews on Booking.Com, but was the only one around.  The Hotel Bougafer lived down to its reputation in all ways.  We waited and waited for some sloth of a manager to book us in.  He kept disappearing and coming back, and going away again, and I suspect he didn't know we had a booking.  Eventually, we got keys to rooms that really needed a lot of TLC, especially in the shower and toilet department, mind you the plumbing generally in Morocco is very hit and miss pretty much anywhere - wonky toilets, dripping showers, then a deluge, then cold, then boiling hot, then nothing, and so on.  My bed didn't look as though the sheets had been changed, so I went in search of clean bed linen and found a cupboard with some in and did my own chambermaid trick to my own room.  Mr Sloth sat around the pool, admittedly an inviting looking pool, playing with his phone, while some young waiter chap scurried around doing everything, with Sloth Man just clicking his fingers and giving orders.  He definitely needs a kick up the jacksie, but I suspect here in Morocco and in this culture, the Big Man doesn't move a muscles unless he really has to.  Dinner, to be fair, was decent, provided by the long suffering waiter and some old guy who cooked us very succulent chicken brochettes and Moroccan salad.  Oh, and they had beer, Moroccan Casablanca beer, small bottles, but warm and pretty unappetising.  The manager chap couldn't even keep the beer cold in the fridge ! And to add to the bother, I think there was a spider in my room that made a feast of me during the night, the bites too big to be a mosquito, so something like a spider it must have been. Look up Hotel Bougafer on Booking.Com and read my review.  Along with the reviews of other guests.  Not that it will make any difference, I think, for future performance.  

We seems to be in fairly level territory at the moment, so not a lot of climbing, as we go along valleys between two ranges of mountains, sometime with very lush oasis vegetation.  I think over the mountains to our right is the Sahara, and there are lots of 4x4s, off road vehicles, sand buggies and noisy motorcyles heading that way, no doubt to make a mess of the sand dunes and do all kinds of damage to the environment.  Just for kicks !  I feel very virtuous having a low carbon impact as I cycle along.  The weather at the moment is lovely, bright blue sky and sunny, not too hot, but still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings.  Ramadan should be coming to an end in the next couple of days, dependent on the sighting of the new moon, and I look forward to seeing the celebrations for Eid.  Maybe the Muezzin will put on a special show for the end of Ramadan ?  

You can follow my route via my Garmin satellite tracker at  https://share.garmin.com/chrismarsden1954    Choose "View All Tracks" in the top right hand corner of the map to see the full route.

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