We shook the dust from our feet as we left the Hotel Bougafer in Tazzarine, after a passable breakfast served by the hard working waiter, with the boss sitting playing with is phone and taking no part in any proceedings, except when it came to paying the final bill, and even that was a lackadaisical affair.  At least it was at the budget end of the scale.  I'm not sure if you'd get much better if you traded up.

Our ride to Alnif was on a pleasant road with a few hundred meters climbing up and then down a couple of times along the way, with a nice 15 km gentle downhill with the wind to our backs on the homestretch.  Along the way, about 10 km outside Alnif I stopped at one of the new petrol stations and cafes that are popping up along the roads and after my coconut juice rode away leaving my water filtration bag, which filters out the bacteria and kills the viruses when a chlorine tablet is added.  Usually, I buy bottled water,  but if I have to use tap water I put it through the cleaning process. So far it's worked.  Almost near Alnif I realised I'd left it at the petrol staion, but wasn't in the mood to cycle back up the incline and against the wind to retreive it, so my mission on arriving at Alnif was to get a taxi back there to pick it up.  Taxis are ubiquitous here, whizzing at great speeds along the road, packed with people and overloaded with stuff of all sorts on the roofrack.  The cars have seen better days, I suspect that they are third generation hand-me-downs from France, and they find a new lease of life here until they are flogged to death.  After washing and changing I walked up to the taxi square, and after much discussion amoung the taxi drivers one agreed to take me back to the petrol station.  The lad at the hotel said it would be 50 Dirham return, but I guess I got the foreigner rate of 150 Dirham, but was not inclined to argue, except to let the taxi driver know that I knew I was being ripped off.  But, getting my filter bottle back was worth the extra. Geneally speaking, I've not felt in Morocco that they  inflate the prices for the tourist, except if you are in a tourist restaurant or hotel, then you will pay a premium. Or in the souk, where they always start high, and you have to haggle. People seem friendly and honest.  Except the taxi drivers.  Taxi drivers worldwide are a dodgey lot. The ride was hair raising, along a straight road at massive speed only slowing down when he came to a place where the road had been washed away by the rains and floods. They get quite a bit of flash flooding in these parts in the winter.

Driving is pretty awful in Morocco.  Unpredictable, careless, and undisciplined.  On my bike I am always very defensive and keep an eye out for what a car /driver will do, like pull out in front of me with no signal or even a look in the mirror.  I call it the Inshallah School of Motoring.  If it is your predestined day to die, then you will die, no matter how you drive, so no need to bother about how you drive then.  And, if you kill somebody, well, it was their day to die anyhow.  So that's alright then. I see the same driving philosopy / theology amongst many of our Country Cousins in Birmingham.  I do struggle with the dangerous carelessness we see on our roads, especially from a little runt from Sparkhill or Small Heath in a 20 year old souped up BMW / Audi / Mercedes / Volkswagen driving like crazy, going through red lights, cutting in an out.  Mind you, you do see the same driving behavior by louts from Chelmsley Wood or Longbridge.  I trust I've been balanced there ?  (Brummeistan people will know the difference in the areas that I am talking about !) Why does it upset me so much ?   Because I'm usually the one who is in the firing line on my bike.  And, I am not prepared to leave my well being to a predetermined Inshallah fate. Or to predestination. Or to the stunted runts and thick louts.  I believe in personal responsibility and taking ownership of my safety and the safety of others.  I'm not prepared to take a chance on God and predestination every time I cycle my bike.  I think He/She/It/They has bigger things to worry about.  So, I'll do my own worrying.  And take responsibility. Which, it seems to me, a lazy  medieval philosophy/theology of Inshallah rather allows you to conveniently sidestep, and avoids you having to take personal ownership and ultimate responsibility.

The mood was merry in Alnif tonight, because the new moon had been sighted and Eid will be tomorrow.  The town was busy with people doing last minute shopping for the feast.  And hectic traffic.

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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