As I write, I'm finding it hard to remember how was the ride along the RN10 from Tinghir to Boumalne Dades !  I often catch up with my post for a particular day some days later when I have the time and the energy, so I have to think hard about where I've been and what I've seen and heard. Richard is much more disciplined and timely on his blog, so I shall have a peek and tell you !

Anyhow, I do remember along the way that I had to stop a couple of times because of bodily urgencies.  Sorry to be so frank.  But, it was the precursor to Marrakesh Belly, which by the time we reached Boumalne was in full swing, and that night I was not comfortable at all, and slept very litte.  I'm not sure what it was, probably something in Tinghir.  I suspect it may have been the sausages - beef, apparently - that I had in Tinghir for lunch.  I did wonder if they were a bit luckwarm and undercooked as I ate them.  Oh, well.  Or it may have been the salad. You never know what water they have used to rinse the salad.  So, I spent the day in the hotel / room,  and close to the loo.  Not very pleasant.  Richard visited some gorges, but said they were not as impressive as the Tinghir / Dades Gorges.

Our plan has evolved over some days, and until my malaise, the plan was to cycle to Ouarzarte and then take the bus to Taroudante, and then cycle north over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakesh.  However, I don't really feel confident about sitting on a Moroccan bus / coach for four and a half hours in my present condition, so I would prefer either to wait things out, or to move forward on a route that will retrace some of our original route getting over the Atlas, but at least where there will be ground and cover for emergency visits to nature.  I'm also feeling a bit whacked from the runs, and resting seems like a good option.  We will see.

Our hotel in Boumalne Dades is a bit noisy and busy.  The rooms look out over the town and the valley from high up, but there is a huge clientele of young men who spend their time nursing a coffee endlessly and watching the football on TV, or concentrating on their phones.  My room is below the flat roof, so every time someone moves a chair it reverberates through my ceiling.  The patron is very enthusiastic and helpful, and brought me honey when he heard I had a bad stomach.  Anyhow, it was fine to hunker down in, and served my needs of the moment.

Not sure I have ever had Delhi Belly, but Marrakesh Belly is not nice.

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.

                                                 PREVIOUS  ..................................................................................NEXT POST