Start at BEN GUERRIR End at MARRAKECH
Day dist: 75.47 kms
Riding time: 3:59
Avg speed: 18.8 kms
Max speed: 40.5 kms
Beg day odo: 175.36 kms
End day odo: 250.0 kms
Avg Temperature: 33 C
Was up at 8:30, very happy thinking that today I will only have to bike 80kms. I worked on the computer and at 10:00 I hit the road. First I stopped to victualize and take a quick look at the town. People are nice and it was a beautiful small town.
I biked on at a leisurely mood. The country was flat, it seemed to me to be continuous plains, and a lot of agriculture is taking place. Thirteen 13kms later on my left there was a several kms long military camp. I waved at the sentries and they did not seem to have any problem waving back. I refrained from taking any pictures though, just in case.
This is how the scenery looks like
Train speeding through
The never ending road
At 12:50 and 36 kms later I decided to take a nap under a tree and near the railway tracks (the train woke me up twice!!!)
I passed a couple of towns the prettiest one being Sidi Obou Othmane, where I provisioned w/ water and bread.
I also biked by a gazelle preserve!!!
The following picture is dedicated to all the gazelles.
Gazelles this is for you
Finally as I approached Marrakech N9 ended into a modern highway
And I finally entered the city. The buildings were beautiful and the streets wide. An architecture different from the one I am used to and very appealing too. All buildings everywhere have a similar color. If I were a girl I would give you the precise name of the color, but I am not and all I can do though is call it a shade of red or a shade of brown. This uniformity is very beautiful and it looks to me that what they are trying to do is imitate the desert.
I biked through the city which is so astoundingly beautiful that I decided to walk the bike and enjoy the view. It is absolutely amazing, the colors, the architecture of the buildings, the town plan, and the very wide streets and avenues. I put it in the same league as Buenos Aires, Bogota, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Istanbul.
I walked for quite a while till I arrived at Jemaa el Fna Square, to look for a hotel. I ended up at “Hotel Des Amis” which is a very descent and friendly place located near where the action is. The funny thing is that the price I paid was the same as the price I paid for the dump yesterday. But what can you do? Nothing much. Now I know why Papariga is so much against monopolies.
For the rest of the day I walked around and retired relative early to take a rest.
Here are some pictures of Jemaa el Fna Square where the action is. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, snake charmers, and musicians. By night food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant.
Snake charmers
Local band
The Souq(market)
View of the entire square
Mendicant
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