Day 212
7 hrs, 18 kms

Next morning I find out, to my chagrin, that there are no collective taxis from the main station to Ksar Sghir . So I do something that I very rarely do in my travels: I pay for a seat all the way to Fnideq, 33 kilometers farther, and get off halfway. I hate overpaying for something, but I absolutely have to get to Ksar Sghir to continue my Superhike.

On past Ksar Sghir, is the massive port project which stretches on for 9 kilometers. The port is already in use, although parts of it are still under construction. I guess it should be an honor to walk past one of the biggest projects symbolizing Morocco's quest to be a serious player in the global economy. However, walking mile and mile past a dusty construction site with questionable folks milling isn't what I'm really in the mood for today.

Finally, I spot a path going straight up the steep mountainside. I know that the highway does a switchback and I figure I should eventually meet up with the highway to Fnideq if I climb up the mountain, so up I go...

Higher ... higher... until I get a nice panoramic view of the whole port project. The noise and bustle is far off in the distance, and now there are just quiet summer homes and farm houses. I notice that the houses here, although not luxurious are often nicely painted and fixed up. Normally this is a sign that someone made money elsewhere and built it as a retirement/summer home, but I notice that there are people living in them and the women wear traditional attire, suggesting that they are just local farmers who, well, are not just struggling to survive.

Then I reach the top... and... no highway. The highway is far away and... darn, to get there I've got to go almost all the way down to sea level again!

Oh well... it is a nice view... I will not retrace my steps, however. I'm going to just take a winding mountain road that will be longer, but at least I can stay away from the port.

Then I come on another surprise: there's a massive high dam that was built right above the port I'm assuming to protect it from flooding . Don't know why Morocco chose this exact spot to build their mega-port... I can think of plenty of places along the coast that would be a lot more convenient...

To get past the dam I have to go back down to the port once again, where for a while it looks like I'm walking to a dead end with high fences on all side. I follow a road with truck hauling rock down to the mountainside, hoping that I'll be able to get to the highway farther up the mountain--and not get robbed on the way. This area really doesn't feel safe at all. Wherever there a big construction sites, there are always scavengers skulking about the perimeters... and not to mention, this is an area where there are a lot of very desperate young men trying to get to Spain illegally... Drug trafficking... This is just not an area where it's a good idea to just be wandering off the beaten path.

But when I get higher up the ridge, I get a view that makes me forget all that: a beautiful snakelike reservoir, curving gracefully through the emerald hills .

Oh yeah. After a 10 kilometer construction site, this feels like paradise. I pull out my guitar an play my clip, which I'll take on to whatever village I discover next up the road.

Luckily I am able to reach the highway up above, and quite frankly, I don't think I've ever been so relieved to be able to walk along a busy highway. Feels so... safe... ironic, I guess you could say.

Before long I come across a typical little village with a freshly painted mosque, a little store where I can buy snack and ask the name of this place. I feel even more at ease. All the people here are locals, rather than a mishmash of gnarly dudes that aren't really accountable to anybody.

I ask for water. "I don't have any--but there's a spring of clean water right up the road"

Works for me.