Day 226
13 hrs, 3 .6 kms
Day totals: 16 hrs, 7.6 kms

Then I finally reach a sizeable town, where I should be able to catch some sort of collective transport to Aoulouz, the nearest major city. I would really like to continue exploring this valley on foot, but common sense tells me it's time to bring this adventure to a close. But this is definitely a Superhike that I'm going to want to continue someday. Another reason why I've got to come back to Morocco someday...

I pass through the village and there's no sign of transportation. I ask a couple of people and I'm told that there is a driver who usually heads down to Aoulouz about this time--but I'd better give him a call first. A young friendly fellow offers to give him a call for me.

I finally reach the weekly market area--which is pretty quiet today as it's not market day. There are a couple of grimey little cafes where I can get something for breakfast and wait ... and wait...

As I wait, I talk to people about life in this region.

"Things are changing here" I'm told. "people here are very respectful and traditional, but now we've got a lot of people coming to Lake Ifni from the city, they're rude, they behave badly and stay up late--it's not good for our culture. And things are going to get worse now that their paving a road all the way to the lake..."

Hmmm... all my talk about "Moroccan's need to explore and discover their own country"... Maybe if Moroccan tourists aren't respectful of local village customs, this might not be such a good thing...

A Frustrating Trip

It's only 72 kilometers to Aoulouz, so I figure we should get there in... an hour and a half? Nope. It's a torturous 7 1/2 hours. First I have to wait for the driver. Then I have to wait for the driver to have breakfast ... OK, that's understandable... Then, in another village there's a long wait for another customer... Then after a slow, bumpy ride, we're forced to stop for over 2 hours while road work is being done ahead.

OK... all of that is just part of traveling by local transport in rural Morocco. But when the driver stops for a loong lunch break just an hour away from our destination, I start feeling pretty annoyed.

Finally we arrived, having averaged 10 kilometers an hour the entire way! Luckily, there's a bus leaving right away straight to Casablanca, and I make it home in good time.

I'm still going to come back here again... next time I'm doing that 72 kms on foot.