14 March 2023, El Bedouzza, 31.89km
Fancy House R359.46 [DH200]
Had we been fit, today's 30km would have been a near-perfect ride. The R301 between Oualidia and El Bedouzza undulates along a ridge with farmlands dropping to the ocean on our right (west) and farmlands as far as the eye can see dropping into the valleys and hills to our left (east). The road, in good nick and little trafficked, links villages where we stopped for a breakfast of msemen (a puff pastry pancake similar to a roti) and tea, or a hot milky coffee. And the wind was cool behind us.
We are spending the night in Fancy House, just beyond the cemetery on the north end of town. This is the first time ever we have sourced accommodation direct via Google Maps as opposed to Booking.com or Airbnb. When we clicked on the bed logo, we were given an option to chat with the owner. She offered us a R1000 room, we said we could afford R250 maximum, and so we are staying in her basement - at least it's not three flights up. We have not and will not meet our host. She gave us a code to the lockbox outside her gate, and has asked us to leave the keys and cash there when we depart. How cool is that? Only one bit of confusion. The house has been painted blue since the maroon photo on Google Maps was taken, making it a little difficult to identify!
We had our first negative incident. A couple of boys threw a stone at me and a stick at Charl. Their aim was off, but not very nice. Throwing stones at foreign cyclists is a known pastime in Ethiopia; less so here...
Ever since I first took up cycle touring, I have been tortured with a fever blister that develops after my third day on the bike. One year, I pumped myself full of an immunity booster, which staved off the blister until Day 5! Nowadays I simply carry Blistex on my travels, which pretty quickly solves the problem…
En route El Bedouzza
En route El Bedouzza
En route El Bedouzza
En route El Bedouzza
En route El Bedouzza