17 April 2023, Oulad Othmane, 42km
La Ferme Ecolodge R638 [DH335]
Much of coping with a cycling day, or any day, I guess, is a head thing. If you know you are facing a mammoth climb, you get your head around it and your body follows suit. If you have not done your homework and anticipate a gentle meander following the Draa River downstream east and southeast, then find hilly terrain instead, even the mildest incline can be daunting. Add in temperatures above 30 and a headwind, and you will arrive at your destination drained.
When you are tired, you also seem to get stupid. At a garage just 1.7km from our hotel, the La Ferme Ecolodge, we wanted ice-cream. We selected vanilla encased in frozen exotic (mango and grenadilla) fruit juice, something we paid 10 dirham each for in Ouarzazate, and forked out 25 each when asked. R100 for two ice lollies! A little steep on our budget, but absolutely delicious!
The Draa "is Morocco's longest river, at 1,100 kilometres. It flows from the High Atlas mountains, initially south-eastward to Tagounite, and from Tagounite mostly westwards to its mouth in the Atlantic... Most of the year the part of the Draa after Tagounite falls dry... The water from the Draa is used to irrigate palm groves and small farms along the river... The Draa valley is famous as the date basket of Morocco. It grows more than 18 varieties. Fruit trees and vegetables are the main crops but henna is also a well known product of the region. The agriculture is very labour-intensive because it takes place on terraced fields. Seguias (small canals) transport the water from the river to the fields. Like some other ancient Berber oases in North Africa (Siwa, Kufra, Ouargla) the Draa valley was known for its qatarra, a sophisticated system of underground irrigation canals."
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We saw the product of water, palm trees, for example, but literally not one drop of water. The Draa river bed is bone dry. A French couple we met this evening, who have travelled to Morocco many times since the 80s, reckon the oases are drier than they used to be and attribute this to five-star hotels with swimming pools. Sounds unlikely, but certainly they might be a contributing factor. The water flow has also been altered by a dam (barrage) built upstream. Our host's British partner says the water table has dropped by 30m in the last ten years.
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So, another 50km tomorrow will take us to Zagora where we will rest and plan the next leg.