24 April 2023, Alnif, 13.29km
Hotel Palmiers R457 [DH240]

What a happy day! Only 15km planned to Alnif of which only two or three on a mild incline, so the remainder done with fluid legs and total pleasure. A cooling breeze just behind our right shoulders mitigating the heat. And then Alnif a complete surprise of vibrant life in a dry world, with colourful buildings and tearooms overflowing with men. (We will walk into the town hub later and take photos to share.)
Our hotel was easily located and is a turquoise delight, well-priced, and our host has agreed we can leave our bags and bikes here while we do a side-trip to Merzouga.
Our previous enquiries about transport to Merzouga had suggested car hire as the only option, so we were planning to hitch the 130km. Our host not only assured us there is a local bus to the Rissani intersection where another bus will take us to Merzouga, but said he will make a call and the bus will collect us at the hotel at 10am tomorrow. How cool is that.
[Charl is napping as I write. I have just counted 12 flies keeping him company!]
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For the last couple of days, we have cycled past stores advertising fossils, specifically trilobites.
Wikipedia: Trilobites ... ("three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods ... one of the earliest known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record... (521 million years ago)... The last extant trilobites finally disappeared in the mass extinction at the end of the Permian about 252 million years ago. Trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, existing in oceans for almost 270 million years, with over 22,000 species having been described... Trilobite fossils are found worldwide, with thousands of known species. Sites in Morocco ... yield very well-preserved trilobites, many buried in mudslides alive and so perfectly preserved. The variety of eye and upper body forms and fragile protuberances is best known from these samples preserved similarly to bodies in Pompeii."
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Something I forgot to mention before... Leaving Ouarzazate on April 15, we cycled past a mural declaring 55 days to Timbuktu, by camel. Outside Zagora we saw a similar mural saying 52 days. And in tiny Tamegroute, our guide said it was 51 days from there to Timbuktu. Distance measured at camel speed.