28 April 2023, Tizmoutine, 45km
Camping Tizmoutine R381 [DH200]

It hit 37 degrees today, yet we had to strip three heavy blankets from our auberge bed! Perhaps our hosts know something we don't. Our room and bathroom are comfortable enough otherwise, with a nice cooling cross-breeze.
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The R113, which runs south-north, links the N12 which we travelled to Alnif, and the N10 which we will travel to Tinghir tomorrow. It is a narrow(ish) road in good condition that runs through beauty. It weaves past small villages and irrigated fields and palm trees and wide open valleys and lovely mountains, climbing a minor pass in the middle.
Shadow play... In the early hours, the sun risen behind our right shoulders cast our shadows long and fluid onto the road beside us. In the burgeoning, bludgeoning heat of a noontime climb, our shadows were heavy and lumpy beneath our pedals. Later, after we had dropped from the pass summit and lunched on fried eggs and fresh bread, a few clouds appeared in the hot bleached sky, playing with light and shadow on the encapsulating mountains.
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Last night our Alnif host allowed us to place six litres of bottled water in his freezer. This morning the water was partially frozen. Charl cut the tops off the plastic bottles and tipped the contents, cold water and ice, into our four 1.5 litre flasks. This ensured ice-cold water throughout the day. Alongside my portable bidet, our flasks are our favourite must-haves.
It is also Charl's job to find a shady spot with seating for roadside breaks - harder on some days than others. Today he found a perfect spot beneath a shady tree for water and an orange. Taking a break with us were several hawk moth caterpillars (photographed and shared previously).
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A really good day.