January 27 :: Tarfaya, Morocco

January 27 :: Tarfaya, Morocco :: 102km / 911km total

Tarfaya from my hotel room window

I woke to a sound you don't expect to hear in the Sahara, and certainly one that I hadn't anticipated... rain. I went up to the roof, where my "wet clothes from washing last night" were now "wet clothes from the overnight rain", and took a look around. A light London-style gentle drizzle, with clouds as far as you could see in every direction (and in the desert thats a long way)... with a soft tailwind. No worries. I put on my least-wet pair of cycling shorts, packed up, and set out. In the saddle life was easy and the road flew by. The rain was constant and consistent, never letting up, and a few hours in I started getting concerned about the contents of my saddlebags (i.e. everything). As long as I wasn't out on the road for that long, I'd be ok. About 35km from Tarfaya the rain and wind increased, and I likewise picked it up a notch, closing in on 40km/h at times.

Tarfaya is another crumbling-away former colonial coastal half-ghost town. The streets are half-blown over with sand, and quickly I added "dirty" to "drenched", when it came to me and my appearance. The hotel wasn't easy to find, and there were few people on the street, and none spoke French. Sigh. Crisscrossing up and down the abandoned streets I came across some girls and a few words of French sent them shrieking and running into a building. I don't blame them, I wasn't a pretty sight. Finally I found it, what a relief. It was early, just past noon, and I cleaned up, my little room now covered with spread out articles of everything. A bit problematic in that I don't have much left in the way of dry clothing, but the internet place is warm, supercheap, and with the absence of anything else to do here (especially since its the weekend - most businesses are closed... and its still raining out)... I'll be ok.