Zaio to Oujda

We get up at around 7 am because Fdal has a class at 8 o clock. After a short breakfast and laden with about a kilo of dates from Fdals family palm trees in Figuig, I take off direction Oujda where I am to stay at the place of a warmshowers.org member. But before leaving I a, asked to try on the tipical morrocan garment - the Djelaba. Fits me nicely and is warm and comfy - see foto on the right.

To road out of Zaio is busy but good tarmac and having a slight tailwind I make good headway towards the town of Berkane (known morroco-wide for its vast orange groves and the jokes about the inhabitants). In Berkane I visit a Ciber-Cafe and send my host a short e-mail and write down the descrition how to find his place. Riding out of Berkane I am overtaken by a middle aged morrocan on his moped. As we travel about the same speed, we start to chat and he tells me he is headmaster of the local school and on his way to a small weekend-break on his land where he planted a couple of figtrees some days ago. He invites me to come along and have a look. Sounds quiet interesting and is a good excuse to take a rest. We take a short detour from the road and arrive after about 10 minutes ride along green fields. He shows me the fresh rectangular holes which contain each 4 branches of a fig tree (as a morrocan tradition demands), a couple of the branches already have small sprouts. We talk about music and morrocan food and I am invited to see him shall I come back to Morroco in summer. Inshallah.

As I continue riding the road starts to climb gently into the mountains and I already feel the midday sun burning hot on my face as I meet a couple of guys at the roadside discharging a Toyota Pick Up-Van loaded with oranges - he could not cope with the load and refused service halfway up the climb. After a short chat and a good laugh about my bike they stuff my handlebar bag with oranges and wish me good luck. Shortly before arriving the top of the hill a couple of cyclists overtake me. We exchange a few words as we hit the pedals and one guy takes out his cell phone and starts taking fotos of me and my bike. After they bid their farewell I put on my helmet and start the short downhill. In the next village I take short break with mint tea, olives and bread before the final 20kms to Oujda.

The traffic gets worse as the road transforms into a 4 lane highway. After passing the local airport and olive groves filled with picknicking Morrocan families I ride into Oujda, overtaken by some road cyclists. With a smile I stop to ask them for the way.

They are a mixed bunch of guys, some on italian road bikes, others on mountainbikes, all of the with a big smile on the face. They start laughing, shake my hand and slap my back, acknowledge my bike and start taking pictures with their cell phones. They are pleased to help me find the way to Davids place and after a short ride "en groupe" through the busy streets, they leave me right on the doorstep.