Today we headed to N’kob in 225 km, but opted to start via the pist and to ride along the dunes.
Our friends had suggested a stop at Yasmina Lake. This is a lake formed by rainfall and is seasonal. The road is a bit sandy in spots. The only marker to the turn off is this small sign.
From here we rode on the gravel until we connected back to the main highway. We needed to stop in Rissani for money since there is no bank machine in Merzouga.
On the road west to N’kob you head 10 km west from the town and there is an unmarked track to the right. This leads to the Cascavel Portuguesa. This was built to contain water for irrigation. Now you can drive thru the opening in the wall and up to the spectacular viewpoint.
Leaving here we continued onto N’kob. We drove around to a few Kasbahs before we found one that was no too expensive. The others were filled with riders on tours. The nice thing about the Kasbahs is they usually include dinner and breakfast.
Getting up this morning we had a 250 km day and some of it off road.
We headed west again to the track from the paved road.
It is marked with the big yellow sign.
The initial section is hard packed and gravel.
The middle section is a lot rockier with sandy sections at the now dry river crossings.
We did initially think we could make it on the track straight thru to the waterfalls, but the river it way too high on April 1. We backtracked about 2 km and then asked a local farmer if this track led to the next town across the river (i.e. a bridge) and it did.
Sara did have an issue with the bike not starting, and this may be from the fan needing to be on in the heat and not enough speed to charge the battery. Luckily Orvar still had some water for us and we could jump start the bike. Also luckily we were just about 200 m from the end of the sand and about 5 km from the pavement.
Out on the highway after 50 km we stopped in Ouarzazate for food and to check the battery was charging.
We made friends with these lovely girls at the boulangerie.
From here we had another 110 km to Boulamaine Dades. Our Kasbah was up on the hill across from and with a great view of the town and the sunset. We decided to stay here two nights to get a bit of a rest.
