Nov 16/09

Well today was a well earned rest day. We had the great pleasure of finding Said Mountain Bikes. Said took great care of us and between him and his mechanic they got my front rack and derailleur on track. They also trued Dal's sadly warped wheel and fixed his gears as best they could be fixed. They were so kind and didn't even really want to charge us for the repairs. I wish my bike mechanics at home were half as good as these guys! They did what two different bike shops in Newmarket were unable to do to my bike. Go figure. If you ever need anything, definitely check these guys out. They also offer mountain bike tours. We are organizing a camel trek with them when we get to Zagora. Since we are on a budget and cyclists, he is only charging us for the camel ride but will let us camp in their bivouac for free. Talk about nice. We are so used to hearing people asking for our money it is refreshing to find someone who is just plain into cycling.

We of course feasted on the usual freshly squeezed orange juice and café au lait. I think if every day started like that the world would be a much better place. I love the fact that the orange juice in your glass was likely on the tree just one or two days before. Today was really a day of errands and catching up on things like laundry and banking. Dal panicked when he realized that he was given a new PIN for his credit card just a week before leaving and couldn't remember it. Yikes! He eventually made a few phone calls and sorted it out, but not before shaving a few years off of his life.

It is strange to see so many tourists again, but in a way it is fun. Where there are tourists things get expensive and cheesy. However it can be nice to have a few more luxuries now and then. I just spotted a guy wandering in wearing cycling tights so I am looking forward to chatting with him. I think he and his friend are heading north so we will be able to swap route information. This part of meeting other tourists is great!


Well it looks like this connection is beyond slow so I will try to pretty this post up another day. There are plenty of pictures but they will have to wait. We are heading out towards Zagora tomorrow morning, which should be a two day ride. So, we likely won't have Internet access for a few days. Until then... hope you guys back home enjoy the great weather that I hear you are having!

Thursday, November 12, 2009