The destination for day 5 was Demnat. And there was once again a decision to be made. A straight shot to Demnat was 130km. A detour to the Ouzoud waterfalls would make it closer to 150km and involve some mountains.
We were all burnt out on mountains. However, waterfalls seemed too good to pass up! I was part of a group of four aiming for Ouzoud, while the other two in our group heeded TLC’s advice from the 1990s.
The elevation gains weren’t insignificant, but they didn’t really compare to some of the stuff we’d seen in the previous two days. We passed through a town, and then we were in the mountains again.
Eventually we stopped at a pass to stretch our legs and enjoy the view.
Turns out there was a coffee guy at the pass too! For 20 dirhams ($2) I was able to enjoy an espresso with a decent view.
Some switchbacks down followed by a zip across the valley got us into those mountains in the distance on the right. We crossed a metal bridge that was missing a panel. One bike hit that hole pretty hard, necessitating some roadside repairs.
Eventually we rolled into Ouzoud! Parking guys left and right tried to get us to park with them. We eventually met a guy who got us parking and a big discount on lunch at his restaurant at the top of the falls. We were each some degree of skeptical, but he was true to his word. We had our tagines and bread and tea right by the falls.
From there we had 70-something km to the kasbah where we were staying in Demnat. Pretty much a straight shot, slight rolling hills. I got stopped at a traffic stop (police checkpoint I guess). The police officer asked where I’d been and where I was going. He asked how strong the engine was. (Answer: 49cc.) I told him I was on a trip from Merzouga to Marrakech. He pointed at my bike and said “on this?!” and he then laughed when I said yes. He waved me on. (I really wish I had asked him to get on the bike for a picture. Alas!)
The rest of the ride wasn’t particularly memorable. Downtown Demnat was crawling with traffic and pedestrians, and the main drag was quite steep uphill. Eventually we got to the kasbah! This place was stunning.
Not only did it look great, but there was a fireplace, heat in our rooms, hot water for showers, beer and food (tagines) for us, and a little dog that just wanted to hang out.
At this point we were about 140km from the finish line with two days — or, well, a day and a half — to go! And the ride in would be flat. I might actually successfully complete this thing!