We broke up our Mercedes gang last Friday after spending two and a half weeks at the cliffs north of Aghroude. I drove a few kilometers down south and spent the night at Plage Aourir where I enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the ocean.
Driving into the mountains
My teammates took Monday off, the President’s day which is a holiday in the US. I used the long weekend to explore the Anti Atlas mountain range. The scenery completely changed after driving a couple of hours east into the mountains.
I passed a local walking next to the road in the middle of nowhere. The next village was at least 25km away. I stopped to ask him if he wanted to get a ride. Sadik happily accepted my offer. He lived in a tiny village up the mountains and was on his way to Tafraoute to re-new his insurance for his motorbike. Other travelers had recommended to visit Tafraoute. I decided to bring Sadik to his destination. Win-win! 
I dropped Sadik in the center of the town and drove a few kilometers further into a wide area that was surrounded by mountains.
I spotted a beautiful old firetruck next to a 4x4 Mercedes T1 while exploring the area.
Fritz and Jule from Germany came here with their Mercedes 711 truck from 1966. They traveled together with Dominic and Debbi from Switzerland. Dominic was replacing the rear wheel bearing of their 4x4 310D when I came to meet the group.
Awesome! I found a new Mercedes gang. Although my camper van didn’t really fit into the fleet of off-road vehicles, I was allowed to join the group.
The area around us was really quiet. No buildings, no cars, no waves. Only silence. I woke up well rested on Sunday morning when the rising sun warmed up our little camp.
Taking my bike for a long ride
Since visiting Asturias in Spain last summer, I haven’t taken my mountain bike for a ride. The weather was perfect and the wide and rocky landscape seemed like a paradise for mountain-biking.
Riding cross-country through the rocky desert was so much fun. I spotted Tafraoute in a valley ahead of me.
The downhill ride to Tafraoute was quite tough. A lot of big rocks, not as flowy as the ride before. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun making my way down to Tafraoute where I took a little break at this old house or ruin?
Meeting Hossine
I met Hossine when I was about to leave our little Mercedes camp on Monday. He lives in Abaynou, a small village near Guelmim. He came to Tafraoute with some other travelers and had to go back to his village for work. Cool, I found another passenger and had a new destination. There was no need for any plans! 
The long drive with Hossine was very enjoyable. We got along really well and talked a lot. In the evening, we arrived at his village where I parked my van in a quiet spot between the oasis and the houses.
He invited me to his family’s house where we drank a lot of tea, ate a delicious dinner and hold interesting conversations.
What a great long weekend!