Being the extremely novice/nervous/hungry type rather than pack the bike and head back up the way I'd come in I went back up a pannier at a time. A bit slow and wussy some might say but fine and rewarding practice say I!

I headed off into Midelt but had sort of lost my mojo for pisting for the day so in fact headed off down to Merzouga. Desert (warm) rather than mountains (cold overnight at any rate). I reckon it was probably down to about 5-8C overnight. I did have a super cheap Hong Kong import temperature gauge thingy but it had largely rattled itself to death on the way down through Europe.

I was offered a meagre one camel for the XT here

This is overlooking Merzouga with Erg Chebbi in the background. Most of the (non-Saharan) desert is rocky, often called Hamada for its black volcanic rock, but where there is sand like here it is called a Sand Sea, or Erg.

The Hotel Panorama

The next day (having failed to find the start of any pistes leading to the Erg and being frightened off by pure sand) I decided to follow the R702 north from Merzouga up to Erfoud. This was my first experience of Moroccan numbered pistes

Yup. That's the main road north. On the left, not the right as I first chose.

It's actually quite a nice run for novices which a trio of French newbie bikers confirmed later on in the trip.

I headed up to Tinerhir with a view to traversing the piste up behind the two famous gorges: Todra and Dades. In both cases there is tarmac for about 40km from the main road through the gorges and up into the hinterland. I went up to assay the piste (which is clearly pointless as it generally changes every few hundred yards) when a Brit on a blue Tenere pitched up and we had a quick chat. I wondered about luggage and he exclaimed that he travelled light. He had a backpack at his Auberge with spare pants and T-shirt, I guess he was wearing Draggin' Jeans or equivalent and used the toolkit on the bike. Very light indeed I pondered having been rescued moments before by some cyclists when I'd missed my footing on the gravel and teetered on the brink of a rather lame fall.

Still, this is what 99% of the tourists miss out on

An adventurous tourist might get to the far end of the Gorge du Todra

but most will only see

I like the contrast between verdant river and arid surrounds