SOS Childrens Villages Updates

Today we visited the SOS Children s Village in Ait Ourir, at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. It was an amazing opportunity to see where your donations for the charity have been going. The villages are designed to give orphaned children an opportunity to live a healthy family life, with parental figures, healthcare facilities and an education. All of the children were really happy and the opportunities the project offers them is a truly fantastic start to life. It was so rewarding to know we d raised 1200 pound for such a worthy cause, and we know we can raise even more, so please keep donating. Pics of the village and some of the children to follow…..so be sure to check back in a couple of days.

Update

After a very rough ferry journey, we arrived in Tangier, and spent several hours talking to some local men over mint tea before jumping on the night train!

Somehow, we found our way through the maze that is the Medina, from the station and the most amazing Riad where we are spending our days relaxing on the roof terrace and swimming in the tranquil pool…it couldn’t be better! Marrakesh is amazing and we have been feasting on tangine and couscous and a lots of dried fruits from the market stalls…The square is manic at night with snake charmers and drummers and feels a million miles from home… altogether having such a great time and still so happy that we rode here from England with time to spare!

Please keep checking the website as we ll be posting full stories and images over the next week or so…thanks again for your continued support

Mission Morroco complete!

On the ferry on our way to Morroco now! Will try to send some updates along the way. Will be visiting the orphan project in a day or so, so please keep donating as your money will make a difference….thanks to everyone for your continued support… yeeeeew!

Day 23

Yeeeeew! We’re at the closest campsite to the ferry port and all set for Morroco in the morning! So psyched to be here and after our 23rd day in the saddle and another 70 miles across the mountainous coast we’re truly ready to chill out! Going to head down to the beach now and try and relax but who knows, we might see a hill we want to climb! So excited! Please please please keep donating!! we can make a difference together…!

Day 22

Today started off great… aware that the coastal route will take longer than the original plan, we have been getting up early to get the miles in. We spent the morning cruising along the coast-pretty riding past the beach with all our kit whilst british tourists sunbathe under palm trees! After some climbs and mountain tunnels we stopped on the beach for lunch and could faintly make out Africa in the distance! Rode through the city of Malaga in the afternoon and then on to Torremolinos where we have set up camp and are enjoying Spanish almond biscuits and a cup of tea! Please keep donating!

Day 21

Crazy early start to get some miles in, we watched the sun come up as we climbed through the mountains…. then due to roadworks had to change our route and ended up bombing down the freeway. We were pulled over by the police (and luckilly, cycling enthusiasts) who showed us a new route and even knew of Stephen Murray! We headed on to the Costa del Sol and enjoyed the most amazing 10km descent towards the ocean before hitting gale force winds as we rode across a massive canyon bridge. 92 miles in all1 now having set up camp in Montril, we’re enjoying the last of the evening sun on the beach before bed… Amazing.

Day 20

Followed Rute de Olivos (olive fest!) on to the historic city of Ubeda where we rode through a maze of alleyways to get camping info at the tourist office. Amazing afternoon up through more mountains with unbelievable views across the country… olive groves, turquoise lakes and huge mountains… we could even see snow as we sweated our way up mammoth climbs! Now in Guadahortuna which was a change of plan due to the “no road” in our planned direction! Shabba!

Day 19

We were woken this morning by a sprinkler which kept showering our tent from a nearby field… after being offered a shower and breakfast from the amazingly friendly people of Robledo, we headed off to Alcaraz for a massive Spanish doughnut before riding towards Villanueva del Arzobispo. Having now accepted that Spain is one windy place, we rode through mountains of olive groves as far as the eye could see…. now resting our sunburnt selves and eating them…..

Day 18

We barely have enough energy to write this blog… had a great start to the day, leaving Alborea and comfortably getting 40 miles in before lunch. Afterwards was when things really started to get ugly! The sun was blazing and the wind was so severe we were actually struggling to stay on 2 wheels. We finally arrived at Robledo, the next town where there was somewhere to stay, 85 miles later and we’re both completely exhausted…. Heres to tommorow and no wind!

Day 17

Another 12 km climb for breakfast as we headed down through Utiel. We actually experienced a minor tornado today whilst re-fueling in Requina adding to our windy experience in Spain. We thought we had a final destination in sight at 73 miles, however, we then had a 9 mile climb to contend with, meaning our cycling day didn’t finish until 8pm and 82 miles later…. We are shattered, so we’re going to eat our pasta and hit the sack soon!