Today’s ride took us from the foothills of the Atlas Mountains to the Atlantic, and began with a beautiful, winding 20 km descent into the rising sun. We have found our rhythm on this trip, with gorgeous scenery and friendly people. Last night was a quiet New Years Eve, save for the resident “chat lunatique” and French President Emmanuel Macron. The howling cat joined us in person for dinner, intent on getting thrown a morsel of poulet. As for Monsieur Macron, we were intrigued when the hip young waiter turned off the music and flipped on the TV for his annual end of year address. Though independent, the cultural and economic ties between Morocco and France remain strong and the cafe watched intently as Macron spoke of France’s rising responsibility in a rapidly changing world.

When a wrinkled little Berber man from Tiznit asks, while sitting at a cafe, if you like delicious food, the only answer is yes. And when, after a hearty lunch, he hops on his moped and offers to show you the Médina, the only response is to get on your bikes and follow. By the end of the afternoon today, initial suspicions evaporated, we had grown quite fond of Mejjout Hassan, who it turns out has an antique jewelry business and a brother in Boston who he has not seen in 20 years. He took us through his extraordinary and dusty shop on Rue Banane in the old Jewish quarter and offered to take a small bracelet and necklace with us, to send to his brother from the US to avoid the thieves who work in the Moroccan postal service. In parting, to thank us, he gave us each a beautiful piece of jewelry from his shop, a Berber amulet for Allegra and a ring for me. We eventually departed as he waved goodbye, touched by his trust and filled with gratitude at this encounter, which felt like a very auspicious start to 2018.