Stage 6 - FINISHED!!!

Hi everyone! Well, just a lazy 17.5km today to the finish line. I managed to make it in one piece, uninjured and still with only the remains of one blister on my right foot. Compared to some of the people I see hobbling around here I am extremely fortunate. Of the 15 0r so Aussies, 4 guys had to drop - one got a stomach bug and crashed in his tent on day 2 (before even started). He needed a couple of IVs to get his hydration back up, but by that time he had missed the start of the stage. The other three had really bad infected blisters on their soles - they all look pretty miserable. All of the Aussie chicks managed to finish though! Today we had a pretty straighforward run to finish in a town. It was amazing to have all the locals cheering you on through the 4 or so kms through the streets to the finish. Almost as amazing as the cold coke at the end! However, we all agreed that the most dangerous part of the entire race was the bus trip back to Ouazazate... we had to travel up the most amazingly steep, rocky mountain, where if the bus had gone over the edge it wouldn't have stopped rolling for a very long time. This went on for 15km at least, and most of the bus had to draw the curtains to avoid looking down :) It was another amazing experience for me. Completely different to 09 but still excellent. They days were long, sandy and very hot for the 2nd half of the week (once the sand had cleared from the sky and the sun could get in!). My tent mates were brilliant - there was much laughter and we all had a great time together. My Moroccan friends again did well. Mohammed was knocked off by his friend Rashid who is the new champion. Samir came in 6th I think and Lhoucine 12th or so. I think they finished first team though, which is great for them. More updates to follow - I am off to bed now for a nice sleep in clean sheets after a decent, not freeze-dried, meal. How wonderful! ine xxx