Continued !

The incredible heat lasted until a couple of hour before sunset by which time the wind had got up and I was riding into a full blown sandstorm! Oh the joys of bike travel in sub-Saharan Africa ! However, having reached the 600kms that my fuel had lasted I was getting a little desperate as I was sure reserve wouldn’t get me to Camping Saada, just before the border and even if it did, running out in the mine field in no-man’s land didn’t bear thinking about. Suddenly I spotted a fuel station, it looked sort of derelict but there were people there, so I pulled in. Whilst the diesel pump was still just about chugging along, the petrol pump had long since expired! However the young man assured me he had petrol! Opening a shed door he pointed to a heap of 20lt plastic cooking oil containers all of which were being used to store petrol, God help them if they ever have a fire! Now my only problem was that he wouldn’t sell it in less than 20lts ! The exchange rate he offered for my one remaining 100 euro note was ridiculous, and the price he was charging per litre, extortionate, I had no choice though but to bite the bullet and pay. up. Like I said earlier, that will teach me to be tight !

My next shock was on reaching Camping Saada! We had always stayed in a couple of huge Bedouin tents, but they were no more. I can only guess they were destroyed in the winter (or summer!) winds that are ferocious in this area. However as I posted on the previous part of this blog, whilst the tent he showed me looked somewhat past it’s best from the outside, inside it was great, although lacking a mosi net! Now whilst there may not be much in the way of mosis in this area and certainly not flying in the very strong wind, there were plenty of other bitey flies. So I simply put up my inner tent inside his tent and spent a very comfortable and bite free night. Oh and my day’s run was 698km ! Sorry Joel !!!!

Sunday 16^th June.

My Escorts through the Mine Field

The day started nicely with a couple of Father’s Day messages from the kids. I hadn’t even known it was Fathers Day ! As the border doesn’t open until 9am I brewed a couple of cups of coffee for breakfast, headed for the “shower”, slung a few buckets of icy cold water over myself, packed and headed for the border. I arrived a little after 8.30 so had to wait after the first police check as the customs office wasn’t yet open. To my amazement about 10 minutes later I was signaled to go inside and 2 minutes later was back on the bike heading for immigration! That too passed in the blink of an eye so it was off to Mad Max land… the mine field ! Rather than get stuck in the soft sand again I took the easy way out and followed, albeit at snails pace, an artic lorry! He was obviously used to the run, and other than one slightly soft bit, no-man’s land was negotiated with relative ease. The Moroccan formalities were just as quick, so by 9.20 I was on my way, hardly believing my luck. I stopped for lunch at the same Hotel I had stayed at the night before I crossed in the other direction and of course they had WiFi, hence this morning update.

Tonight I am “wild camped! behind a rocky sand dune, fairly well off the road but unfortunately a little too visible form one direction, I just didn’t want to risk riding any further as the sand was gradually getting softer, and I would like to be able to get out in the morning !!! Todays run was a little down on yesterday as I had to detour into Dahkla to find a bank. I found one, it was shut! However much to my surprise they had an ATM, so I was able to fill my fuel tank to the brim and buy some much needed engine oil. The old girl still seems to be using rather more than usual, but she sounds fine and nothing is blowing or running out, so perhaps it is just the poor oils and heat combination…

As always on a wild camp, I slept like a baby… also realised that I am now back on GMT so lost an hour! However still on the road for 8am having packed away a sodden tent. It always amazes me just how wet the Sahara can be at night, there was even a puddle of water collected at the bottom of the rim of my front wheel! Dry bread and coffee for breakfast; hardcore or what? LOL That’ll have to change for Poland with Allie, it’ll be the full English and breakfast tea then !!! 

The long road home!

The weather started cool, warmed just a touch and then got cold and miserable; not what you expect for June in the Sahara and it was completed by a strong head wind meaning the sand ripped another layer of skin from my face! But did I care? No, I was in the groove today, I’ve found my Mojo, I’ve got white line fever! Cue music, volume up and just let it flow, I was having fun! Lunch was the rest of yesterday’s dry bread with a tin of sardines slapped in it, washed down with some nice cold water; Ooo, I know how to live.

Lunch Stop

At Boujdour I found a bank open as I passed through so was able to finally change some Sterling into Dirhams and celebrated with a nice cup of coffee; cost 9 Dirhams or about 65p, a bargain! I couldn’t make up my mind where to stop for the night, whether to push on to Guelmim or to stop at Tan Tan Plage, eventually as the weather was still miserable and my tent was still very wet I pumped for one of the very basic (and cheap!) cabins at Tan Tan Plage as it worked out about £4 

More Alcatraz than Paradise!

But it does have WiFi!

more than camping and meant I could get everything dry for tomorrow when hopefully I’ll be camping at Mohammedia just south of Rabat. That will leave me with a relatively easy run to Tangier Med for a late afternoon ferry back to Spain. Phew, I ain’t hanging about on this trip… So just possibly I might make a Friday Ferry back to the UK if I’m really lucky. If so it will be straight down to road to catch up with Les whom I guessing will be at the GS Club meeting on Dartmoor and that will be some finale to an incredible trip… if I make it !!!