Western Sahara

Gorgeous beaches

The stretch down Western Sahara was a long, hot, windy and monotonous trek.  The best description of it came from my GPS.  On the second morning I entered our destination for the evening and the first instructions where :  'Turn right in 510km.'  Yes 510 kilometres.

Police station

I was very lucky to get my windscreen on the Saturday morning in Marrakesh.  In all honesty I never thought the UPS guys would get it out off customs so quickly.  I managed to leave just after lunch and late that afternoon I met up with Morton in Sidi Ifni.  A very small and stunning beach town.  One off the last semi touristy outposts before we hit Western Sahara.  Spent a day there to service the bikes and explore the area, really stunning coast with miles of nearly empty white beaches.  Great way to chill and get our energy levels up for the stretch down to Mauritania.

Sidi Ifni hotel - paradise

Miles of  nothing ahead

Western Sahara is supposed to be one of the most infamous stretches of road on our route.  Lots of overlanders have blogged and warned about how empty and desolate it was.  We met a Polish guy who cycled it a couple of years ago.  It took him 3 weeks and he said it was so boring, he wished he'd taken a book to read on the road.  It is not that long, only about 1500km to the border, but our bikes are set up for off-road and have a big load on.  Our cruising speed is about 100km/h, and if you add in breaks, meals, accommodation search and the road blocks, then 500km takes up the whole day.

Miles of nothing behind

Miles of nothing to the side

The first morning off the first stretch we crossed the tail end off the Atlas mountains with a couple off nice hills and passes, and that afternoon we went through a massive sea of golden sand dunes.   'Not so bad I thought.'  I was completely wrong.  I t just became drier and drier.  Until all that was left was a few shrubs, rocks and immense amounts off sand.  Nothing else.  This was 90% of our scenery for nearly 3 days.  Ouch.  Mind numbing!!  The road was so straight that they put up warning signs even if there is only a slight bend in the road.  The villages became smaller and smaller until the last day they where only a few houses around the gas stations.  Half the gas stations where empty wrecks.  You would travel miles and miles without seeing a living soul. On top off all off this is the immense heat and wind, it engulves you and doesn't let go.  You can literary feel your energy being sucked away.  We were lucky that the wind was form behind most off the time, but when the road turned and it hit us side on we where battered!!  Sometimes really struggling to stay on the road.



The one good thing about the monotony was that we thoroughly enjoyed any type off change.  The best off this was the coastline.  Wow.  We travelled along a plateau about 25-50m above sea level.  This either ran straight into the sea or down cliffs into huge empty white sandy beaches. So when the road ran close to the sea it was absolutely gorgeous, with tiny fishing huts scattered along the waters edge.  I was so strange seeing people fishing off a 25m cliff, but they did it. I never saw anyone pull up a big one though.  The people here live a very very hard life.

The road blocks became a social outing, dragging them out as long as possible just speak to some people.  The further south we got the friendlier the officers became.  Was great.

The worst was being stopped in Tantan for a minor traffic violation and then having the police throw the book at us, trying to squeeze every last penny out off .  Luckily we are poor travellers with little money and loads off time.  We just played the African game and out waited them.  After about an hour we got away paying only a quarter off the initial fine.  Still a couple days lodging and food money but it didn't break the bank.

Fishing off a 25m cliff

Our last night was spent just outside Dakhla. They had a bit off unrest the last few days so the police and army where out in full force.  At the last roadblock, just before town, they where running around in a near state off panic with guns and rifles drawn, baseball bats and crowbars.  I pity the guys on the receiving end, and was immensely relieved that our campsite was outside town.

Sand, sand and more sand

The last bit was the border crossing to Mauritania.  Not a difficult one and only took us about 2 and a half hours.  A breeze for Africa.  The great part was meeting our first proper overlander. A Portuguese guy, who just spent a year on his motorbike travelling through Africa.  Asking him how it was he just smiled from ear to ear, with his face glowing.  So jealous.
There is about 5km off sandy track between the two border posts.  It is well know that there are landmines in this area, and everyone is warned to stay on the track.  How hard can it be, just follow everyone else's tracks. HAHA.  Not in Africa.  The moment you leave the border post this track spider webbs out into multiple smaller tracks.  As the one piece off road gets used up or taken over by the sand another one is used.  The problem is which one to follow.  We managed to get lost twice, and I think we even did a small bit off of the tracks.  But we are safe and sound in Mauritania and managed to miss all the mines.  Phew.

Bikes parked in hotel loby

The further South we get the more it feels like the real Africa. Loving it more and more.

King off the mountains

We have been criss crossing the High Atlas mountains for the last few days.  What an experience!  Every time I think it can't get better than this, the scenery manages to surprise us with something even more spectacular.  

Entrance to Todra Gorge

Fertile plains, barren mountains

There are two valleys running from south high up into the Atlas mountains, where they meet at a small village called Agoudal.  They are the Todra gorge and the Dades gorge.  The roads up the Todra gorge is all tarred and has a pass going up to 2700m, while the road down the Todra gorge is half tarred and half gravel.  We thought we'd go all the way up the Todra, and then see if we can take the gravel road down the Dades.  Going up the Todra was fantastic.  It started as a very narrow valley with high cliffs overhanging the road, nearly felt like a cave, and then as you made your way up the valley it spread out until it was miles and miles wide.  Again we did pass after pass, with huge flat plains between the passes.  All along the river it was phenomenally green, with small fields being cultivated by man and animal power.  The villages where built along the mountain edges where the soil was less fertile.  It was fantastic to climb like this and see how the world changes as you get higher and higher.  At the 2700m point it was amazing to look down on these huge mountains and plains.  We reached Agoudal at about 16:00 and wasn't sure wether we should tackle the gravel road so late.  We weren't sure how long it was, or what condition it was in.  

Pass up to 2700m

Bliss

The road was marked on my map but not on the gps.  Luckily we then saw a mini bus coming along the gravel road, and so we though if a mini bus can do it, we can on the bikes and so we pressed on. The gravel road ended up being a small tricky track with loads of sand, rocks and potholes (only in Africa will a mini bus drive on such a road).  After about 5km we stopped and nearly turned around, but in the end we decided to carry on.  We had enough food, water and fuel to last until the next day and were more than happy to camp out in the wild.  This little road turned out to be the best decisioned of the day.  We climbed two passes with the highest taking us up to 2940m, what a phenomenal view.  There was no one in sight except for a couple goat herders, no villages, just open mountain ranges as far as you could see.  Stunning, stunning, stunning.  From the 2900m point it was one long pass down to 2000m.  It started off snaking along the mountain ridges and then ran into dozens and dozens off tight hairpin turns all the way to the next village.  This was still all small gravel roads, hard for the bikes (We actually passed a single small truck going down this pass. How?).  Was so much fun.  The bikes loved it as much as we did, and handled perfectly.  This was the first big punishing ride.  It wasn't until 8pm that we reached our accommodation.  We where shattered, nearly 12 hours in the saddle but so worth every minute.  We climbed just more than 2400m from our lowest to our highest point.

Road up to 2900m.  It starts between the mountains at the back of the picture

On top off the world.  Those are mountains far below

Breakfast

Yesterday the plan was to take a tarred road from a town called Skoura, into the mountains, to Demnate and then head west towards Marrakech.  This road is about 130km long and we thought it would be much the same as the day before.  Whatever, so wrong and quite pleasantly surprised.  The last 100km off the road was one mountain pass after the other. Up the one mountain and then down the other side, and then straight up the next.  No huge open plains in between,  just one small valley, squeezed in-between the mountains, after another.  The perfect tarred road was nothing more than a semi tarred single road,  with potholes and sand and rocks and hundreds off hairpin bends.  Some off these hairpins where exceptionally tricky, very steep up or down, with edges fallen away, and rocks or potholes or soft sand. Or all of the above.  Sometimes with only a small strip of tar.  Trying to dance the big heavy bikes on this strip of tar was such hard work, but SO MUCH FUN.  

It was amazing to see how the villages adapted to grow their crops.  Every small semi level area was teracced to allow crops to grow, with the villages spread out against these steep mountains.  The houses more on top off each other than next to each other.  I was stunned to see where the people managed to build houses and where they managed to grow crops.  Again photos can't even come close to show how beautiful and mind blowing it was, but we tried.  

Desolation

Village and crops against the mountain

The quick 130km road engulfed most off the day so we stayed the night in Demnate.  This morning we drove through to Marrakesh.  Back into the chaos off the big city.  And we hit it with a bang.  I tried my best to have the replacement windscreen here for pick up this morning.  Even had an email confirming it should have been here on Wednesday already.  I had the address and phone number off the UPS agent (Not DHL), as given by the UPS web site.  Couldn't be more prepared, I thought.  When we arrived at said address it didn't exist, and the phone number was the wrong one.  I ended up phoning UPS head office in Casablanca, they promised it was in Marakesh, next phone call they said it was in Casablanca and then next one they said it was in Marrakesh.   Even the managers at UPS where giving me different stories. I then finally got the new number for the UPS guy in Marrakesh, and after a very long phone call of broken french from both sides we figured out the package was at customs.  This took more than 2 hours.  So much for an early start. Another couple hours of multiple phone calls proceeded until a very nice girl at UPS Casablanca said she would do her best to get my windscreen released and in Marrakesh tomorrow morning.  Fingers crossed, otherwise I get it on Monday.

Small piece of cultivated land and path to it on the right

After the peace and serenity in the mountains, Marrakesh doesn't really have much appeal.  It looks beautiful, the market is huge with gorgeous food and the locals try very hard to give the tourists what they want.  Maybe to hard.  I spend the afternoon walking and eating in the market, and that was enough.

 The next stretch for us is the run down Western Sahara to the Mauritania border.  Western Sahara is still a militarized zone so we basically have to stick to the area around the main road.  It is supposed to be the most monotonous and boring  piece of road this whole trip.  All 2000km of it.  OUCH!!

Rain in the Sahara

Yesterday we finished our trek through the Atlas mountains and down to the Sahara.  Again a stunning day's drive.  Was only about 250km but with all the photo stops it took the whole day.   It was much the same as the previous day with massive plains in between the mountain passes, but this time the plains were all red ground and rocks.  After every pass it just became dryer and dryer, until finally there was very little growth except for a few scattered scrubs.  The heat was phenomenal with very dry, hot strong winds.  It all added to make for very barren and dramatic scenery. It was beyond me that people can make a living here.  Coming down one off the  passes, I came around a corner and in front off me was this massive blue lake.  Absolutely amazing and so unexpected.  It stretched for kilometer after kilometer.  Can't believe there was enough water for such a sight.


A few hours later we were on a plateau with nothing, just red deep red rock and sand.  It was just unbelievable, and I was completely lost in though wondering how anything survives this.  I was struggling on the bike.  And then suddenly the road opened on this huge big green valley.  WOW! Palm trees, a river a loads and of people.  It looked like a tropical island surrounded by a sea off angry red mountains. The contrast was absolutely mind blowing.  We tried to get it on a photo, but without the hours driving through nothing it just doesn't work.  We spend most off the afternoon driving along this river to the Sahara proper.

We stopped for the night in a one horse town called Merzuga, it is on the edge off the Sahara with the dunes coming right up to the town.  Nothing but a dusty main road.  Straight out off a Hollywood western. Just as we found our accommodation a massive sand storm blew in, complete with thunder and lightning.  Perfect timing.  Then it started to rain.  IN THE SAHARA.  I was shocked.


Today was very chilled out.  The heat killed us.  Woke up just before six and climbed the biggest sand dune around for the sunset.  What a trek.  I was shattered when I reached the top.  The morning we gave the bikes a bit of a service, and then later the afternoon we went playing near the dunes.  Was so much fun to mess around without all the luggage.  Had a couple of close calls when we hit unexpected soft sand, but didn't fall.   My bike is in love with any road that's not black tarmac.  Tomorrow we slowly head back towards Marrakesh.

Two steps forward and one back

Finally Ready to leave Rabat

I woke up about 4 o'clock this morning to go to the bathroom.  As I was about to step out off the tent I noticed that we were surrounded by about 5 cm of water.  They water the camp ground during the night with irrigation pipes, and forgot that we were there.  I had to go wake up the night guard to come and switch off the water.  It  was lying about 1-2 cm below my tent's water guard.  So close.  All my stuff would have been flooded.  I thought it was hilarious.  Hours away from the desert and we nearly get flooded.

It was such a mission to try and get a windscreen organised.  Because I am in Morocco nobody want's to sent it here. In the end I found a German company who where willing to sent me a replacement. The girl I spoke to was super efficient and we are not using DHL.  Can only hope it will be an improvement from the service I got with DHL.




It was about lunch time on Friday when we finally hit the road to Fess.  I had my spare tyre on the back and what a disaster.  Bike handled like a beached whale with a death wish.  I couldn't believe the tyre made such a big difference   It was fine before, and now handled even worse than when I had the three tyres on the back.  It was such a big let down.  Towards Fess we tried to stay off the main roads.  Was the most beautiful little roads, going up hills, passes and the quaint villages.  I loved it and the bike hated every minute off it.

Garbadge truck

The morning in Fess was washday.  The hotel in Rabat had no washing facilities and after a week even my cleanest clothes where beyond hand washing.  I used the time to completely repack the bike, get rid of more stuff and re-organise it, trying to balance the weight better.  That evening I did the same again.  Good result, the bike handled perfectly yesterday.  Still heavy, but loads better.  Zen is coming closer.

Fess was a bit off a double edged sword.  In the afternoon we went walking around the Medina.  We didn't want a guide because it was Saturday afternoon and most off the stalls were closed.  Not really worth paying to be shown around.  We had the weirdest experience with the guides.  Most are pretty persistent and will start showing you stuff, and if you don't explicitly tell them 'no' they continue and then expect you to pay afterwords.  Now we are pretty used to this and have got the hang off saying 'no'. 

 But there was this one guy who would not leave us alone.  He would walk just behind or in front off us for couple minutes and then join us and start showing us stuff.  We would say 'no' multiple times before he would hang back again.  Few minutes later he would repeat the whole process.  This went on for quite a while.  His second trick was to take short cuts to get ahead off us and as we walk out off the alleys he would start his sales pitch.  Every time it would be like we haven't dealt with him before.  Persistent my a....  It nearly became quite aggressive before he left us alone.  The weirdest for me was the animosity the locals had towards the tourists.  You could feel it hanging in the air.  We did not feel welcome in the Medina in the slightest.  The next morning we went to the leather tanning factory and what a nice place.  The locals where fantastic, helpful and so friendly.  Completely the opposite from the previous day.  I really enjoyed the experience and Fess managed to redeem itself a little.

Yesterdays riding was fantastic again.  We are slowly heading up the mountains, so it was all mountain passes with massive plains in between.  The scenery was very dramatic and changed so much.  The plains were so different that you could have been travelling in different countries.  The one would be fields of yellow grass with dark rocks everywhere, and the next would be this red sand/clay with nearly no vegetation and the passes would be green pine forests.  Fantastic ride.




Poor Morton (travelling companion) had so many problems with his bike yesterday.  Twice we had to stop and practice being bush mechanics.  The last time we were in the middle of nowhere, after doing some exploring, with the sun coming down fast.  The rear sprocket managed to come off the rear hub, it was quite a rush to replace it before the sun set.  He knows what he is doing and we managed just in time.  We found a camp site after about 10 minutes and had camp set up just before sunset.  Perfect timing.  In hind sight it might not haver been the cleverest thing to go exploring in the late afternoon, especially since his bike was niggling yesterday. Morocco might not be so bad, but we can't take such chances further down the road.  Lesson learned.  

Seesaw

What a day... Chaos, mayhem and  I'm still in Rabat...  Long story....

Got up early this morning to hand in my Mali visa application  The whole week I was promised that if I hand it in first thing  in the morning I will have my visa by lunch time.  When I arrived there the woman working behind the desk said the chancellor is very busy and I can only get my visa tomorrow.  After about 10minutes of me begging in my best broken French she said she will try her best and I can come and see at 15:00 if it is ready, but she can't promise anything,  She spoke zero English, but was really sweet and helpful.  Feeling a bit under the weather I went to DHL to ask to send my tyres to Marrakesh as I wanted to leave today.  Guess what?  The tyres where there.  Very quick few days.  Whoop whoop.
Instantly felt better and went to have them put on my bike.  On Saturday I spoke to some guys at a very nice and smart looking tyre shop who promised it would be no problem. Easy to do.  I took the tyres there and they had them swapped in no time.  Actually too quickly, they where so rough with the bike and the inner tubes.  I constantly had to remind them to be gentle and keep a  close eye on what they where doing.  There where two off them working at a frantic pace so I couldn't see everything they where doing. After they where done I went over everything to make sure all is ok.  It wasn't.  They managed to strip the thread for a very important bolt that keeps my front wheels in place and alignment.  As soon I showed them this, their little bit of English disappeared, and they just pretended nothing was wrong.  AAGGGHHH!!!  Frustration galore.  I tried for a bit to see if I could re thread it but didn't work.  Rethreading is not such a big problem if you have the right tools.  Which I didn't.  And there is no way you can ride the bike like that.  I spend about 20 minutes trying to explain to the guys what was wrong, but they kept on playing dumb.  I finally got them to point me in the general direction of where I had to go to get it fixed.  With a very wobbly and off balance bike I very very slowly set off to look for some better help.

After about ten minutes I saw this really dodgy looking scooter shop  (basically hole in the wall), but they were busy with lots off people stopping for a chat and advice.  I used my best sign language to explain my problem and immediately the guys new what was wrong.  Phew.  It took some work but we managed to fix the problem.  When we where done I took the bike for a test drive but it was still wobbly and completely off balance.  What now???  We finally figured out that the first guys didn't seat my tyres properly and that was causing the wobble. In the end it was another whole in the wall shop that re-seated the tyres.  Instantly better. So amazing to see these guys with dodgy little shops knowing exactly what they are doing and doing a good quality job, while the nice smart tyre place was a complete f'up.  I was just ecstatic that the bike was ok again. All this kept me busy till 3pm,  didn't even have breakfast or lunch.  So much for a quick easy tyre change.  I was feeling great and very relieved, now my bike was ready for the rest off the trip.  No more issues to sort out!  Whoop whoop.

Arriving at the Mali embassy my visa was ready. Result.  Think my luck is changing?  I parked my bike in front off the hotel and went to the market for some food (the garage I normally keep it in was closed).  Came back after a couple of hours to park my bike in the garage and the windscreen of my bike was smashed.  Some female driver reversed into my bike, it fell over and broke my windscreen (hit and run)... I was speechless!  What else can go wrong?

Luckily no major damage!  But it's going to be very uncomfortable without a windscreen through the desert.  There is no chance to find a replacement in Morocco.  DHL again?  This is turning into a very expensive joke!

I did meet a Danish guy who is doing much the same as I am.  Seems like a very nice guy, so we are going to do the next few weeks together.  Result, it's not all bad.  And everything is done in Rabat, no more admin for a few thousand kilometres.  Tomorrow we hit the road.  Finally.  Can't wait.

Hurry up and wait... II

Mauritania visa .... Check.  Whoop whoop.
Tyres....   Tyres? What tyres?

I can only laugh about the on going tyre saga.  On Monday DHL promised me they would be here on Wednesday.  Went there today and they are still exactly where they where on Monday. This is not worth the trouble, and its time to move from Rabat.

Mali offer a same day visa service here in Rabat, quickest in Africa.  Going to hand in my application first thing in the morning.  Then try and divert the tyres to Marrakesh.  Pick up my passport in the afternoon and then head off for my long awaited loop around Morocco.  Hopefully when I arrive in Marrakesh in a few days my tyres will be waiting there.  (Sounds familiar.  Have I said that before?)

FINGERS CROSSED!!!

A very close call

(Hisham just for you)

One of the many things a traveller to a third world country is warned about is the effect the local food is going to have on your stomach.  There are loads of warnings about how many times everything should be washed, a long list off things to avoid, don't eat form this place, be careful of the markets, blah blah blah, and also plenty of stories off people who ignored these warnings.

My saving grace has always been my strong stomach.  I can eat nearly anything, and mostly I am ok.  I have never had proper gastroenteritis where you hang around the bathroom not knowing what's going to happen next, and I have never vomited from eating dodgy food.

My usual approach is to gradually eat the local food and not worry to much (I do try and eat safe, but am not super pedantic about it).  Yes, my stomach might feel a bit funny for the few days, but my theory is the quicker you get your body used to the local foods the better.  So after spending hours looking for accommodation in Rabat, I was famished.  I hit the market like it was my first food in days.  The smell off all the different foods was just way too enticing.  I was on about my third snack when it dawned on me that I completely forgot about food safety... pretty much to late.

By Sunday I was feeling horrendous.  Had the worst stomach cramps ever, was feeling super nauseous and my body was so sore and weak I could barely get out off bed.  The slightest movement and I broke out in a cold sweat.  All I could think was 'YOU STUPID IDIOT.'  I had to go apply for my next visa on Monday.

Luckily, by Monday I was feeling loads better and it was quick to hand in my visa application.  The smell off the market still made my stomach want to do a backwards somersault, but by the evening I could manage a restaurant meal.  Am fine today, and the market foods smell fantastic again.  This time I will be more careful. Lesson learned... AGAIN!!  (I could so easily have been ill for days)

Rabat is a beautiful and very relaxed coastal city.  It was nice here, and a good starting place, but this is a 2-3 day city.  Not 5-6 days. I have seen everything multiple times, and everything that is here I will be along the way on a much grander scale (like Fess and Marrakesh).   Was fantastic to chill out on the beach,  but I always had this nagging feeling that it time to move.  Obviously,  I am now again very desperate to move on.  Fess, the Atlas mountains, the Sahara and Marrakesh are waiting.  Should have my visa for Mauritania and the new tyres tomorrow.  If I get the tyres changed quickly enough I might leave in the afternoon for Fess, otherwise early Thursday morning.  Fingers crossed Africa's time scale agrees with mine.

Hurry up and wait...

What was I thinking?  Storming into Africa and expecting things to happen on my time.  Yeah right.  I quickly learned that Africa doesn't jump for anybody.

The ferry crossing was pretty standard and straigtht forward.  Until I came to customs and couldn't find my bikes papers anywhere.  How do you loose them into the first African country?  Ran back to th ferry and luckily the staff had them.  Still can't figure out how I lost them.  All my original papers are ina special waterproof document holder.  It's not something you just forget, drop or misplace!!  Lesson learned, AGAIN!!!

How did I feel on the ferry.  Lots and lots off butterflies.  Also one of my biggest 'WTF are you doing moments'.  Africa alone?  Really?

Luckily I got through customs easily and nothing settles the nerves like a few hours on the bike.  Ride to Rabat was beautiful again.  But a very desolate and harsh beauty. Can't wait to see what the real desert looks like.
Bike was on top form again.  No sighs of the overheating problem,  but I was I bit more chilled with the top speed and temp was only in the low 30's.  Will have to wait for proper warm weather to see if things are ok.

About half an hour outside Rabat I suddenly dawned that my idea off being blissfully ignorant was going to backfire immensely.  I was about to enter the capital city of a country for the first time, with no map, no directions and I don't speak French.  I only had a rough idea of were the camp site is supposed to be and the street address for 3 budget hotels.  Needless to say it took hours and hours to find accommodation.  Camp site doesn't exist any more,  one hotel I only found by accident yesterday. The last two hotels where set in an intricate network of one way streets.  A maze where you have to restart every time you make a wrong turn.  This on a fully loaded bike bike, during rush hour traffic. So frustrating,  but fantastic practice for slow control on a loaded bike. I finally figured out by entering the maze from the a different side it is way easier.  Found my accommodation.  Not bad rooms, but bathrooms are horrible.  Dirt cheap though,  about £10 a night.

I also managed to drop the bike for the first time.  Was going very slow in a small street when a woman looked at me, made eye contact and then just stepped out in front of the bike. She was only about a meter or two away.  Slammed on the brakes, front wheel slid and bike dropped.  She walked off like nothing happened (the most surreal experience I've had so far), like I was never there.

So I arrived in Rabat on a Friday afternoon to get some visas.  Yes a Friday. No consulate is open over the weekend, so I am stuck here until about Tues/Wednesday.  I was so excited about reaching Africa I just never thought about the day of the week.  Visa application goes in on Monday morning and if all goes well I'll have it in 24-48hrs.  Gives me time to sort out the tyre saga... Yes it still continues.

DHL left me a voice message with a number to call.  Moroccan customs wanted to speak to me about the tyres,  Completely expected,  but the number they gave me wouldn't work. Saturday morning I went to the DHL offices, and figured out the number DHL gave me was wrong.  Nice.  Tyres are still in  Casablanca and will be shipped to Rabat once I have spoken to customs.  Should have them by Tues/Wednesday.  At least it fits in with the visa schedule.  I learned from my mistakes, and in anticipation of a struggle, I found a place which says they can do the tyre change for me.  I hope its so, the mechanics here are not used to big bikes.  Nearly everyone here rides a scooter, or something similar.

My massive excitement and hurry to reach Africa ended up with me sitting in Rabat.  Waiting.  How ironic.

Africa tomorrow!!

Yes, tomorrow I hit Africa.  So hard to believe.  Finally.   Don't know what to expect!! But I'm ready to embrace the chaos. Really curious to see how I am going to adjust to a new culture.  Especially since I am in a very vulnerable sutuation.  Very VERY EXCITED.

I spend today in Tarifa.  Was hoping to do some kite-surfing today.  Just some R&R to get my mind off bikes and Africa for the day.  Wind was completely wrong direction so that didn't happen.  Will definitely come back here though.  Miles and miles of perfect kite-surfing beach.   And because the Sahara is across the straight there is nearly always wind.

I ended up giving my bike a good service, and trying to sort out the overheating problem.  Looks like it is a combination of to much oil (who would have guessed), to much weight(really?), and some off the protective stuff I put on the bike. The protective stuff decreases the flow off air to the radiator, so I am going to try and revert back to orignal setup.  DHL is going to nail me again. Luckily nothing to serious.  Don't want to revert back to all original though, the protective stuff is there for a reason.

I must confess I learnt so much in the last few days riding.  Especially about the bike.  These bikes are very robust and supposed to be die hards, but the last few days just taught me that they are also highly tuned machines that run within very fine limits.  They need to be treated with a lot off respect.  The one thing no one told me is that every thing you change will have a big effect on other areas of the bike.  So many people are quick to say the bike needs this and that part is weak/vulnerable.  And off course there are loads off expensive solutions for every 'problem'.  The real problem is that the bike doesn't always come out beter on the other side.  I'm learning the hard way. Comes down to the big thing I've learn't so far, everything cannot be perfect when you are as limited as I am.  It's all about compromise. But compromise is so hard to make when you have not done this before.  Fingers crossed.

 I also think that is why such a trip is a very unique experience for everyone who does it.  Everybody makes different compromises and thus ends up in different situations and has a different quality experience.  The only scary thing is that you don't know if you will be able to handle the 'potential end off trip' situations. I am dying to find out if I can handle this.

The mountains off Morocco have been visible on the horizon the whole day.  Teasing me.  Taunting me.  Africa is calling.  Tomorrow the fun starts!!

Gremlins and admin

I've managed to fix the paypal button on the right off the blog.  Don't know why it wasn't working.  Problem is no-one's donations came through (except for Begona, thanks),  could you guys please check your accounts and try again?  Thanks.

Still cant get the spot widget to work properly.  Will keep on trying.

Had a really hard day today, did just more than 700km in the worst heat ever.  It was 31deg C, by 10:30 this morning along the coast.  In the afternoon I went through the mountains which was 10 times worse.  Not even a slight breeze to cool things down.  It was so hot that the scenery started to look like it was loosing its colour.    My bike overheated a couple of times and I couldn't go much faster than 90-100 km/h.  Very worrying, am sure the desert is going to be a lot hotter.  So I literary spend the whole day in the saddle.  And am definitely feeling worse for wear. Cold shower, dinner and a beer does help.  Amazing scenery again though.  Especially at the end off the day when I came down the plateau towards Motril (just east of Malaga).  Just the most phenomenal green valleys nestled between huge, barren cliffs with a lakes scattered in between.

Plan for tomorrow is to go down to Tariffa, and have a days break.  I need to have a look at the bike and shed some weight before I hit Africa.

Run of three's

Bad luck is supposed to occur in runs of three's. No 1 was the weight issues, no 2 was the tyre saga... and number three is...

You guessed it... My camera!!! It's gone. Woke up this morning and couldn't find it anywhere. One of the few things I don't want to do the trip without. All my photos lost (Backup... I know). Cost me a detour to Barcelona to pick one up. Blowing the budget royally. At least my run of bad luck should be over now. Fingers crossed.

So what’s been happening? After camping in Bordeaux, the plan was to go to Toulouse and then head South through the Pyrenees. Set the GPS for said path and headed off. About 2 hours after Toulouse there still was no mountains. Strange. Had a look on my map and the GPS was trying to send me around the mountains. Disaster. I was really looking forward to the big mountains. This was about 3:30 pm and I am supposed to start looking for accommodation around 5 pm. Had to make a quick decision between going around or doing a big loop to go through the mountains. If it was earlier in the day the decision would have been obvious, but it was late and I had massive storm clouds chasing me all day.  

The mountains won. What a good decision. The road leading to the mountain was small, twisty and empty. With beautiful old villages and stunning scenery. Would have stopped to take photos but I was having way to much fun (and the camera was gone). Reached the last big village before the mountains just as the first raindrops fell. Perfect timing.

I was in for a huge treat the next morning. The road going up the mountains was even more empty, small, twisty and just went on for miles and miles. It was still wet from the previous night’s rain so was quite technical and hard work with hairpin corners and reverse cambers. But so much fun!! The scenery though, was to die for. A blessing in disguise that I lost my camera otherwise I would still be there taking pictures. The road climbed all the way to about 1750m, freezing at that height. Had all my warm stuff on and I was still frozen solid. At this point I joined a bigger road with huge long sweeping corners. A lot faster than the small twisties but an amazing amount off fun.

This morning's mountain run was bliss. The bike handled like it belonged there. A ballerina at the top off its game. Still a very overweight ballerina though. Nearly lost a day to do the mountain bit, but was worth it. Could easily spend a week there.

The afternoon was just about covering miles. All along the coast, but still miles and miles of highway. Maybe tomorrow I should do less highway, but it’s still 800km to ferry. Tonight I'm camped about a hundred meters from the sea. Loving the sound off the waves. Live is good.

Best bit: Mountain run

Worst bit: Camera

Funniest bit: Sticking my earplugs so deep into my ears that I needed my Leatherman to get them out.

Distance done: Just more than 1700km

Africansuper tramp my a**!!

So day two finished.  How do I feel how?  How is it so far?

Combination of massive disappointment and pure relief.  I tried very hard not to get too excited about the trip before it actually happened.  So I thought that the moment I leave it will all hit me and I'll be absolutely ecstatic.  I was so wrong...

The tyre saga :
To make a long story short, I need to put a new set off tyres on in Morocco.  I've read on the forums that lots of guys DHL their tyres across, so I though great plan.  Just more than a week ago I took the tyres to DHL and they quoted me more than £200.  ''No way,''  I thought. They are not even worth that much.  I'd rather load them myself,  and carry a bit off extra weight to Morocco.  Big mistake.  Bike was sooo top heavy.  The first time I stopped to fill up it wouldn't stay on the side stand, wanted to fall over.  Some stranger actually helped me put the bike on it centre stand.  Dangerous!!  So after some soul searching and swallowing my pride, I loaded the tires off at DHL.  My safety is more important than £200. 

Between the tyre sage and getting the weight off my luggage completely wrong I was actually gutted when I left London.  Bike was handling like a beached whale.   Months off planning for what??

After DHL I hopped on the overnight very at Portsmouth.  Slept on the floor with my jacket for a blanket.  Everything was locked up with the bike in the cargo hold.  Arrived in St Malo this am and hit the road to Bordeaux.  Arriving in Bordeaux,I spent about 2 hours trying to find the campsite.  Google maps and my GPS both sent me to different places, neither off wich was the campsite,  Found it by accident just as I was about to give up and look for a hotel.  How ironic.

Pure relief because I was desperate to hit the road.  Scared something was going to stop the trip from happening.  Mentally, I was ready to leave weeks ago.  The relief came today, when it sunk in that I have actually started my adventure.  Nothing to cure the blues like a good day on the road.  Nothing exciting, miles and miles of tarmac.  But I did good miles, and the bike runs like a dream. Every bit gets me closer to Africa!!!  Today was the first time I actually got some butterflies, feels good.

Worst part for the last few days : Weight issues.
Best part :  First shower and beer after 36hrs of traveling.

I'm off...

Guys, I'm off.  Was chaos this am.  Decided last minute that I still needed to get rid of some stuff, so repacked again.  Is looking loads better, but am still over loaded.  This is the most stuff I'll have for the whole trip.  Sure lots will go as I see what is being used and what not.

Just want to say thank you for all the words of encouragement.

Blog Going Live

I'm about to send the blog details out to everyone.  Please read and pass on to people who would be interested. And donate to the charity!!!  (Any bugs or gremlins please let me know) Sorry for taking so long, but it has been a manic.  I had the last three weeks off from work, thought it would give me enough time to leisurely finish my last bit off planning and give me some time to chill out and prepare for the journey ahead.  Was not the case.  Every day was filled with a long list of things to do, and never ending admin.  Amazing that admin can keep you so busy.  I have not had the time to sit down and think about what I want to achieve or get out off the journey, but am sure hours and hours alone on a bike will quickly remedy that.

I am leaving tomorrow morning.  Not much left to do. Bike had quick service this morning.  Last packet arrived  couple minutes ago.  Few last things to buy this afternoon. And then the BIG PACK starts.  I have to try and fit most things on my poor bike.  Am sure a lot of my essential items will have to stay.  It's going to be lethal. Fingers crossed I don't have to leave to much behind.

Africa Solo

I've had a couple of questions of what it is going to be like to travel through Africa on my own.  Best answer is... I have no idea...  Part of the mystery!!

But there are couple of books of guys who have done the same route alone.  They did it a few years ago, so was a lot tougher than it is to do now.  But it will give you some idea of what I think I'm going to go through.

They are:

• Running with the moon by Jonny Bealby
• Africa Brew Ha-Ha by Alan Whelan

Lastly there is a Saffa who went around Africa alone on a bicycle.  He had to go through every coastal country.  Phenomenal read and  MASSIVE inspiration.

• Around Africa on my bicycle by Riaan Manser  (Dad please read this!!!)

Happy reading.