Week 3
From Essaouira we went on to Agadir where we feasted on what we think will be our last western meal for awhile, some heading to good old McDonalds, and others to an English pub for breakfast. Others snuck into a fancy hotel for a swim in the pool and a shower. Carrie just about got left behind, with people slipping right into holiday mode and no longer being able to count to 20. We also said a tearful goodbye to our beloved Marjane.
From Agadir, we made up for our leisurely drives and did a series of long driving days broken up by an assortment of bush camps.
On the first bush camp after leaving agadir we made an effort to consume any alcohol left on the truck in preparation for entering dry Mauritania. Some people have been put off peach Vodka for life, and the tripod stools just become too much for most to handle, and, there was more confusion than normal on whose tent was whose. We had a very nice camp dog, Rabies, who got stomped on by Dean and tried to sneak into Christy and Ciara’s tent for a comfortable nights sleep.
Another drive day which most people slept through. Arrived at our bush camp and encountered our first wildlife, a green/yellow scorpion, and shoes were put on by all. Some of the girls decided it was a smart idea to have a “bowl bath” in a sand storm, but felt better for it.
We broke the next day up stopping in Layounne, where Ruby got her first fill up of 2,500litres of diesel. We all indulged in showers, and a new essence momentarily drifted through Ruby. We then had to become a little more selective with our toilet stops entering into landmine filled terrain.
Another bush camp in the desert, the neighbouring military station (which became a lot more prevalent in the southern section of Morocco) came to greet us, and told us to come to them for help if we ran into any trouble.
Another drive day ended with a bush camp challenge, the first selection was vetoed because of howling winds and sand storms. We sought refuge in the local road clearers station with a very friendly Saharawi, Ahmed, who kept us fully stocked with teeth rotting sweet tea. A very enlightening and entertaining evening was had by all. Some people went for a walk to the sea that continued to run away from them for 4kms, and then had to navigate their way back to the campsite with a moonless sky, and a campsite with limited lighting. We ate our first camel this night, and have continued to eat it every night since…….
We finally reached our destination this day, arriving at the Moroccan/ Mauritanian border, which snuck up on us, 60kms before we expected. Quite painless, but extremely time consuming taking about 5 hours. Dean took the opportunity to get some sun baking in, and Walter poured yoghurt all over himself. This year Ruby made it across no mans land without getting stuck; apparently she wasn’t so lucky last year.
We are currently parked up in Nouabhibou, where we thought we would spend just a day restocking the bags with clean washing, Ruby however had different plans, revealing she needed some relatively major renovations. She is currently jacked up and missing her 2 front wheels and axle, we may be here for a few more days, maybe we can once again get ripped off by the lovely washing lady Maria who seems to have stained unstained clothing… once again people should not be lazy and do their own hand washing!
