6 Nov. Taghazout to Laayoune, Western Sahara. 15,857 km
Atlantic Park was a wonderful rest and we met some lovely people. Jean and Mick, the English couple in the camper next to us, were a right laugh and also three surfers from Cornwall kept me busy with various lotions and potions to dress the cuts received from hitting rocks when surfing! When I went back to the UK to get my broken tooth mended, my friend Keef gave me some old MP3 players and a CD walkman to bring back to Morocco to barter with. At the campsite someone asked if I had anything to barter and I managed to swap the CD player for a great pair of trousers! Result... two very happy people – I just hope Keef didn’t leave a CD in the machine as the man will be in for a shock!!
As mentioned in my last dispatch, we were hoping to get the lorry tyres swapped round to give even wear. We asked at the campsite and were told there was somewhere next to the big Marjane supermarket in Agadir. Our source was spot on and we approached ‘Speedy’ (which turns out to be part of the Kwikfit group!) with trepidation. After explaining what we wanted they leapt into action! Using their car jack perched on a wooden pallet with some small wooden blocks balanced on the flat bit that lifts the lorry, they proceeded to try to hoist up a 7 ton lorry!! Unsurprisingly the pallet started to give way! At this point I couldn’t look!! They quickly put the wheel they’d just removed back on and clocked the pallet with more wooden blocks... it creaked a bit but held! With our bottle jack at the back and further wood blocks (they had a seemly endless supply of wood!) up went the back and the Mog was left dangling while they whipped off the wheels and staggered to the other side with them! One wheel was a bit more stubborn than the ohers and managed to resist removal enough to sheer the socket extension!! Luckily they were using Facom (French made tools) which carry a life-time guarantee I assume it covers work on a Unimog!! I handed out encouraging sweet rations and the Mog was all back together with tyre pressures checked within the hour. Excellent service!
Some of the funky vehicles we've met along the way! (Click on image to enlarge.) |
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The Pink Caravan trio were from Sweden. |
This MAN lorry was very slick and, we think, rather expensive to buy! |
The blue mog was support vehicle to a group of Italian off-road dirt bikes. |
It was too late to move on that day so we went to the only campsite in Agadir – Camping Municipal Agadir (30,25.47N: 09,36.48W). This imaginably named campsite is described in our French Camping Maroc guide as “in a state of advanced decrepitude” which just about sums it up!! The site used to be one of the best in Morocco; Europeans were known to stay for six months at a time. It was taken over by the government and has been on a downhill slope ever since. It was ok as long as you didn’t park next to the back wall (and smelly river beyond), go into the loos or showers (or down-wind of them) and stayed away from the yappy dogs that most of the French tourists had tied to their campervans! Basically it was secure parking for the night! We walked along the sea front and managed to find somewhere that sold ice cream which is very rare in Morocco so that made up for the campsite! The following morning, after a manic visit to an internet cafe and DHL to get something to my brother in a hurry, we ‘got outta dodge’.
South is a word you’re going to hear a lot from now on in this blog ... and that’s the way we pointed that morning! We drove the 214km to Guelmim and stopped at Complexe Touristique International (29,01.04N: 10,01.63W) which to all intent and purposes looked like a campsite – it even had a camping sign outside, which is usually a good indication that one can camp in the grounds! However, they seems rather surprised to see us but waved us in. We parked up and asked where the loos and showers were, only to be told that they didn’t have any! It didn’t matter that much to us anyway and as there wasn’t really an alternative, we stayed put. Later on some men approached the Mog and introduced themselves, inviting us to join them for tea. Turns out one is married to an American woman and waiting for his visa to join her in Florida and another has relatives in Mauritania, he gave us addresses in case we get stuck and need help – very kind. They were lovely people and so friendly and helpful.
The next campsite more than made up for the last two! Fort Bou-Jerif sounds like a French Foreign Legion fort and that is exactly what it is! (29,04.93N: 10,19.87W Fort but access is at 29,00.08N: 10,04.40W) The campsite is in a small depression below the abandoned fortress, down 39 kilometres of rough piste... perfect for the Mog to get her wheels dirty! This is what Unimogs are all about! We laugh at the face of soft sand and poke fun at rutted, rock strewn dirt road! Turning the last corner we were delighted to find our English friends had made it too! They had approached the fort from the other direction but had to turn round as their campervan kept bottoming out. It was only Mick’s extensive knowledge of 4X4 driving that got them through on the track we took.... much to the annoyance of the Landy and Toyota crews arriving at the campsite as they thought it was a tough drive!!
The following morning saw rain and strong wind so we moved on to Tafnidilt 236 km southwards. Positioned just north of Tan Tan the Tafnidilt Kasba is down a 9 km piste and also set adjacent to a ruined French Foreign Legion fort. With me at the helm we slid and shuddered our way to the fort ever aware that the night was rapidly approaching... at one point we bogged down in soft sand but clicked on the diff lock and ploughed through!
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Tafnidilt Kasba, set on a rise overlooking both the beautiful valley and old fort.The heavy rain just before we left the Kasba made for some interesting driving! Testing our skills and covering the Mog in a redish spray.Click on an image to enlarge. |
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Two wonderfully peaceful nights at the Kasba and then the rains began again! Oh boy, did it rain! The big orange truck next to us was packed up and the German couple said they were pushing on... we thought that wasn’t a bad idea so followed about an hour or so behind them. By then the dry track on the way in had turned into a muddy quagmire and some of the lower points had small rivers running through them now! The Mog coped brilliantly but we were glad then the black top homed back into view.
Driving straight though Tan Tan we stopped at Tan Tan Plage for the worst meal we’ve had since being on the road!! The less said about this, the better! We were glad that we weren’t camping at either of the sites opposite the restaurant! We then drove the long, straight coastal route with stony desert to the left and sea cliffs to the right. Arriving at Sidi Akhfennir late into the afternoon we discovered that Camping Paul Italiano wasn’t taking camping vehicles. As it was too late to drive the 150km to the next site we parked between some houses.
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Camels mark the entrance to the Western Sahara.We nearly had some extra passingers in the Mog! |
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Click on an image to enlarge. |
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Another 150 km of desert and a very short game of ispy later (something beginning with ‘S’!), we arrived at Camping Bedouins to discover Mike and Jean already parked up. (27,26.42N: 13,01.38W but access is at 27,27.70N: 13,03.10W). This site is set at the southern end of a usually dry salt lake. The recent rains provided a small lake at northern end and some lovely salt patterns in between. On our second night we ate camel tagine with rice at the tiny tented restaurant ... delicious! That would explain why we hadn’t seen many camels recently!! The following morning I got up at dawn and walked across the dry salt lake to the big rocky mound in the middle. An hour later I arrived! The light was wonderful at this time in the morning, making the salt crystals glimmer. Behind the hill I found a pair of abandoned shoes – really looking like someone had just stepped out of them! I was glad to get back to the Mog as the sun was up and it was getting quite warm.
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Click on an image to enlarge. |
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The next bit of the adventure sees us driving through Western Sahara to the Mauritanian border, where we hope to pick up transit visas at the border.
Join us...!
