We left Tan-tan about 8.30am, the little group of shops we parked in weren't open yet, but the old man had been hanging around as he had guessed we would be wanting to set off. For parking in his shop all he wanted was the equivalent of about 1 pound 50, plus 2 aspirin!
We covered about 70 miles then we stopped for breakfast. Just as we were finishing and starting to get our bike gear on a man came over and just said "cobra". We nodded at him as we had been hoping to see a snake in Marrakesh but missed them, sure enough a cobra popped its head up, he then holding onto its tail kept flicking it with a rag so that it came out of the box properly in attack mode with its neck flattened and started hissing. He definitely couldn't be described as a snake "charmer" but it was great to see it that close!
The views have been breath taking, we are travelling on a road down the western coastline of Africa, we have the sea to our right and desert as far as the eye can see on our left. Due to being on the coast at the points the wind is the strongest I've ever known and very demanding to ride through. The Sahara isn't all the same, some sections are covered in camel grass and cacti with random groups of camels roaming free, other parts are clear sandy dunes. At one point whilst crossing the desert it rained, only for about 30 seconds but it was extraordinary as it was the last thing we expected!
Including crossing the border into the Western Sahara we have wasted about 2 hours at police checkpoints today which is really frustrating as we want to keep going. They have the same form to complete each time, passport number, name, profession, dates of arrival/departure etc
We did a long day today and stopped for the night in a port called Dakhla at 8.30pm. We are really off the tourist route so everything is a lot cheaper, the first hotel we looked at was just over 2 pounds per person but was a bit grim. We settled on one which was 17 pounds for the 3 of us, with a much welcomed hot shower in both rooms! We are fully equipped to camp, with 2 tents, stove, sleeping bags, sleeping mats etc but this is a last resort as we can cover many more miles without the worry of putting up tents and cooking.
We did realise one down side of this hotel after it was too late, it was about 30 metres from the edge of an airport! Luckily there were no planes after midnight so we got a good rest
Miles covered: 527
Route Map
3 comments:
Great to hear all your news and that you are all safe and well....I thought the lions might have got you!!!!!!!I check most days to see if there are any updates..All's fine in old H/B...the weather is really hot with above average temps but as usual it's set to rain at the weekend....Best wishes for you onward journey....love Jill and Trevor
Hi all, pleased to hear you are still progressing well. Told Hadrian the Honda let you down with a puncture, he is sending recovery. Let me know when your Mum meets the guy with green curly teeth. Is the mileage in your blog total so far or your daily mileage?
Mate, I know my observation's not always bang on but... an airport?!?
Sounds awesome, keep the blog coming.
Craig
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