2wheels2africa

We both feel a bit like our time in the Adrar region has just been a taster for future trips we will make here. The Adrar is a high plateau above the desert, up to 1000m. It’s rocky and sandy but supports a lot more life than the desert normally would. We’ve seen lizards and birds and even a hare, though we haven’t seen the elusive antelope that are supposed to be here too.

On Friday we traveled out to Chinguetti up on the plateau. After a relaxed start we got underway, refueling the bikes and re-inflating the tyres after their ordeal in the desert crossing. We used about as much fuel as calculated so it was a relief to have gotten things right despite some worries at the time in the dunes when you know you are using a ton of fuel to keep the bike moving through the soft sand.

We took the Amugjar pass up to the plateau, amazingly this used to be the main road to Chinguetti until they opened up the much faster and direct Ebnou pass.
It took us a couple of hours to do the pass, much faster than the supposed three hours in the Sahara Overland guide book, but I guess we were on lightly loaded bikes and we were blitzing it because it was just such a fun piste!

We still stopped quite a bit to just admire the breathtaking vistas and to take pictures (which fail to do the scenery justice) and take on water (we didn’t take enough for such a short ride) in the 35 degree heat.

It was sheer pleasure to be out in the wild with the bikes running well and a fantastic piste to open up on. There were times we nearly over did it and had to reel ourselves in a bit, but we had fun and really enjoyed ourselves.

The only casualty was the end of Keith’s clutch lever which broke when he over did it trying to drift the bike around a sandy mountain hairpin. Not too serious and easily filed down to a nice smooth end that won’t break again! We had contemplated cutting them off anyway so it was a bonus!

On the way up the pass we saw the shell of Fort Saganne, which was actually made for the film of the same name. It’s not huge or impressive, but it’s location is. Sitting astride a commanding view on the edge of the plateau.

Once we made it to the top of the pass it was an easy burn on an arrow straight but corrugated dirt road to Chinguetty where we spend the afternoon being assaulted by the “Donnez moi un cadeau” brigade yet again.

We walked around the ruins of the old town, most of the buildings were shells and had been turned into rubbish pits and toilets. The only old buildings still standing are the famous libraries and the old mosque. We gave the ancient libraries a miss as the guy there wanted way too much for us to see some of the ancient scrolls – and as it felt a little underwhelming we gave it a miss.

Chinguetty is special in one other way, it’s where we saw our first truly beautiful Mauritanian girls. Here the women are wrapped from head to foot in brightly coloured clothes with only their face or eyes showing. One of the girls was selling trinkets she carried on a bowl on her head and she was so captivating she held Keith in a long conversation in French that definitely exceeded the where are you from and would you like to buy this trinket, though she was cunning enough to still try and sell him a keyring for the bike halfway through! When Keith showed her his current keyring she laughed and said hers was far better and I think we both agreed, though we still didn’t part with any money. These two girls were black Mauritanians – formerly slaves of the Moors (Arabs), they have since taken on Moorish culture and language.

You know you are being given the eye here when a girl walks by with her friend and as they pass she and her friend cover there faces with their robes and look you directly in the eyes with a smile on their covered faces!

After a bit of refreshment and a stroll around the town we left Chinguetty heading back to Atar via the new Ebnou pass. It took us only an hour to get back, so fast is the new road! There was even tarmac on road, but only for the mountain pass itself. Though the tarmac hadn’t seemed to stop some car’s and trucks going over the steep edges! Quite a sobering site to see a ball of metal at the bottom of the canyon that used to be a car or the bed of a truck!

On Thursday we arrived in Atar on the Adrar plateau in Mauritania after a two day ride through the dunes of the Sahara. The ride was one of our most exciting yet. We embarked from Nouadibou on Wednesday morning after a large night with the African Surfers. Stone managed to discover a forgotten bottle of Cameroonian whiskey which had lay dormant in the back of their 4×4. It had been destined for a village chief, luckily forgotten, and somehow managed to make itself appear again in Mauritania. This is just as well as alcohol is also forbidden here and unlike Morocco it’s not legal for non-Muslims to consume the stuff. It was an excellent evening and a fine way to part company.

The ride through the Sahara was blistering but beautiful. There were no roads so we were following trails and plains, navigating the easiest paths through. The directions are pretty simple, follow the train tracks east to Choum always keeping them to your left. Never go north of the tracks because the whole border between Mauritania and Morocco is mined! Once you get to Choum turn south and head along the heavily corrugated piste to Atar. Simple really!

The train tracks in question are the rails of the world’s heaviest and longest train in the world, the Nouabhidou to Zouerate train which carries iron ore from Zouerate to the port at Nouabhidou. Cars (and bikes) can be carried on the train, either on top of the ore carriages or on their own flat beds, passengers just sit in cars or on top of the train! There are no passenger carriages!

We actually saw the train pass as we were setting out and it is a sight to behold as it comes into view. Even as it trundles past you it continues right into the horizon as far as you can see!

Once we left the tarmac and headed for the tracks we hit the first obstacle, and it’s one we should have expected, soft sand! Our bikes were heavily loaded with our normal baggage as well as a combined 80 liters of fuel for the 590 km journey. We immediately got stuck in the sand, much to the amusement of the locals who came out to watch the spectacle. After a fair bit of sweating, pushing and swearing in the 30 degree heat we managed to get both bikes onto firm ground and lower the tire pressure to something which would give us traction in the sand!

After this it was much easier going and we soon got used to the tricks of sand riding. Keep momentum and don’t stop in soft sand or on uphill slopes is the trick!

By evening we had made some good progress despite a late start and we had burnt enough fuel that we could empty the 30 liters we were carrying on the back of the bikes into our tanks, moving the weight forward and making the bikes much more agile and even fun in the sand.

We made camp a kilometer from the train tracks in a secluded and untouched part of the desert next to a large rock to shelter the tent from the desert wind, we didn’t need to worry though because as night falls the wind stops and a peace and calm descends on the desert like nothing you have ever felt before. You really do feel the peace around you and sounds travel for miles. It was a wonderful feeling to be out in the remoteness of the desert cooking noodles on our stove with just each other and our thoughts for company! Such a departure from the hustle and bustle of city life and so much of what this trip is about for the two of us. Getting away from it all to listen to our own thoughts uninterrupted.

To our surprise we found some remote villages scattered along our route through the Sahara. These folks are in the middle of nowhere with no real connection to the outside world except the train. However they still manage to harbour some of the ‘Donnez moi un Cadeau’ (Give me a gift!) brigade. One crowd of villagers surrounded Keith and the leader came forward before the others carrying his baby girl. He handed Keith his child and the kid was gorgeous but then came the ‘donnez moi un cadeau’ line. It kinda spoiled the moment. What had appeared as a warm hearted gesture was only really a ploy to get money.

The desert crossing alternated between pretty hard ground and well defined tracks to dune fields with no clear way through. It was exciting and challenging for the two of us, particularly on the second day which found us both going through the dune fields wondering if our calculations on our fuel consumption would be correct.

As we approached Atar, mountains appeared in the distance and then approached. Then more trees started to appear. All a welcome sight after the clumps of grass and dunes we had been riding through all day.

Eventually we climbed up a pass onto the Adrar plateau and started to see more signs of civilisation before we rolled hot, sweaty and very dusty into Atar. The first thing we did was head to the closest restaurant for some real food and the most refreshing fizzy drinks in a long time! Parts of the journey had been so sandy that Keith managed to empty half the desert out of his boots outside!

More pictures have been added to the Mauritania gallery.

After arriving in Dakhla we met some really wonderful folks and stayed in a chilled and friendly camping site nestled alongside the beach. The place is a virtual mecca for kite and wind surfers. Although not being surfers of any kind ourselves we enjoyed it immensely because of the people we me there, it’s been the first place we both felt truly sad in departing. The folks there were really kind and helpful. A big thanks to Colin and Freya for being so welcoming and showing us around.

On our second day in Dakhla Colin brought us to a local technical school to meet a class of students studying to be freezing technicians. We talked in English about our adventure and about the lives of the students in Dakhla. It was a very interesting session and was probably as enlightening for them as it was for us.

While in Dakhla we also met a Spanish couple, Borza and Patricia, who were coming back from Senegal. They left Madrid 2 months ago on a Honda CB 250 and are in the final stages of completing their journey back home. The funny thing about these guys was that Borza only passed his bike license in October and then decided to set off to Africa with his girlfriend accompanying as pillion. I really empathise with Borza. I only passed my license recently and had very little riding experience when I undertook this trip. It’s great knowing you’re not alone.

While crossing over from Western Sahara there were some scary moments. There’s a a 7 km sand trail with mines on either side between Moroccan controlled Western Sahara and Mauritania. The place is littered with burnt out and blown up vehicles. The trick is to ride on the tracks made by other vehicles. Foolishly I didn’t zip up my tank bag and lost my V5 vehicle registration document and mobile phone there. We decided to go back and thankfully found both beside each other at the beginning of the trail.

We’re now in Nouadhibou, Mauritania. We arrived here three days ago after bumping into three South Africans at the Moroccan border. These guys originated from Cape Town and are traveling on to London. They came back to Mauritania after being denied entry at the Moroccan border on a stupid technicality. They’re on a similar trip to ours but in reverse. They’ve taken 11 months to get to where they are now. You can check their website out at www.africansurfer.com. On the other hand we know of 3 other South Africans, on KTM’s like our own, who’ve done the same trip in 60 days. I think we’ll aim for something a little in between.

Jeremy has become the victim of an eye infection which we believe to be conjunctivitis. We tried one form of antibiotics which have only seemed to make things worse. This morning things were worse, so after a consultation with an Algerian Doctor we’ve now switched the treatment to something a little stronger and are hoping for the best.

Depending on how Jeremy’s eye is tomorrow we will either go to Choum and Atar in the Adrar region, along the railway line as planned, or if his eye is not responding to the new treatment we’ll go down to Nouakchott. There’s better facilites there and we can organise Visas for Nigeria and Mali while we wait for a full recovery.

We have added the final pictures and captions to the Morocco gallery and we have now added a new gallery for Mauritania with more pictures to follow.

Finally we left Morocco behind us and are now in the Moroccan occupied territory of Western Sahara. What a difference! We’ve been on the road killing kilometers for the last few days. We’ve been keeping the speed around 80-90km/h so as not to ware out the desert tyres. We made Dakhla today and intend to push on tomorrow to Nouadhibou, Mauritania, passing the tropic of Cancer as we go. From there the plan is to ride eastwards into the Sahara alongside the railway line which links Nouadhibou with Choum. It should make for an interesting few days. One side of the track is a minefield ,won’t be going near that, and the other is sand trail littered with old pieces of broken track. The Rough Guide strongly advises against this route without the aide of a guide. Where would the fun be in that?

On the way down through Western Sahara we’ve been stopped almost every 30-60km. Initially I found it off putting but the Moroccan police temperament goes a long way to making amends. One guard was almost inviting us around to his family home while another humoured us to no end as he went on at length about Morocco’s #1 export. ‘Columbia has theirs and we have ours’. It was hilarious hearing this from a police officer.

We’ve uploaded a few more pictures to the Morocco gallery. They’ll be the last additions.

We arrived in Essaouira yesterday evening after a really picturesque ride down the coast via El Jedida and Safi. After El Jedida the coast road is really quiet as the main road goes inland for a faster road south, however with a strong desire to conserve our Michelin Desert tyres we are only doing 85 km/h (50 mph) so the coast road appealed to us.

It was a lovely ride down with parts of it feeling like Europe with lush green fields and fertile farm land all around us. There was one stretch of road near El Jedida where the road was shaded by forest on both sides and it just felt so luscious and green. Made you feel like you were in an Irish forest!

All the way down we were riding through fields belonging to homesteads where I imagine people managed to just about keep above the poverty line and no more.

A couple kids threw stones or in one case a hula hoop, which is strange for Morocco, but most were friendly and smiled and waved or clapped as we passed by. Strange that on this one out of the way stretch between El Jedida and Safi there seemed to be a few that wanted to hit us bikers as normally the people here are overwhelmingly friendly to bikes and we get a real reaction from young and old alike when we pass by.

We stopped at Safi for lunch and I think the waiter went to town on us trying to get us to spend as much as possible! Still the food was great and there was plenty of it so we were happy enough – it cost 7 pounds including tip for both of us to eat more than our fill and Keith to have his two cokes!

We should have stopped to refuel our bikes at Safi but instead we rolled out of the town. I knew my bike had enough to make the next 140 km to Essaouira but I didn’t think about Keith’s bike’s higher consumption! He went on reserve (2 litres) about 60 km out of Essaouira and because he stopped when he was on reserve and I was the lead biker I went back 5km to find him – so by the time we got back to where I had turned I had done an extra 10 km… eating into my own calculations and leaving little margin for error! There were no fuel stations between Safi and Essaouira as the coast road is so rural there are few cars traveling down it.

Keith ran out 22 km from Essaouira and by then I’d been on reserve for nearly 20 km! He had only made 35 km on his reserve so I was doubtful if I’d make it! We decided that I should give it a go and I’d already been as riding conservatively as possible so off I rolled, 80-85 km/h in fifth gear, barely accelerating, just riding as smoothly as possible, counting down the km markers on the road and watching as the number of ks on reserve went up on my dashboard!

It was nerve wracking stuff and the last 5km were really touch and go, however the sight of the Afriquia petrol station on the edge of Essaouira was a huge relief and I forgot anything about fuel conservation as I accelerated towards the station forecourt! If I ran out at this point I didn’t care as I could push the bike in!

I filled up my bike with 24.5 litres (25 litre tank) so I found out my range was a bit more than Keith’s and exactly what my reserve is on tarmac when riding like a priest! I went back and rescued Keith with some fuel from my tank and then we we managed to get into town an hour before the sun set. Keith did his usual magic in finding us a budget room for the night while I watched our bikes and kit.

Good to know how far the bikes will really go on tarmac but not something we are hoping to repeat again!

We’ve really enjoyed chilling in this laid back town with it’s old Portuguese fort and Medina full of shops of art and curios. The ladies would particularly love spending a few days in the souk here trawling and haggling for jewelry and nik naks, we were content to wander idly around and soak up life in a few street cafes.

Tomorrow sees us pushing south again to hopefully make Assa in the Moroccan Sahara sometime in the evening.

Checkout our updated Morocco gallery for our latest images. We’ve finally fixed the ordering of the images and put some more captions up.