So if your
looking for a place to go through cold turkey, perfect your loner or recluse skills,
catch up on meditation or simply enjoy your movie library, Western Sahara is
the place to go to!
1000+ kms
of the same rocky desert background with 4 towns and a few villages …. with village often meaning a petrol station
and a military hut some 130km apart ….
and of course a few camels!
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| Daily Background Picture |
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| Sahara Lunchtime |
Morocco is
on a mission to populate the Western Sahara - came across some newly built
empty villages – build it and they will come – or maybe not!
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| Newly Built Empty Village we camped in |
Huge military
presence here with lots of checkpoints. The locals refer to themselves as
Sahrawi and not Moroccan but apparently they receive a nice monthly cheque for
peaceful acceptance. There’s a UN presence here also but apart from occupying
the most expensive hotels in Laayoune, not
sure what else they do!
We hit
Tarfaya, a dusty old forgotten town, Layoune,
the capital had a strange artificial atmosphere and was ridiculously over
policed, Bojador was a really nice small authentic beach town while Dakhla was
the coolest of all the towns with a strong surf vibe and even a Catholic
church!
Measuring
the amount of food and water needed between stops was a fine art and Ollie got a
good old chase off some hungry wild dogs at one point.
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| Hand of Allah says no to speeding |
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| Rooftop Animal Carriage |
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| Ollie outside Bojador |
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| Road to Dakhla |
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| 100's km of untouched beaches |
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| Sahara coastline fishermen huts |
Mauritania
on the other hand redefined the word primitive but with a special charm. Food
can be tricky to find never mind internet! Apart from fishing and an iron ore
mine, there’s tent / hut settlements and 2 main towns … and be careful to bring
your waterproof gear – it rains 1 day a year!
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| Village Accommodation |
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| Village Restaurant |
The
landscapes changes from rocky desert to proper sand dunes … and a lot more camels to chat to!
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| Camel Family |
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| simple directions |
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| Scaring the camels |
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| Camel Crossing |
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| Poser Camel |
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| Camel Transport |
We cycled through the first village without realizing that the roadside huts were the shops (Boutiques). Everything is imported so its more expensive – still haven’t figured out what the locals eat – fruit and vegetables are a rare sight outside the 2 main towns.
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| Guess what - a shop! |
Have joined
cycling forces with Tim from Germany – a master in outdoor living!
Also bumped into a crazy French couple who are walking from France to Ghana!
Next stop
is southern Mauritania to the Senegalese border and then onto Dakar for Xmas. Trip total
5588km – all going well – enjoying the ever increasing relaxed nomadic
existence.
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| North African Irish Border |
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| Bringing in the fish |
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| Camping Sunset |
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| Block Drying Nouakchott |
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| Mauritanian Sahara bird - Greg? |
A border note
for other intrepid travelers … Western Sahara Mauritanian border closes at 6 sharp. There’s
a crazy Mad Max like no man’s land in between the borders with a very rocky
road and no sign posts. Dirham and Euro Exchange and large tent accommodation
the far side. No mention of needing the yellow fever vaccine. Funny to see the
army using a mobile phone as a lamp in their office to read the passports in
the evening light.
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| No Mans Land Western Sahara Mauritanian Border |
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