Morocco, page 1b
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10/03/2004

Tazines and Brochettes

 Municipal Campground

29°41.664’N 9°43.548’W

Cheese, rice, ham and tomato omelette with Moroccan flat bread

07 February 2004

 Nil Camping

27°10.554’N 13°23.564’W

We hit the road this morning at about 10 am with the intention of driving the 500km or so to Layoune. The drive brought us into some extremely remote country. Eventually we hit the coast; it’s good to see the ocean once more. We stopped to look at a shipwreck; this coast seems prone to them. We saw half a dozen wrecks before reaching Layoune, and we probably only saw a fraction of the coastline. The road is two-lane tarmac, but barely. With chunks of the roadside broken away or covered by encroaching sand dunes, there is only just enough room for two cars to pass. Oncoming trucks and busses provide extra excitement. We’re passing many more police checkpoints now, and where before police were stopping local cars and waving tourists through, the opposite is now true. We usually have to provide our passports and “details” such as occupation and vehicle registration. The police officers are invariably well dressed and very friendly, chatting and joking with us. There hasn’t been any hint of corruption, which we know we will encounter in other countries. We pulled into the deserted campground after dark and made a quick dinner of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, ham, and leftover rice, eaten with a baghrir, a Moroccan flat bread which we have taken to calling Frisbees. They’re not hard or anything, they’re actually quite good, it’s just their shape and size. We crossed into the Western Sahara today, which was once disputed territory with Mauritania. The benefit for us is that fuel is discounted by 70% in order to attract Moroccans to settle here. Graham’s transmission has developed worrisome noises and he is concerned that he will have to procure a new one. He made a call on the sat phone this evening to our Land Rover expert Charlie in Superior to help diagnose the problem. This being a Land Rover with only 18,000km on the clock, we joked that Land Rover ought to send us a new transmission along with a technician to install it for us.

Almonds for snacking, shrimp and an octopus salad for dinner

 Hotel al-Ahram

23°41.862’N 15°55.891’W

Distance  Today: 0 km

 Tazines, brochettes, and pizza at the Restaurant Samarkand

 09 February 2004

Hotel Al-Ahram

 23°41.862’N 15°55.891’W

Sunny and 85 (F) degrees

We are still enjoying the hospitality of Mohamed and his family, staying another night at their hotel and enjoying the hot showers. Graham spent the day on the sat phone, on the internet and in the street searching for a new transmission. With the help of Aziz, he discovered that almost any transmission will fit in a Land Rover, but unfortunately he is very closed minded and wanted only a Land Rover transmission. He spent several hours under the car with a mechanic who was convinced that the transmission was fine and the transfer case was bad. After a lengthy discussion and poking around in the transfer case the mechanic agreed with Graham. Aziz managed to source an old Land Rover transmission that seemed like it had been sitting on the floor of the garage for 10 years.

Distance  Today: 0km

 Couscous at the home of Mohammed

10 February 2004

Camping outside Dakhla

 23°41.862’N 15°55.891’W

Cloudy & 85 (F) degrees

Not wanting to continue to occupy the best rooms in Mohamed’s hotel (which is what we were given), we told them that we would be leaving for a campground today. At first they seemed genuinely hurt, and it seemed as though they thought we would prefer to camp in a tent rather than stay at their hotel. We told them that we simply wanted to spend time at the beach, which they understood. We were invited to dinner that evening at the home of Mohamed’s family, which we happily accepted for 8pm tonight. This afternoon we thankfully found a car wash with a pressure washer and gladly paid 40 Dihrams to have our cars washed of the bug entrails which had both begun to stink and attracted clouds of flies. We drove out to the campground where Witt went for a swim and the others relaxed and read. When we arrived at Mohamed’s home for dinner, we were treated to traditional Moroccan tea and couscous. Couscous here is the same as in the U.S., except that here the word implies that it will be served with stewed vegetables and meats. In our case the meat was camel and the veggies were onions, carrots, and potatoes. The food was served in an enormous bowl and everyone sort of staked out a portion of the edge of the bowl and ate from that area of the dish. Traditionally food is eaten with the hands, but both we and our hosts used spoons. The tea service continued throughout the meal, with a tea pot on a small pedestal containing burning charcoal. A bellows was used to fan the flame and heat the water. Once the water was hot, a single cup of tea (about the size of a double shot glass) was poured and then repeatedly poured from one cup to another to generate foam in the bottom of each glass. The tea was then poured and served. The tea itself is a very sweet tea flavored with mint. A bowl containing various types of delicious fruit was brought out for dessert. After dessert, we were presented with some gifts in accordance with Moroccan custom. Graham & Connie were given a handmade wooden bowl, called a “Gadha” , while Witt & Jen were given a pillow case, called a “Assarmi”, made from camel skin which has lots of intricate designs painted on it. We talked about various subjects throughout the evening and left at about 11:30. We are very grateful to Mohamed and his family for the hospitality they’ve shown us.

Distance  Today: 0km

Chicken tikka massala

 11 February 2004

Bush Camping

23°54.069’N 15°47.251’W

Sunny & 85 (F) degrees

Graham and Connie went into town to check their email and continue the search for the transmission. Jen and Witt drove out to an informal camp on the beach about 25km from Dakhla. The camp is a bit dirty and very windy, but the scenery is much better than the “walled compound” of the campground. The area seems to be a haven for windsurfers and paraboarders, who all head out into the afternoon winds to frolick on the water. Too bad there wasn’t room in our trucks for more toys!
Graham continued to search for help on the transmission issue. He posted on the Sahara Overland forum (www.sahara-overland.com) and learned that a ‘tranny’ is a transvestite, and that Land Rover does not include them with their cars. Nathan Hindman (Pangaea Expeditions) was a great help, scouring the globe for a transmission. During his search he secured a promise from Land Rover Magazine to publish a story about the transmission mission and swap. Land Rover was very unhelpful, as was the main Land Rover dealer in Morocco. Graham’s father stayed in contact with Land Rover and various shipping companies during the day which was also a great help.

Beach Camp

Distance  Today: 0km

Fried fish, potatoes, zucchini, and cucumber salad

12 February 2004

Beach Camp

23°54.069’N 15°47.251’W

Sunny & 85 (F) degrees

Witt and Jen repacked their car to discover that it really can seat four, and the crew drove into town to check email, buy food, and have lunch. Witt drove to the “auto mechanic” section of town to try to sell the two spare half-shafts in an attempt to reduce Rafiki’s burden. No one seemed interested, and especially not for the prices we asked. There are lots of older Land Rover 109s (from the 70s and early 80s) here and if he’d had half shafts for those, he probably could have gotten a good price. Most of the newer Land Rovers here seem to belong to the UN, which has a compound in town. There is a local guy who lives on the beach near our campsite and catches fish for the tourists camped here. He seems very much like a Moroccan Rastafarian, and doesn’t seem to care much whether he is paid anything for the fish. He gave us four 10” fish (we don’t know what kind they are – we’re calling them “mystery fish). Klaus and Anna from Germany pulled into our camp area in a 34-year-old converted Mercedes truck (it used to be a fire truck). They plan to spend the next year driving through Africa along with their dog, Baxter. We invited them to dinner, and we all huddled out of the wind in Graham and Connie’s 3-sided awning and enjoyed fresh fish and the last of the cheap wine we bought in France.
The quest for a transmission continued. Graham actually ordered one from a company in England (LEGS) and was soon told that they could ship, but not to Dakhla, because it is in disputed territory and the airport doesn’t have customs. Closest place they can ship to is Laayoune, which is 500km North of Dakhla, and the soonest it could get there is Monday Feb 16th. So it looks like the transmission may have to make it another 500km before it is put to rest. . .

Klaus and Anna's overland camper

Distance  Today: 0km

More fresh fish (sole!)

13 February 2004

Beach Camp

23°54.069’N 15°47.251’W

Sunny & 85 (F) degrees

Graham and Connie drove into town once again to check on the status of the transmission and buy food. No news was forthcoming about the transmission and we hope that is good news.
Witt and Jen repacked Rafiki trying to lighten the load and get rid of superfluous items. The repacking was a success until the afternoon winds came up and put a halt to it. The afternoon was spent reading, relaxing and updating the journal.

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