Soundtrack: Fito y Fitipaldis - Antes De Que Cuentes Diez
One have to stand up from where you fell, so will I…
Yesterday a new friend from Greece arrived here to Palma del Río, Spain, his name is Aggelos C. Koutroubas. He is currently travelling around Europe on his BMW R1200GS. I got in contact with Anggelos on the HUBB when we both were looking for some company to head down the west coast of Africa. Aggelos is a great and happy 27 year old guy (drinks beer), though he seems to have an even greather need for sleep in the mornings than me ;oP It is his first time to visit Africa but is looking forward to it with great excitement. After reaching The Gambia, Aggelos will go back to Europe on his bike or on a flight. I will continue towards Cape Town, South Africa.
While I am waiting on my new rear suspension to arrive here in Spain from Denmark. Aggelos and I are preparring the bikes to head for Rabat which is around 500-600 kilometers away. It should be achiveable in a day or so. We both need visas for Mauritania which we will get at the embassy in Morocco. After that we are heading down to West Sahara and to Mauritania to visit my friend Erik Lathouwers in Nouadhibou who has promised to keep the beers cold for us.
You will get much more news from both of us as we progress our journey to The Gambia.
Don’t forget to keep a close eye on our progress at the map (Real-Time Tracking) in the sidebar, as we might be slowed down because of too much beers and rum This time we smuggle large amounts of alcohol with us into Morocco.
Wish both of us good luck with crossing the Moroccan border without any search.
People (especially Amaury from France) often tell me I have a lot of things on my bike, but I think Aggelos beats me in this!
Soundtrack: Dire Straits – Tunnel Of Love
I have a surprise for you before I hit the road! You are now able to follow my journey 24/7 in “Real-Time” due to now-a-days advanced technology. By clicking the link in the sidebar under the section “Where is the Dane” (should have stated stupid Dane) or right here. You will be directed to a map showing my exact position almost anywhere in the world, cool eh! The main reason for this is to give the readers more pleasure and more fun following me.
So who is behind this new feature, can an unemployed motorcycle traveller really afford this kind of equipment taking in mind that a yearly subscription cost more than 100 € ? The answer is no! I am not the one to thank for this great gizmo. You can send all your gratitude to the company in Denmark called SAFELINK.
After a short introducing of myself, telling about my journey to the owner of SAFELINK which is Tommy Rasmussen he gave me a SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger to take with me in the bag. It will probably give my dear mom a little more peace in her mind as she now get the oppertunity to stay tuned on my whereabouts ;o) But that is not the only thing! This piece of genius comes with the possibility of subscribing to the GEOS rescue arrangement which is a SOS/ 911 service covering emergency rescue around the world. This is still not the end! You can send customized messages for instance saying “I am okay” or send for help by the push of a button. The device works on pure satellite connection and doesn’t need any kind of cell phone activity, by this way it has the ability to work in remote areas where cell phones have no coverage as this rely 100% on satellites. The coverage of the SPOT can be seen here. Furthermore one can send SMS or emails from it to friends and relatives.
A great thanks to Tommy from SAFELINK. I hope the readers will enjoy this new feature on the site without me having to make use of the rescue service in the future ;oP
By clicking the link here or in the sidebar you will be directed to “Find me SPOT” service where my postion will be shown on a Google Map. No password is needed! EnHoey…
Soundtrack: Grace Jones – I’ve Seen That Face Before
I could describe West Africa with words, but I think the photos below speaks better alone…
Amazing view when waking up in the morning (Merzouga, Morocco).
Fighting against the heat. (Southern Morocco).
Out of water… One consumes enormous amounts of liquid during the day
(Southern Morocco).
El Aaúin city, more clean than most Moroccan cities (West Sahara).
One of my favorite photos. From here it is straight
South to The Gambia (West Sahara coastal road).
There are long distances between gas stations, so one better be prepared
with extra fuel-cans (West Sahara)
Settled down for the night close to Laayoune Plage (West Sahara).
Now you have an idea how far the distances can be between civilization
in West Africa (West Sahara).
Just a stone’s throw from the road and the landscape takes an amazing
change (North of Dakhla, West Sahara).
Don’t go for a pee! (West Sahara).
“No Man’s Land” is the zone between Western Sahara and Mauritania.
No rules here other than staying on the track to avoid the danger of mines
(No Mans Land).
Taken by Ana Filipa Monteiro when crossing Mauritanian border.
Photographing at borders are often regarded as spying, so you better
not get caught (Mauritania).
Sleeping in an old abandoned house. The stars seemed like one could reach
them in the dark desert night (Nouadhibou, Mauritania).
Erik Lathouwers from Belgium took care of me when I was out of money
(Nouadhibou, Mauritania).
Sunrise in the desert. I slept out here on my way from Nouakchott to Atar
(Mauritania).
Stuck in the sand, I waited 30 minutes for help to pass, luckily Alquada not
came by that evening (Mauritania).
The famous Rosso border between Mauritania and Senegal One of the most
feared and hated border crossings in Africa. I must say that things here are
total chaotic and all they want is to unburden you of your cash. If this was
not enough I made my entry by tossing the bike in the sand in front of
hundreds of people (Mauritania).
At the popular “Zebra Bar” (Senegal).
This beautiful tree fascinated me as all the area behind
me was full of garbage, but right at this very spot
everything was perfect (Dakar, Senegal).
View from my hotel room in Dakar city. The locals slept on the roof’s during
the night (Dakar, Senegal).
Please feel free to explore all the photo’s of West Africa:
Morocco photo set
West Sahara photo set
No Mans Land photo set (Border crossing between WS & Mauritania)
Mauritania photo set
Senegal photo set
If you enjoy reading about my journey and find the site giving, why not help a motorcycle traveller to go even further? You can support me by visiting this page.
Thanks for sharing with you…
mhoey
Soundtrack: Santana – Samba Pa Ti
I believe the Gods were with me that day in Tamtatoucht…
It was early morning when I opened my eyes and got out of the comfy bed. I looked out of the window of the Kasbah Essalam Auberge. The sun was shining and the sound of the rushing river was replaced by birds singing, and Dominique doing his morning rituals in the bathroom. A rather unpleasant sound compared to the birds.
Maybe the flooding had stopped because of the Auberge owner whom had promised me to include us in his prayers the night before. Earnestly I didn’t know, but one thing I was perfectly sure of, it was going to be a hell of a day to ride a red VFR to Merzouga.
After a tour in a 4×4 around the town, or better described as a small village accompanied with the Auberge owner I was ready to give it another shot at the river.
The bikes were still in the yard, we hadn’t spend any energy putting locks on them during the night 
as our friends at the Auberge had given us their words that the bikes would be there the next morning, they were right. Two dirty Honda’s were still present in the yard, ready for sandy roads in southern Morocco, what instead should become a very wet experience.
We said farewell to our nice host’s got on the bikes and rode down to the river. The water was gone which made crossing a piece of cake. I belive I could have passed the day before, as the now visible tarmac looked perfect, no potholes.
Thinking back I do not regret taking a night in a real bed, perfect Moroccan meal followed by live music (the Auberge owners playing on flute and drums) a very good experience and indeed a great company.
As we went longer down south towards Tinghir, passing Ait Attouch things became more heavy than the rushing river from yesterday. This time we had to pass or wait it out, there was no way back! Bridges was washed away because of heavy rain in the Atlas Mountains. Long convoys of old beaten up trucks, cars and people on donkeys were 
trying to pass the river in alternative ways or simply waiting until the damages were repaired. Dominique and I agreed that being two we could pass the obstacles. I can say with confidence in my voice that we both were eager for a little excitement…
You can have a lot of opinions about the Moroccan people, but I must admit that I was amazed about the effectivity they repaired the damaged bridges and roads. 15-25 people working in a team taking care of the problems, so the normal day life can go on. I talked with one of 
the guys helping me passing a damaged bridge and was told that it was one of his ways of making a living, repairing and helping people to cross. The roads are very important for them to get food, goods and other supplies to and from remote cities.
After a hard day of struggle with a heavy Honda sport bike across rivers, stones and washed away bridges I said goodbye to my French friend Dominique in the city of Tinghir. Dominique was heading West, I was heading South East. To be more specific I was going to the desert in Merzouga, where you can get the first sight of the desert dunes. On my way I ran into a Dutch couple, both riding Honda African Twin’s. They were testing the bikes for their “RTW Journey” in 2010 by taking a trip around Morocco to see if something unexpected should happen. My nature says me that the unexpected things are a big part of the trip. If all things goes by the book, there is nothing excited about it!
We shared a tip or two including a little curse about the alu boxes from Hepco Becker before we said goodbye by wishing each other a great journey.
Looking at the map it told me there was about 175 km to Merzouga, which could be achieved before sun set. Short before Rissani I met another flooded road, children were guiding people through, trying to score some Dirham. Most cars that passed ignored them, The Netherlands people had warned me about them saying that they shouted, whistled as they went through. As I slowly drove by the kids, I could hear the common sentence “Dirham, Dirham”, that was all.
The day before I was adviced to stay at the ”Petite Prince” in Merzouga by a couple of French guys on Yamaha XT500’s. As usual nothing goes as planned, short before Merzouga, south of Rissani I met another two guys from The Netherlands on BMW FS800’s. One of them going off-road and the other cruising on the road, they stopped when we met a cross-section. As keen as I always is to get into a talk with fellow travellers I immediately saluted them with a big smile and started to ask where they were heading? But without any success, it was like speaking to a door, they only replied with a word or two before they went off in the horizon! After standing in the dust of their slip stream, a guy on a Bimmer 1150 Adventure came blasting by. He hardly manage to stop when I waved at him. His first impression of me and my bike was to laugh out loud, saying in perfect English “You out here on that bike”. He kept laughing about that for the rest of the day, his name was Sven. Sven was a massive build 40 year old police officer from Hamburg, German. I really enjoyed his type of person and company.
We arrived with furious speed in Merzouga me trying to hang on to Sven’s insane pace. 
Suddenly the road ended and only dunes of sand lay in front of us. There we were, and no signs of the Petite Prince! Before I noticed it a smoking two strokes moped with a fat guy on came up beside Sven and me. The tout spotted us arriving and sitting on the bikes in the sand looking out in the horizon on what seemed like the end of Moroccan soil and start of Western Sahara. He knew right away what we were looking for, a place to stay! It was easy, two guys looking for a place to stay with 20 kilometers to the nearest town, and it was starting to get dark. We were sold for the lowest bid…
“Are you looking for an auberge?”, the tout asked ”No, a camp site. Do you know where we can find the Petite Prince?” I answered him back. “No, but if you ask the British guys we had staying here yesterday, they will tell you that they enjoyed our hospitality very much”. “Of course you have to say that” I replied him. “Do you have beers?”, I asked again. Sven was now laughing more than ever. We both knew what the answer would be! “Yes, how many do you want?”
These touts simply say anything to unburden you of cash. Of course two beer drinking guys from North of Europe didn’t make the situation much better.
We manage to agree on a good 
price with the tout which was later doubled by the owner of the Auberge. He invited us in for a cup of Moroccan mint tea after we parked the bikes and packed out our things. A rather perfect tactical situation! He knew we wasn’t going anywhere once we had settled down and kicked of our dirty boots.
I was about to leave because of my nature, my temper was about to explode, I was in 30.000 ft. for the first time on my journey. I finished my tea and was about to head for the door, when Sven asked me to take it easy and sit down again. Sven manage to make me stay, which I today are more than happy about. I learnt that the first thing to do is to negotiate a price, and then have the owner stick to it, which I had better success with afterwards. Looking back, I must admit that had I been there alone, I would have packed my things and left.
Sven and I had a great evening that day, temporarily repairing my alu box which suffered hard during my crash a couple of days ago. A beer or two might have added the final things to this perfect evening, but the great company made this evening a memorable day.
The tout that followed us to the place had vanished into nothing, and I didn’t see the shadow of him while staying, which you might say was in luck for him.
TO BE CONTINUED..!
Recommanded to en(hoey) with a beer or a cup of coffee!
Thanks for sharing with you…
mhoey
