“What on earth are you doing out here?”
Blog posted by bex on Jul 12th, 2009
Full moon over the Sahara. © Listen to Africa
Or, more specifically: “What on earth are you doing out here, cycling through nothing in the middle of nowhere?!”
The person asking was a Dutch woman overtaking us in her 4×4, and it was a good question. The road from Laayoune to Dakhla in Western Sahara is a desolate one, with little in the way of shade or water, necessitating heavily-laden bikes (carrying up to ten litres of water each, much of which ended up being donated to stranded hitchikers and drivers of broken down trucks – I’m sure this isn’t how it’s meant to work…) and the odd makeshift shelter to hide from the sun.
A makeshift shelter. © Listen to Africa
It’s almost obligatory to describe this landscape as “bleak” and “featureless”, but that’s not entirely fair. The desert has a washed out, lunar beauty of its own (especially under last week’s full moon) and, when the road snakes along the coast, the bright blue ocean is a feast for the eyes after all the pastels of the desert.
Cooking (sand, mostly). Listen to Africa
(A few weeks ago, we met a German meteorite hunter who had dabbled in a bit of fossil trading before deciding meteorites were more lucrative and easier to smuggle. Desert nomads, he said, sell fossils and meteorite pieces to traders like him, to be sold on to private collectors for mind-boggling sums – where, presumably, these rocks from other worlds and other ages sit on mantelpieces or in safes, hidden from scientific and public view.)
Sahara sunset. © Listen to Africa
The military convoys continue as a reminder of the occupied status of Western Sahara , complemented by the occasional military helicopter buzzing overhead. Meanwhile, stopping in petrol stations and cafes, we’ve been welcomed to “Sahara country” a few times. In one petrol station, the Moroccan manager told us – to the soundtrack of soaring classical music he was playing at top volume – that this was a war between Morocco and Algeria. Did he have any hope that it would end one of these years? No, he said, this region is too rich in fish, in phosphates and in oil. “It is going to be a very long war.”
Kite surfing near Dakhla. © Listen to Africa
greetings – congrads on your project. i’m up from africa for a month in frankfurt, but have been in the sahara (mauritania, mali, and a quick dip in fouta toro in senegal) for the past 8 months, collecting field recordings. http://www.sahelsounds.com . very fascinated by your project. good luck and will be following.
Looking at the great pictures, I keep imagining moonlight and sunset at the Sahara, your sleeping over fossils, the taste of the meal being prepared by Huw, the different emotions you wake on people like the Dutch lady in the 4×4, the two policemen (each one with a different personality), the truck driver blowing up kisses in the middle of the desert… What an experience for you both. And for us, your readers.
Good luck with your Mauritanian visas.
Was the German guy called Rainer by any chance? We met a similar sounding German guy called Rainer in Mauritania… he seemed quite mad after spending too long in the desert!
Enjoying following you on the blog! See you in Cameroon!
Still no computer, but I managed to read this one at David’s. Good luck at the border! Its so frustrating not being able to follow your trip, but one day I might be connected again! Do the snakes worry you? They worry your Mum Becca!! Grays are with me and send love.
Lol
Mum/Sue
Yes, good luck at the border. Tea, smiles and cigarettes might work – its a long way back to Rabat and they’d be cruel bastards not to let you through.
good luck at the border…hope everything goes as smoothly as possible!
great update bex and i love the full moon and the sun shelter photos.
xx
hey guys!, just wanted to let you know that i’ve been following your adventure closely as it unfolds. i admire your progress, respect. smiles!, erik
Ooh, lots of lovely comments! Full update coming soon but the short version is: we did just get the three days at the border so spent yesterday in a car heading south, today extending the visas and tomorrow heading back north to our bikes. But we have full visas now and lots that we want to sound record here, so all is good.
Christopher, your site looks wonderful – I haven’t managed to listen to the field recordings yet (I’ll bring headphones with me next time…) If you’re back in Mauritania in the next couple of weeks it would be brilliant to meet up (we’ll be coming back through Nouakchott in maybe 10 days’ time. Ish.).
Maria Helena, thank you for your lovely comment as always, and for being so enthusiastic – it keeps us focused on how lucky we are to be experiencing all this.
Jeremy – yes, he was called Rainer :-) By the way, I love your style – I’m never going to worry about how slowly we’re travelling again! Looking forward to meeting up with you – and Bill – in Cameroon if you’re still there.
Mum, come to Africa – the internet access is much better here! Lots of love to the Grays. (The snakes not so much – but then I haven’t seen any live ones yet…)
Peter, Roy and Erik, hope all your various plans for your next adventures are going well – will be following them all!
Daf – thank you! (And I’ll pass it on to Huw – he took all the photos in this blog.)
xx
Not in Mauritania in the moment – but if you’re staying at the Menata, say hello to Amadou and the gang for me. If you want to meet any musicians in particular, you can ask him, he can point you in the right direction….maybe talk to Mohammed, the Scottish camel herder (we’re a strange group, Mauri expats)?