26-1-10
Nouakchott
Waking about 6 in the morning some of us ended up enjoying a light pollution free sky after a comfortable nights sleep and a decent meal supplied by our hosts.
Bikes were all safe and secure behind the locked gates and right beside our tent.
The sun came up, which was nice.
and with it our host appeared to open the gates so we could push the bikes out on to the road.
About 8am the customs guy appeared out of his office and opened the barrier for the day, as we'd been cleared through customs the previous night we were able to ride straight through and head south.
Our unexpected stay at the border had saved us a 40 odd mile ride in the dark ( not recommended at the best of times) down the peninsula to Nouadhibou and another 40 miles back to the main road so we were well ahead on the time front even at the expense of not having breakfast which was not available.
With the FCO "do not travel" directive in place we were conscious that until we reached the capital we were riding with no travel insurance so had decided to ride with minimum stops, mainly for fuel and food where available.
There was not much to see on the road, apart from some tent and the odd camel, but we still stopped for pictures.
before heading off to do the food and petrol bit
At the point we had our first meeting with the locals (excluding the officials and people at the border of course ) and did not know what to expect as we had heard and read so many negative reports. We need not have worried, friendly, polite and curious to what we were doing there. One moment that stays with me is walking back from the shop to the cafe with Mike. A woman in her 50's approached him (it's his boyish charm that attracts the ladies
) welcomed him to her country and thanked him for visiting it. Made us think about things I can tell you.
Tanks and stomachs filled we headed off again on the final leg to the capital, well apart from the obligatory picture stop of course.
Mike posed for a sponsors shot
Gert photographed his helmet
and Dave was relieved to stop
earlier he'd passed water into John's helmet!
Back on the road we covered the final leg of the day into the Mauri capital, now this was an experience it was like no capital most of us had seen before, we ended up entering it from the south side and riding through areas were the tarmac just disappeared under deep sand at the junctions making turning a nightmare. Dave had an off turning left at one such junction with traffic bearing down on him. He managed to get the bike upright by himself safely though, amazing what a dose of adrenaline can do!
As it became more apparent we were lost we reverted to our adventure routes and got a taxi to lead us to a hotel. Hardcore or what?
We checked out the options for accommodation at this hotel and others nearby. Western hotels are limited and this one had security guards on duty 24/7 in the car park and locked gates unlike others where we would have had to park the bikes on the street. We negotiated a discount on the initial rate we were given, it was pricey but secure and in the circumstances we decided to go with it. Only real downside, it was dry, no bar!
Checked in and changed we started checking on the bikes, Those who cleaned their air filters found we had picked up some sand from the ride through the desert, in one case about half a pound of the stuff.
As the fettling continued we were approached by a guy in UK Police uniform with some pips on the shoulder (those with guilty consciences made ready to leg it
) who looked me straight in the eye (well through his sunglasses), grinned and said " How's it going? Didn't expect to see you!"
Now as he talked I was franticly trying to work out where he knew me from, and using the conversation to look for clues rather than flat out asking " Who are you?"
He told us he was on secondment from the UK working for the King of Morocco's office as a security liaison and attending a conference in the city and gave us his opinion of the situation and lots of advice on what we should do. Basically get out asap, tust no one and don't give any details of our itinerary to any one. We took his advice and told him nothing!
I'd come to the point of realising I did not know him personally and coe to the conclusion he knew us from UKGSER so asked the question, "are you a Tosser?" look on his face made it clear he nothing about the site so I hastily explained what I meant and why I had asked. Thankfully he saw the funny side of the situation, wished us well with a firm and hearty handshake and finished off by recommending us to a nearby restaurant ("cross the road, 50 meters down on the right there's a tatty looking wooden door you'd normally walk straight past, go through that" ) which was secure for tourists had great food and most important of all, a bar!!!
Someone up there was definitely looking after us.
Fettling finished we hit the pool and checked the time with one of the staff who told us we were an hour ahead of our watches. Oh well another timezone, watches set we talked bollox before heading for our rooms to have a nap and get ready for the evening meal. Yup hardcore!
TBC