So sorry to read about your illness Jim but discretion is often the better that valour. I look forward to hearing of your experience first hand in Leenaun next autumn.
Gael warning on the Ivory Coast
- Thread starter Drumacoon Lad.
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Decided to visit the fish market on the beach…busy despite it being Sunday, the rest day here. (A caution : the Burberry pattern in the fifth photo may not be available in all markets 
). Had an interesting chat with one of the fishermen who said they may go out for as long as 3 nights in these small boats. And if course not a life jacket in sight.
). Had an interesting chat with one of the fishermen who said they may go out for as long as 3 nights in these small boats. And if course not a life jacket in sight.Greyrover
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Simons breakfast looked better Jim!……But seriously hope that you are getting over your medical issues and disappointment of having to turn back and face a 2,400 mile journey on your own when not feeling well. That is entirely another adventure!
So wike Jim wisely works on his recovery, I set off South from Nouakchott. Yest again a pre arranged early breakfast was foiled by fate….they had lost the keys if the restaurant…but somehow I got in and had coffee and a croissant.
Even before sunrise is was 29C and today I had 32 kms of piste to do at the end of the ride south in order to access the Diama border post and avoid Rosso, described by many as the worst border post in Africa !
It’s been quite a warm day (42C all afternoon) with a lot of piste and some good sand training (just when I didn’t want it!
). So I will fill in some details in the morning and just post some pictures of the day.
The summary is that it took a long time getting out of Mauretania due to their inefficiency and less than 30 minutes to enter Senegal, get a SIM and buy carte brune and Senegal insurance. I need to study it but in theory the Carnet Brune extends to adjacent countries..
I am now installed in the Zebrabar near St Louis. More on the day and my plans (when I work them out!)
tomorrow
Even before sunrise is was 29C and today I had 32 kms of piste to do at the end of the ride south in order to access the Diama border post and avoid Rosso, described by many as the worst border post in Africa !
It’s been quite a warm day (42C all afternoon) with a lot of piste and some good sand training (just when I didn’t want it!
). So I will fill in some details in the morning and just post some pictures of the day.The summary is that it took a long time getting out of Mauretania due to their inefficiency and less than 30 minutes to enter Senegal, get a SIM and buy carte brune and Senegal insurance. I need to study it but in theory the Carnet Brune extends to adjacent countries..
I am now installed in the Zebrabar near St Louis. More on the day and my plans (when I work them out!)
tomorrow
Sounds a bit warm!
I remember St Louis as being a nice, relaxed place, good to get to after the border, the photos certainly look that way.
It’s got me wondering, if Mongolia is still hard to get to next year maybe a beer in St Louis would be good
I remember St Louis as being a nice, relaxed place, good to get to after the border, the photos certainly look that way.
It’s got me wondering, if Mongolia is still hard to get to next year maybe a beer in St Louis would be good
Mongolia isn’t hard to get too - met a few riders heading that way this year
Sorry to hear about your forced return Jim, get better soon.
Good luck with the heat Simon - normally this time of year I’d be jealous but I had a ride around the Yorkshire Wolds on Sunday in the sunshine and sat outside for lunch and afternoon coffee and cake…. on 2nd November!
Keep up the great reports.
Good luck with the heat Simon - normally this time of year I’d be jealous but I had a ride around the Yorkshire Wolds on Sunday in the sunshine and sat outside for lunch and afternoon coffee and cake…. on 2nd November!
Keep up the great reports.
Depends on the route, still considering optionsMongolia isn’t hard to get too - met a few riders heading that way this year
So yesterday’s ride was on reflection a successful one: the bike ran well no fuel issues and the 32 kilometres of piste were reasonably straightforward. (Although a very experienced KTM rider said he found the mud quite tricky but it was largely dry for me and the CRF lapped it up.
Whilst exiting Mauri was needlessly tedious, the smoothness of the Senegal entry was notable…especially when you hear of the wallet emptying scams they practise in Rosso.
My main niggle was that the Customs are now only issuing 48 hour temporary import permits which force you to go straight on the seething ant colony that is Dakar to get it extended.
Fortunately I managed (legitimately) to persuade the St Louis city customs office to extend mit to 5 days…which gives me time to lounge here for a bit and then exit to Gàmbia, which resets the clock for my time in Senegal and is a short cut to the Casamance part of southern Senegal.
A few views: I came across a big Austrian rig which had driven off the piste and had been stuck there for two night. A kind English couple in another rig had stopped and stayed with them for two days!
The Mauri Customs chief was delighted to see me go
Whilst exiting Mauri was needlessly tedious, the smoothness of the Senegal entry was notable…especially when you hear of the wallet emptying scams they practise in Rosso
.My main niggle was that the Customs are now only issuing 48 hour temporary import permits which force you to go straight on the seething ant colony that is Dakar to get it extended.
Fortunately I managed (legitimately) to persuade the St Louis city customs office to extend mit to 5 days…which gives me time to lounge here for a bit and then exit to Gàmbia, which resets the clock for my time in Senegal and is a short cut to the Casamance part of southern Senegal.
A few views: I came across a big Austrian rig which had driven off the piste and had been stuck there for two night. A kind English couple in another rig had stopped and stayed with them for two days!
The Mauri Customs chief was delighted to see me go
Hotel de La Poste is the place to go in St Louis. It seems to have been improved a lot since I was there on the last scoots trip. It aint cheap! Not by Senegal standards anyway. https://www.hoteldelapostesaintlouis.com/ Maybe just a beer and a toast to the Aeropostale pilots?
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Folks, I've been a bit offline for some days, both physically and emotionally. I'm now back in Morocco and installed in a hotel in Dakhla. I was in Hotel Barbas yesterday, which some of you may know, but their WiFi was out, and the phone signal was too weak to post.
Nouadhibou wasn't the worst place to be Ill, but as things dragged on, I didn't fancy the prospect on having to go to Mauritanian hospital. In the end, I convinced myself I was well enough to go to the border and get back to Morocco. During the period i was ill, there were times I felt I could make it down to Nouakchott, but although I'd done it many times before, I didn't fancy it on my own, not being 100%.
So now that I feel in a safe place, I'm starting to process the disappointment of not seeing Senegal, St. Louis, ZebraBar and Gambia again and missing out on new places further south. This trip had been a long time in the planning and now I'm on my way home.
I'm hoping writing this will help me engage with this part of the ride. I did look around me on the 300km ride today and marvel at the beauty of the desert. I've still to collect some Sahara sand to go with my Namib Desert sand. I'm also reminding myself that a ride from Mauritania to UK on a 250cc bike is still an adventure, just not the adventure I booked.
I'm still debating how I'll play the Moroccan side of the trip, to visit a few places as I pass through, maybe come into Marrakesh via Asni, call into Fez, or just look for the shortest route to Tangier Med. As I write this paragraph, I'm saying to myself, these are first world issues Jim. How lucky am I, to have these choices
I hope you'll understand my sharing my feelings at what happened in the last week. Some of these ride reports are curated(I do it myself), so that difficult issues are glossed over, and some things on the trip you never hear about, till you meet the rider for a pint when its all over. Part of what's good about this forum is people sharing the good and difficult elements of these trips. Reading some of these ride reports led me to believe that the guys on the trips weren't superhuman, things went wrong, but they dealt with them, maybe I could do it.
Anyway, it's now down to me to make the best of this unplanned adventure and writing this has been helpful.
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Nouadhibou wasn't the worst place to be Ill, but as things dragged on, I didn't fancy the prospect on having to go to Mauritanian hospital. In the end, I convinced myself I was well enough to go to the border and get back to Morocco. During the period i was ill, there were times I felt I could make it down to Nouakchott, but although I'd done it many times before, I didn't fancy it on my own, not being 100%.
So now that I feel in a safe place, I'm starting to process the disappointment of not seeing Senegal, St. Louis, ZebraBar and Gambia again and missing out on new places further south. This trip had been a long time in the planning and now I'm on my way home.
I'm hoping writing this will help me engage with this part of the ride. I did look around me on the 300km ride today and marvel at the beauty of the desert. I've still to collect some Sahara sand to go with my Namib Desert sand. I'm also reminding myself that a ride from Mauritania to UK on a 250cc bike is still an adventure, just not the adventure I booked.
I'm still debating how I'll play the Moroccan side of the trip, to visit a few places as I pass through, maybe come into Marrakesh via Asni, call into Fez, or just look for the shortest route to Tangier Med. As I write this paragraph, I'm saying to myself, these are first world issues Jim. How lucky am I, to have these choices
I hope you'll understand my sharing my feelings at what happened in the last week. Some of these ride reports are curated(I do it myself), so that difficult issues are glossed over, and some things on the trip you never hear about, till you meet the rider for a pint when its all over. Part of what's good about this forum is people sharing the good and difficult elements of these trips. Reading some of these ride reports led me to believe that the guys on the trips weren't superhuman, things went wrong, but they dealt with them, maybe I could do it.
Anyway, it's now down to me to make the best of this unplanned adventure and writing this has been helpful.
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Thanks for the update, I was wondering how you were getting on. I guess a big element of what route amd how long to get home will depend on how you’re feeling. Back to normal and the temptation will be a little exploring, take advantage of being there (if unsure check the forecast for home!). If any concerns, it’ll be quickest route to home.Folks, I've been a bit offline for some days, both physically and emotionally. I'm now back in Morocco and installed in a hotel in Dakhla. I was in Hotel Barbas yesterday, which some of you may know, but their WiFi was out, and the phone signal was too weak to post.
Nouadhibou wasn't the worst place to be Ill, but as things dragged on, I didn't fancy the prospect on having to go to Mauritanian hospital. In the end, I convinced myself I was well enough to go to the border and get back to Morocco. During the period i was ill, there were times I felt I could make it down to Nouakchott, but although I'd done it many times before, I didn't fancy it on my own, not being 100%.
So now that I feel in a safe place, I'm starting to process the disappointment of not seeing Senegal, St. Louis, ZebraBar and Gambia again and missing out on new places further south. This trip had been a long time in the planning and now I'm on my way home.
I'm hoping writing this will help me engage with this part of the ride. I did look around me on the 300km ride today and marvel at the beauty of the desert. I've still to collect some Sahara sand to go with my Namib Desert sand. I'm also reminding myself that a ride from Mauritania to UK on a 250cc bike is still an adventure, just not the adventure I booked.
I'm still debating how I'll play the Moroccan side of the trip, to visit a few places as I pass through, maybe come into Marrakesh via Asni, call into Fez, or just look for the shortest route to Tangier Med. As I write this paragraph, I'm saying to myself, these are first world issues Jim. How lucky am I, to have these choices
I hope you'll understand my sharing my feelings at what happened in the last week. Some of these ride reports are curated(I do it myself), so that difficult issues are glossed over, and some things on the trip you never hear about, till you meet the rider for a pint when its all over. Part of what's good about this forum is people sharing the good and difficult elements of these trips. Reading some of these ride reports led me to believe that the guys on the trips weren't superhuman, things went wrong, but they dealt with them, maybe I could do it.
Anyway, it's now down to me to make the best of this unplanned adventure and writing this has been helpful.
Sent from my SM-G991B using Tapatalk
It might be worth trying to see a doctor if you can, get an official diagnosis? The antibiotics may have helped but they may not have cured it. I asked my wife (GP) and that was her suggestion. Apologies if all done already or not applicable
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Very sage advice there Jock. On the medical side I do feel pack to normal, but will monitor my condition, and drink lots of water. My thanks also, to your wife.
On what to do in Morocco, I've got 3 reasonably long days in the desert to get to Agadir, so hopefully my thoughts will have clarified buy then. Thinking about it, the Tizi n Test pass does appeal, if it's fully open again. That area suffered badly from the earthquake.
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This is some days old and off the bike camera, showing the queue to leave Morocco for Mauritania. We worked our way up and a policeman sent us to the front, speeding up the border time to 3 hours 20 mins. Note the bikes on the roof.
It’s good to hear of Jim making some progress (we do stay in touch and not just in UKGSer) despite my callous abandonment of my travel buddy. Many discussions were had and thanks to Jim for waving me off but it’s never easy to leave someone behind who is not in the best of form (and I am a repeat offender).
Jim and I have swapped notes and I think are agreed that the extreme temperatures (most afternoons are a steady 40C and the forecasters say they ‘feel’ hotter) and the rigours of the piste would not have been optimal for his recovery, much as I miss him.
An example of missing a second set of eyes was when I missed the first turn off towards Zebrabar after a long hot day and a border crossing. My Nav V told me to turn sharp right later and next thing I had a 10km sandy track to navigate
in 40C. A more astute traveller would have doubled back to the tarmac, a longer but easier passage. Hey ho!
Anyhoo yesterday morning my body told me it needed some rest, even though my passavant needed sorting within 48 hours of arrival…typically through a visit to Customs in the sweltering heatsink that is the Dakar peninsula.
This I would not consider doing (again). So after a leisurely breakfast at Zebrabar I pootled into St Louis and raided a cash point before heading to the northern tip of the island to visit La Douane. My entreaties were only partially successful - I got another day extension which will allow to cross through Gambia at the Farafenni crossing and head down to the Casamance - my re-entry to Senegal should reset the clock and hopefully get me a longer passavant
- sufficient at least to revisit Ziguinchor and then head east and into Guinea Conakry
.
Some photies below of St Louis and environs
And my day started with this beach find on my morning walk
) despite my callous abandonment of my travel buddy. Many discussions were had and thanks to Jim for waving me off but it’s never easy to leave someone behind who is not in the best of form (and I am a repeat offender).Jim and I have swapped notes and I think are agreed that the extreme temperatures (most afternoons are a steady 40C and the forecasters say they ‘feel’ hotter) and the rigours of the piste would not have been optimal for his recovery, much as I miss him.
An example of missing a second set of eyes was when I missed the first turn off towards Zebrabar after a long hot day and a border crossing. My Nav V told me to turn sharp right later and next thing I had a 10km sandy track to navigate
in 40C. A more astute traveller would have doubled back to the tarmac, a longer but easier passage. Hey ho!Anyhoo yesterday morning my body told me it needed some rest, even though my passavant needed sorting within 48 hours of arrival…typically through a visit to Customs in the sweltering heatsink that is the Dakar peninsula.
This I would not consider doing (again). So after a leisurely breakfast at Zebrabar I pootled into St Louis and raided a cash point before heading to the northern tip of the island to visit La Douane. My entreaties were only partially successful - I got another day extension which will allow to cross through Gambia at the Farafenni crossing and head down to the Casamance - my re-entry to Senegal should reset the clock and hopefully get me a longer passavant
- sufficient at least to revisit Ziguinchor and then head east and into Guinea Conakry.
Some photies below of St Louis and environs
And my day started with this beach find on my morning walkAttachments
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A lot has been said about the no-mans-land between Morocco and Mauritania. These 2 pictures show the difference in surface between each side. Morocco has covered their part with smooth tarmac but the Mauri side is still rocks and sand. My best attempt to capture the Mauri bit, while not falling off.
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My last photos of Simon as we entered Nouadhibou, taken with the rear camera a week ago.
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Today's ride from Hotel Barbas needed my waterproof as the temperature was 18C. I was enjoying the lack of heat and then saw this grey cloud approaching from the sea. The clout proved to be a fog bank, with a side wind and which brought visibility down to 50 - 75 meters. The fog of course settled on everything, screen, visor and of course camera lens. It lasted for about an hour and got my attention.
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Lots of flags around like these on the way into Dakhla. The local stockist seems to have a good supply though. One reason for the flags may be this article announcing the UN has agreed that Western Sahara belongs to Morocco.
BBC report below:
www.bbc.com
BBC report below:
Morocco marks UN approval of its Western Sahara plan with new holiday
Morocco controls much of Western Sahara, although part of it is controlled by a pro-independence movement.
www.bbc.com
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