TOUGH!
So that was already 1 month ago that Jamila and I spent 8 exhausting days rallying in the Moroccan South where we had heat, rain, lightning, totally disorientating experiences, but thankfully limited mechanical problems. We loved our Toyota Land Cruiser, rock solid. While all around us cars disintegrated, ours held on. Jamila had to repair the exhaust pipe once with a bit of string and I had to keep an eye on the tyres (2 flat tyres were repaired with anti puncture product which lasted until the last day) but otherwise it was all going well.
Waking up every morning at 4 wasn't the hardest thing as sleeping in a tent is not actually the best way to a good night rest. That said, the 2 nights we camped outside the camp with no one to wake us up, we did rest until 6am. The one night we spent in the dunes was the most magical. Only 4 of us, 2 cars, and no one and no noise around us. We made soup on our little camping gas, ate our French army rations and slept OK.
It was unfortunate that Jamila and I struggled to put the navigation theory into practice. Reading a black and white map and trying to relate with what we saw on the ground proved very difficult.
We did get better but it was slow and frustrating progress. I think a lack of confidence in our navigational abilities was the problem. When I look on the website at our trajectories, so often we headed in the right direction to then go off or turn round. For those friends and family who followed us thanks to the tracking system on our car ( which meant that while Jamila and I might feel we were utterly lost, they knew exactly where we were. This explains why we are not allowed phones during the rally!), it was rather frustrating, so we were told, and exhilarating when we found our way to the check points.
The scenery is magnificent, with a combination of sand and rocks. Managing the tyres is necessary.
And then we hit the dunes...Literally in one case. The first dunes we came across were not even big but because it had rained, they were muddy. Sure the sand is harder when it's wet so in theory easier to drive but it sticks to the tyres like mud and when you sink in, you're stuck. The gazelles are encouraged to help each other ( no one else will help you) but when there's no other gazelles near you, then you're on your own. The journalists are around and come to take pictures of you (smiiiile while you're struggling with your shovel), and then if you're not in the middle of nowhere, the bedouins come with a view to help you ( illegal) and get paid. In the case below, there's a Berber sitting not very far but not too close telling Jamila what we should do. Still all the hard physical work has to be done by us. We even had to use the jack to lift the car out of the mud and shovel sand underneath the tyres to make a sort of flat area.
In the second set of dunes, we started well. Gazelles are not allowed to follow each other except in the dunes. The most experienced gazelles set off first and the rest of us follow their tracks. This is where the word solidarity takes all its meaning. The first day in the dunes, we were able to go round all the big dunes to get to our checkpoint but the second day, there was no avoiding the big dunes. We had to take them full on. I'm afraid I have to admit that I was quite frightened despite Jamila's encouragement.
We all helped each other, pulling and pushing. Jamila was amazing. As I was the driver, she was the one walking all over the dunes to tell me what it looked like on the other side of the dune ( despite following tracks, you cannot assume that even the experts don't make mistakes), keeping the right direction, shovelling and pushing, not just our car but the other gazelles' cars.
Thursday night, after 8 days without phones and ipads etc... we got them back. First call home. No answer. It's 10pm in Morocco and I didn't know that while we were battling our way in the Moroccan desert, clocks had changed in England and it was 11pm back home. Did manage to wake up Ian while fireworks were going on at the camp.
Friday we drove to Essaouira for the final party on saturday.
The left front tyre gave up on us on Sunday and we had to change it but by then, guess what? We had a male friend determined to do it for us. Way to go!
so how about next year?
So that was already 1 month ago that Jamila and I spent 8 exhausting days rallying in the Moroccan South where we had heat, rain, lightning, totally disorientating experiences, but thankfully limited mechanical problems. We loved our Toyota Land Cruiser, rock solid. While all around us cars disintegrated, ours held on. Jamila had to repair the exhaust pipe once with a bit of string and I had to keep an eye on the tyres (2 flat tyres were repaired with anti puncture product which lasted until the last day) but otherwise it was all going well.
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| Jamila and I before the rally |
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| us during the rally. spot the difference! |
It was unfortunate that Jamila and I struggled to put the navigation theory into practice. Reading a black and white map and trying to relate with what we saw on the ground proved very difficult.
 |
| time to calculate the next point |
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| found the check point! |
 |
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| Am I fed up? |
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| going well |
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| not so well |
Thursday night, after 8 days without phones and ipads etc... we got them back. First call home. No answer. It's 10pm in Morocco and I didn't know that while we were battling our way in the Moroccan desert, clocks had changed in England and it was 11pm back home. Did manage to wake up Ian while fireworks were going on at the camp.
Friday we drove to Essaouira for the final party on saturday.
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| the beach in Essaouira |
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| we did it! |
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| genuinely very happy |
so how about next year?
