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| Indiana Carruthers or Baden Powell Carruthers , Lady T & Beni! |
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| Beni preferred the river/ mud |
Monday, 27 June 2011
Fort Beu-Jerfi
We recently stayed at a delightful campsite called Fort Beu-Jerif near Guelmim (just north of Western Sahara). It is built very close to a real old fort - a french foreign legion fort that was in use until 1924. Fascinating!
Hot and Tyred
Tuesday 21st June 2011 – A cool breeze…. Is a delightful thing to wake up to... back tracking slightly….we drove through Tata after receiving some wonderful advice as to the best desert tracks to take... not South as apparently the Moroccan army was massing to take on Algeria, but a little further West to Foum El Hisn and then through to Assa, a small town where in the past the caravans from the desert stopped for refreshments. However a few miles from our turning there was funny noise and bits of black rubber were suddenly flying through the air… we had blown a trailer tire. Even in the 45-degree heat we changed it in record time and were on our way. This did mean however, that driving on-piste away from civilisation was not very sensible for us to consider… if we blew another tire we could be stuck for days. Disastrous for the cocktail making! So we kept to the main road and drove on… and on… all the way to the coast… where it was actually rather chilly! I did not think I would ever need a pullover again!
Like true campers we found another delightful spot next to many many sand dunes and the cool Atlantic ocean. We also met a charming young fellow who delivered us fresh fish each evening for tea. Marvellous.
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| Another successful BBQ in the Sahar.... mmm Orangutan |
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| pre-breakdown... |
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| 5700 miles to the nearest Kwikfit.... and Beni Mellal (the dog) knows what to do in an emergency! |
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| a camping delight... |
Gone Troppo!
Wednesday 15th June 201 - Having finally departed Marrakech for the final time, we motored to Rabat. At the invitation of the Mauritanian Ambassador (he could very well have been the parking attendant) we set up home kerbside outside the visa office. 36 hours later with a stamp in the passport, we headed south over the Atlas.
We were enthusiastic about leaving the wind and rain of the past few weeks in Marrakech behind, and finally getting some sunshine. Be careful what you wish you for however, as we motored down the mountain into an unyielding wall of 45-degree heat with not a whisper of wind. Too hot to do anything by day, too hot to sleep at night… with no ice for the gin… Carruthers has gone troppo! Not a pretty sight.
Fortunately we happened upon our own personal oasis complete with salt-water cascade just north of Tissint. We set up camp to stay for 2 nights in what would normally be an idyllic campsite. However, with the sun hitting 45 degrees at 10am and not abating until gone 8pm… it’s rather hard to concentrate on the game of cards.
The following morning Carruthers awoke determined to drink cold coco-cola… so he set off to town on his bicycle. 2 hours later a dishevelled sweating ruin returned clutching an array of cold drinks. With the refrigerator gone to the dogs, we had been drinking hot water for the past 24 hours… Carruthers’ mission was well appreciated. Our faithful hound simply dug a hole and laid in it for 48 hours… clever chap!
Currently en route to Tata; the gateway to the Draa Valley…. We will see how long we can last before we flee to the coast.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Cool Fresh Air
Now the African summer is rolling in, we decided to service the Rolls asthmatic air conditioning. On recommendation, we went to a large garage with a new fangled gadget, fully automatic and digital, and operated by the usual illiterate grease monkey. After 40 minutes of NASA grade testing and gas replacement, we enjoyed a full 30 seconds of cool air, before every electronic system in the car ceased functioning. On turning the engine off the car even refused to start again.
The following morning sweating heavily, as of course we had closed all the windows in eager anticipation of the cool sweat air…. We followed a young chap on his decrepit moped to Marrakech’s leading vehicle diagnostic centre (see photo) and packed with the latest diagnostic equipment (bearded gentlemen with a piece of wire with a pin at one end and a light bulb in the middle). He proceeded to dismantle parts of the engine and the entire electrical system of the car, testing circuit boards with his pin and wire. Carruthers’ was extremely doubtful of the chaps’ abilities, especially when he tasked two unwashed Herberts to dismantle the starter motor.
However, when a specialist turned up (14 years old) he discovered the cause in no time and between the two of them, they rebuilt the starter motor, bypassed various broken chips and repaired a circuit board. All in all, a 7-hour job including, of course the obligatory 1-hour visit to the mosque.
Now back to the schedule, however this time with cool fresh air blowing….
Friday, 3 June 2011
Top Secret!
Wednesday 1st June.
As we eventually move to sandier pastures, thought had better show you some photos of the production that had Carruthers tied up in knots for weeks on end. We’re not allowed to talk about it as its top secret, but here are a few photos to show where we’ve been… some dramatically varied landscapes… and even rather a lot of snow (thought we’d left that behind in Blighty). Unfortunately we were too busy to make any G&T’s let alone save ice for them. Note to self… never allow that to happen again!
If you want to see a trailer for the the top secret production… then its all over YouTube… funny that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5VhgE9s-XU&feature=related
Meanwhile, Carruthers is returning from Blighty today. He had to return for his parent’s birthday and tie up a few loose ends. Rather looking forward to his return… hoping to pack up and move on as son as we can. I am looking forward to seeing some desert sunsets forthwith! Gee up and onto the Western Sahara… just have to be mindful of the landmines.
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| Carruthers' "Cave of Wonder" on Bin El Oudene. Actually also the same spot where we rescued Beni, the dog |
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| Local version of ski hire.... each group of ski's is an individual shop! |
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| the Rolls in her element (or one of them) and bottom left the river that ran through my tent first thing in the morning. |
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