T2T Day 11

T2T Day 11 21-Nov-2011  “Camel Lights”

Tan Tan to Lauyonne

Miles covered:  238        T2T miles so far: 2,574               Punctures : 0    

Evening Meal: Instant noodles, Tuna

Road hours : 09:00 – 16:00

T2T motos were released from the overnight lockup and we were set for another day on the road.  First port of call was the filling station then onto the glorious Western Sahara highway ( imagine driving on the A6 from Bedford to Reykjavik and you’ll have some idea of the task ahead … ).  The early stretches of this road bordered the Atlantic breakers crashing easily on the coast – most sublime.  Team leader Kev had promised flamingos and an easy day ahead of the big push to Dakhla the day after.  T2T stopped for provisions and later lunch at a nature reserve where flamingos frolicked ( or whatever they do ) and Jas took some splendid photos of the landscape and wild-life. Once again T2T was greeted by cheery officialdom with an uncertain but relaxed role in the parking area.

Back on the road Jon decided to pull over for an impromptu photo of the shoreline and promptly buried the front wheel in 12 inches of soft sand whilst the other two members watched this disaster unfold in slow motion before their eyes “Nooooooo !”.   Inevitably Jon dropped his bike triggering the Dakar’s quick release filler cap ™ and jettisoning 3 litres of fuel before the team managed to right the bike. 

Further down the road the need for the ‘Camels crossing’ sign became evident.  Frantic attempts at snapping these gracious beautiful animals strolling across the highway ( ’like they owned the place’ ) proved fruitless though they were snapped once across the road.

As T2T rolled along we approached the critical 4pm meaning it’s time to start looking for tonight’s accommodation.  Team leader Kev had a note about a campsite South of the military town of Lauyonne.  We found the location, a beautiful Oasis, with slight difficulty only to find it locked up and seemingly deserted.  Jon was asked to interrogate a couple of locals ( Mother & Son ) who indicated the locked gates behind us and then demanded recompense for this indispensable advice by screeching and ullalating.  Jas meanwhile invoked the universal African language of the motor horn to attract attention.  For a brief period this little piece of paradise descended into a noisy farce.  Resigned to having to ‘wild camp’ T2T started scratching around in the dust like hi-vis chickens.  Then the doors opened to the Oasis de la Msaid which proved to be the find of the trip so far.  Many photos were taken and the initially abandoned oasis sprang into life when our host escorted around our stupendous overnight accommodation.  In an uncharacteristic burst of organisation a video of this experience exists …

Our Motos were tucked under palm trees and we were seated in a Berber tent whilst our excellent host Mohammed who expertly prepared green tea by decanting from one glass into another until satisfied the required quality had been achieved.

The obligatory visit of the gendarmes added spice to the evening interrupting team leader Kev’s noodle & tuna master-class.  As darkness descended onto the Oasis a trio of interesting looking characters arrived through the foliage.  A short, stout gentleman in Khaki fatigues wearing spectacles, a younger gentleman with a splendid moustache and wearing an Adidas tracksuit ( usually the boss ) and another, larger gentleman wearing traditional Jelhaba.  We all adjourned to the kitchen, now in almost complete darkness. By (head)torch light the chief meticulously transposed ALL of the details from ALL of the fiches onto paper spotting an error in Kev’s fiche!  Jas and Jon’s fiches showed the correct date of entry ( 15-Nov-11 ) Kev’s mysteriously showed 16-Nov-11.  This we feared is exactly the sort of discrepancy our inquisitors relish.  The chief speculated on the reasons behind this error and then eventually persuaded himself Kev had crossed at 00:01 on 16-Nov.  As T2T has seen many times before and since in this leg of the trip, once the officials are satisfied with paper-work we are offered an unequivocal and warm welcome with hearty handshakes and best wishes of ‘Bonne route’.

Having bade farewell to our new gendarme friends T2T tucked into supper, sharing with our young host.  The excitement and rigours of the day plus full tummies ( in Arabic ‘she ban’ ) prompted an early retirement and so it was at 10.15pm that Jas was distracted from his Kindle by another official visit.  This time the gendarmes sported different uniforms and were reduced to two in number.  Jas was very gracious with our new guests, greeting them warmly in his 2^nd language ‘Spanglais’. Team leader Kev did his best to ignore and Jon too pretended to slumber until beckoned.  So irate was Jon at this 2^nd interruption he stomped out of his tent sans chemise and exposed the startled officers to the truly unholy site that is a middle-aged biker in boxer shorts.  Tackling such a visual assault is clearly not in the Gendarmarie Royale hand-book and the terrified young officers performed the briefest of checks and sputtered an apology before scuttling off.