Announcements

**zedsdead** · #1 30 Jul 2014

Well I have finally done it. I actualy left nearly a month ago. Now I am in Dakhla waiting for the date on my visa to allow me into Mauritania.

I have a plan, a rough one. So far it is to get to Dakar. Hmmmm that,s it! After that I don.t know. I need to do some reading and come up with something. Ah well no rush.

**rndef** · #2 30 Jul 2014

The hardest part is over...which is actually leaving!

Safe travels and keep us posted!

Cheers,
RN

**lorraine** · #3 30 Jul 2014

Agreed, hardest part done! No need for more planning, you are THERE!

**schenkel** · #4 31 Jul 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by zedsdead

Well I have finally done it. I actualy left nearly a month ago. Now I am in Dakhla waiting for the date on my visa to allow me into Mauritania.

I have a plan, a rough one. So far it is to get to Dakar. Hmmmm that,s it! After that I don.t know. I need to do some reading and come up with something. Ah well no rush.

In Mauritania, your plan should focus on having plenty of reserve of petrol as it is not available everywhere.

**zedsdead** · #5 31 Jul 2014

Ok, thanks. Point noted about the petrol. I am on a big KTM with an extra tank. I can go about 320km then I have to use the extra tank. I am using Tracks 4 Africa so I will keep an eye on the fuel. I have already had the no fuel at the garage senario in Morocco. I tend to try and fill up at half range but that is not always possible.

Fortunately I am in no rush. At the moment I just go day by day. As I move along I hope to experience and learn. For the moment just being here and doing it is fantastic.

Any hints or experiences are most welcome.

**Overland Tonka** · #6 31 Jul 2014

Just enjoy...then enjoy some more. I'm liking your relaxed attitude.

**Jim Lad** · #7 4 Aug 2014

Hi, I'm heading down to Dakar in October and planned to stop at Dakhla. What's it like? Are you camping or do you have a recommendation on where to stay?

Keep the updates coming as your trip and approach sounds interesting.

**Surfy** · #8 5 Aug 2014

I`m too jealous! Would like to start NOW too again

No rush, no pressure - sound relaxing

Wish you safe travels, enjoy your trip!

Surfy

**bobn** · #9 6 Aug 2014

Hi all,

Just to put your minds at rest, Dakhla is a really nice place. People will not pester you and the town is nice and clean. Camping ground is on the left as you are entering the town or you can wild camp. If you fancy "splashing the cash" you can stay at the Sahara Regency 4* in the center of town and I can recommend the Samarkand restaurant for good food and nice views of the lagoon (and nice and clean).

Nice beach on the northwest side of town past the lighthouse

Enjoy the trip.

Bob.

**zedsdead** · #10 7 Aug 2014

Ok here again.

Dakhla was very nice. As bobn says very relaxed, no pressure at all. I found the further south you went and very noticeable from Ouarzazate onwards, people were less pushy. The south is good, very good.
I camped at Musserif?, on the left just passed the checkpoint. Again very relaxed. I was the only one there though. I stayed four days in the end. The town erupts into life in the evening. Full of life and colour!

So now I have moved on. I passed through the border into Mauritania. I already had a visa form Rabat. The border was easy, no hassle at all. A lot of paperwork but very enjoyable. If only they could all be that easy! Some advice. Get some Mauritanian money before you go over, I changed some in the border post itself. Plenty of guys changing cash and the rates were good. In Mauritania you do customs before your passport is stamped. The bike was 4800 ogs, and I was given the receipt by the chief of customs personally. Hell the book he wrote the details in must be the biggest one yet! Insurance for the bike is straight after the border post. The border guys insisted I get it straight away. 10 days insurance for the KTM was about 4200 ogs.

Oh and get lots of fiche. I am now in Nouachott. I must have gone through 20 checkpoints between Nouibdou and here!

**RichnLaney** · #11 20 Dec 2015

Hi Jon,

Greetings from Johannesburg,

Have been enjoying your tale. I echo the others' comments that stories like yours are wonderful inspiration to us who are not quite there yet... look out for two South Africans called Poodle and Meghan! Lovely couple who are en route to Alaska raising funds for Docs without Borders.

Enjoy the States,

Richard

Sent from my SM-P605 using Tapatalk

**zedsdead** · #12 24 Dec 2015

Good morning Rich, thank you for reading. I hope your friends have good luck with the weather.

I have moved on from San Diego to San Francisco. The city is very different from San Diego, it shows its history. I really like it here, there is a whole different atmosphere. Alctatraz, the tram cars, the buildings, the bridges and of course the Streets Of San Francisco. Just have to find myself a second hand Ford Torino..............................

**zedsdead** · #13 24 Dec 2015

Ok so a little indulgence here, after all it's Christmas and all that. This will be my second Christmas on the road, last year was in Namibia after getting the bike back from the boat. A fair few miles have gone under the wheels since then.
I have a lot of time on the bike to think and absorb what is happening to me and around me. Something that living in the working world just doesn't allow. Relax now, no deep hippy stuff is about to come out. I haven't lost it all yet.....................

The world is a strange mucked up place. It is however beautiful and full of the most incredible people. I have been fortunate enough to see some of its wonders and meet some of those people. I still get overwhelmed by just how I get treated sometimes. The care, interest and help I have received. I can never be able to thank everyone enough and of course I just disappear and move on but I do not forget. I cannot, without help from people I simply wouldn't have got here now. Life is good and to be free to travel through it is amazing.

I have many places that have been special to me but the deserts are always where I feel most at home, the Sahara, the Namib, the Kalahari. The heat and the space allow for different perspective. The Western Sahara is my most favourite place of all. I have been there three times now and I will return again one day. The sand and I have some unfinished business to sort out. I never really know how to put across how the desert makes me feel. Then just yesterday I bought two books from a second hand book store in town. One about the Yukon, a place I hope to visit and the other about the Sahara. In there was a quote from a Polisario Commander that explains it all;

"This may seem like the end of the earth to you, but it is not for us... In the desert we are free, there are no restrictions. We can see forever. We can cast our eyes to the horizon, and all we can see is sand and sky. In the desert our spirits can fly."

Merry Christmas where ever you are. Take care and enjoy the day. Me, I hope to take a walk through the Redwoods.