During the two night stop in Nouakchott we rested a bit and did some servicing on Iza’s bike. We replaced the worn out chain and a lost ‘kicker’ for the kick starter, re-welded the cracked engine guards, re-attached the exhaust to the engine and tightened some more loose screws. All in all, a small list of damages considering the roads we’d ridden. The Africa on the other hand is powering on! Kamil only had to fix the side panniers after his earlier ‘off’ had twisted them out of shape and ripped off the hinges.

As soon as we left Nouakchott (north along the Atlantic coast) the winds picked up. And boy did they blow! Initially we had a strong cross-wind and then a full on headwind all the way to the Moroccan border. The Access couldn’t accelerate passed 80km/h

The winds didn’t bring about any sand storms (although there was plenty being thrown in our faces), but did blow in a ‘Europeanized’ version of Africa. First was the Morocco side of the border. Clean, footpathed and orderly it felt nothing like the ‘black’ Africa we had just left behind. The officials were all laughs and the paperwork organised. We payed nothing in bribes, temporary import charges or insurance. Could this be too good to be true?

BTW. In Mauritania, we got away without having any customs docs or insuranace. Once we explained that we’d chosen a different border to Rosso/Diama, the officials just shrugged their shoulders and wrote the bike’s details into our passports.

Over the border in Western Sahara, the winds continued… this time bringing with them cooler weather (the kind we haven’t experienced since Cape Town). A nice change from the oven-like nights we experienced in Mauritania.

The next 3 days was a pure case of “Ride, Eat, Sleep, Repeat”. Beyond our front wheels, nothing but black tar with flat desert on either side. We’d fuel up, hit the road, stop for a baguette (very hard to find during Ramadan), hit the road again and eventually find a camping spot as the sun began to drop over the horizon. Yes, Western Sahara was a monotonous test of stamina and patience. Beautiful in it’s own way…

Western Sahara also gave us a taste of the Europe we were fast approaching (ATM’s, dual carriageways, neon signs), but it wasn’t until we hit Morocco proper, that we realised just how close to Europe we really are!

Our destination was Marrakech, but before that a small detour to the Anti Atlas mountains. With Ramadan still in affect, most of the towns are dead quiet (at least until sunset). A highlight was Tafraoute with it’s mountain ambience and laid back atmosphere. This was a good start to Morocco and we were really enjoying ourselves.

Our first impressions of Marrakech however are disappointing. The world financial crisis doesn’t seem to have had an affect here. There are more tourists than locals! We somehow feel out of place… overwhelmed. A trip back to the atlas mountains in the next few days should do us some good…