Tuesday 28 October 2008

How to Steal a Country



1) Claim it is yours.
2) Allow the International Court of Justice to consider your claim.
3) Ignore their findings 'cos what do they know?!
4) Pour in troops and lure in civilians by creating a tax haven with many well paid jobs.
5) Wait a few years before announcing an election.

This seems to have been Morocco's approach to the Western Sahara since 1975 and after a UN brokered ceasefire in 1991many indigenous Saharawis still find themselves living as refugees in their own land. For us travelling south, other than being stopped at umpteen roadblocks / checkpoints, our experience is of a very friendly region which strangely feels more Westernised the further south we go. No doubt this will change drastically when we cross the Mauritanian border in the next day or two.
This leg of the journey has involved great distances (so far 3 days and over 1000km of desert highway (pic 1) but tax free fuel - 35pence/litre). We're currently relaxing in Dakhla (pic2) - the last major town before we start our Saharan crossing.

Tuesday 21 October 2008

Over the Atlas



We crossed the High Atlas via a 111km off road route which give us time to appreciate the spectacular scenery whilst enjoying being off the beaten track. Using GPS co-ordinates we navigated our way up to the pass at 2200 metres above sea level where we spent the night looking down on the most spectacular thunder storm. Just a hundred kilometres or so south of these dramatic mountains the terrain flattens and the Sahara begins. Sand dunes start rising out of the horizon and the clouds which formed and swirled within the mountains evaporate raising the temperature considerably.
We're currently in Zagora planning our drive west along a route which may or may not be passable due to the rains. The rivers all converge on these flatlands creating muddy deltas and washing away tracks and bridges. Still witnessing homes destroyed by these exceptional flash floods.
Above photos of our Berber hosts in the Atlas mountains and Jemima getting herself into a very uncompromising position!

Saturday 18 October 2008

Further Evidence of our Changing Climate



After the last two summers in England we should be used to unseasonal rain, but the storms in this part of Morocco have caught everbody off guard. Not only in the Middle and High Atlas where they originated, but also in the desert flatlands to the south where we are now. High winds, rain and hail have caused widespread damage to roads, bridges and property. In one town (where we stopped for coffee) it was estimated that one in three homes had been badly damaged or destroyed. Being built traditionally of adobe (mud bricks, rendered with mud and straw) such buildings are particularly vulnerable in heavy rain. Sadly, but not surprisingly, they are slowly being replaced with sand and cement - and so the cycle continues....
Above photos show us fording a flooded bridge and me getting 'roped' into some adobe repairs.

Wednesday 15 October 2008

Sanna writes... 1


I am keeping a daily journal of our 6 months away and thought I would put some excerpts on the blog from time to time, but having looked back at what I’ve written these contributions would essentially be about food (unsurprisingly) and Jonnie heroically repairing our electrics in various different locations. So I’ve decided instead to tell you various anecdotes. The first is about arriving in Morocco without the all important green card:

In Morocco with no Green Card
A green card or ‘carte verte’ is basically a flimsy bit of paper which insures you for driving in Morocco, not so much for your own benefit, I have come to realise, but more because in the (very likely) event that a crazy Moroccan crashes into you all their expenses are covered and you still have to pay to repair your own car. Genius. Anyway, I very efficiently double checked with the man at the RAC and various other sources that I could definitely buy our ‘green card’ at the border – all replies in the affirmative. We decided to cross between Algeciras and Ceuta (instead of Tangiers) because we thought that, with Ceuta being Spanish (in much the same way Gibraltar is English, but with better duty free options), we would be able to hang out in ‘Spain’ if there was a problem. The border with Morocco is 1km down the road from Ceuta and we arrived without incident. We were ‘helped’ by very friendly people who I thought, at first, were either a modern version of the Knights Templar for tourists, or extras on Star Wars the New Generation, but in fact they were just helpful Moroccans wearing brown jellabahs (see photo above). With our passport form (yellow) and car form (green – although crucially not green card which is not actually green at all) filled out we were waved through with no problems whatsoever. I did mention the fact that we had no green card to the border guard, but he didn’t seem particularly bothered so we happily drove off thinking how easy it had all been.

Five minutes down the road, having experienced an alarming glimpse of Moroccan driving we turned back to the border to try and ask more firmly where we might get a green card. Armed with my very official looking file of every conceivable piece of information you might need when driving in Africa I approached the guard (who seemed more concerned that I was walking the wrong way through a border post than the fact I was illegal) and insisted he tell me where the green card cabin was. He replied that the green card cabin was only open at the Ceuta border during summer and that we would have to get it somewhere else (although not so forthcoming on where exactly) otherwise we’d have to go to Tangiers. We continued on the the nearest town Tetouan where we were going to change our Euros into Dhiram anyway and thought we would try to get the card there. After 4 hours and lots of to-ing and fro-ing between extremely kind people from the tourist office and AXA, lots of mint tea and several telephone calls later we found ‘Assurances RANDA’ who were able to issue us with a ‘carte verte’ for Dh 950 (about 90 Euros).

So we are now completely legal and ready to face everything Moroccon driving has to throw at us! (We are certainly the friendliest drivers on the road as Jonnie happily hoots his horn at anyone and everyone and waves out the window with abandon – especially if it’s a landrover!)

Sunday 12 October 2008

Saharan Storms



It's only 24 miles between Algeciras (in Spain) and Ceuta (also Spanish run but well and truly attached to the African continent) but what a difference a stretch of water makes! Not just in people, language, food and rules of the road, but climate too. It's been chucking it down and over the last two days we've encountered thunder storms, flash floods washing away roads and gale force winds! Our tent has been amazing (thanks Paul) keeping us dry and sheltered through two pretty severe nights.
Anyway, weather looks like it's changing for the better now so we can continue exploring these magnificent towns and cities without our raincoats! Currently in Meknes (Morocco's third Imperial City) enjoying getting lost in the medinas and drinking mint tea in the squares. Above, photos of Chefchaouen, a beautiful hillside town in the Rif Mountains with windy cobbled streets where all the buildings are painted a tranquil white/blue.

Tuesday 7 October 2008

Down the Silver Route




The Ruta de la Plata runs between Gijon in the north to Seville in the south. A truly historic route previously trodden by pilgrims, traders and crusaders (and now overlanders). You can read more about the route at link below:

http://www.spain.info/TourSpain/Grandes%20Rutas/Rutas/Rutas/0/Ruta%20Via%20de%20la%20Plata?Language=EN

It's been a fantastic leg of the journey for both of us taking in some incredible historic sights as well as passing through some of Spain's most beautiful landscapes whilst experiencing the changing cultures and scenery as we progressed south. I'm writing this in Tarifa while Sanna stocks up on 'Western' products before our planned crossing to Morroco tomorrow from Algeciras. No tickets booked - we'll just turn up early and queue....

Friday 3 October 2008

Settling into Spain



Heading over the Picos de Europa and north towards the city of Gijon to stay with Clara and Oli - a couple we had met in June at Martin's birthday. What an amazing city!! Ok, we've decided if we ever want to leave England this is the place to move to! Mountains in view, beaches in walking distance, not over developped, sociable and full of cider houses (siderias). Above photo is how not to serve cider at Apple Day - from above head height and into glass held below waist to agitate the drink and release the goodness.....
We had an amazing couple of days (thanks mainly to our hosts) who first planted the idea of travelling South following the old ´Ruta de la Plata´ from Gijon in the north, through Leon, Zamora, Caceres and finishing up in Seville in the south.