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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodation |
GPS |
Distance Today:
161km |
Meals
More mystery fish from the “fish guy” |
Weather |
|
Near Dakhla, Morocco |
14 February, 2004 |
Beach camp |
23°54.069’N
15°47.251’W |
Odometer:
5763km |
Sunny & 85 (F) degrees |
|
No one got any sleep last night, as the
constant wind made the tents flap about causing quite a racket. The four
of us drove into town in the morning to check any further developments on
the shipping of the transmission. It’s coming to Laayoune on Royal Air
Maroc, who claims it will be here on Wednesday afternoon, based on
entering the Air Waybill Number into their website. The British shipping
company thinks it will be here on Monday, so we plan to hope for the best
and set off back to Laayoune tomorrow. In the meantime, Witt and Graham
headed off in Rafiki to spend the afternoon searching for a geographic
confluence. Like geocaching, confluence visits are a new hobby spawned by
the wide availability of GPS receivers. An example of a confluence is
40°00.00’N X 107°00.00’W. Check out
www.confluence.org
for more information on this rather bizarre pursuit. With nothing better
to do with their time than search for a random point on the earth and
photographing it, Witt and Graham drove about 40km through the desert, at
times with no track at all, just following the GPS, in search of the
confluence of 24°N by 15°W. They got to within about 25 miles of the
location, but the going was slow (no one has thought to build roads to
these points… I’m sure it will happen in time) and coming darkness and the
desire for dinner forced them to abandon the hunt. |
Snipe, er, confluence hunt
Snipe, er, confluence hunt
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodation |
GPS |
Distance Today:
485km |
Meals
More mystery fish (saved in the fridge from
yesterday) |
Weather |
|
Near Laayoune, Morocco |
15 February, 2004 |
Camping Nil |
27°10.555’N
13°23.563’W |
Odometer:
6248km |
Sunny & 85 (F) degrees |
|
Graham and Connie decided to sleep inside
their car last night in hopes of a good night’s sleep. This morning they
reported “Quiet but lumpy” while Witt and Jen in the tent experienced more
“flap-flap-flap.” We set off early this morning for Laayoune, stopping for
lunch of coffee and croissants in Boujdour. The drive was uneventful, and
having already seen the scenery, Jen and Witt listened to some music on
the way back north. We’re staying at the same campground where we stopped
on our way through a week ago. Jen and Witt had their first proper showers
in several days, and Jen worked to get the tent to open completely flat
while Witt rotated Rafiki’s tires. Connie and Graham drove into Laayoune
to check the status of the transmission. The campground is still deserted,
but the wind isn’t as bad here and we can hear the surf from the beach. |
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Updated Information
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Date |
Camp Site or Accommodation |
GPS |
Distance Today:
95km |
Meals
Moroccan Frisbees and Laughing Cow cheese for
lunch, pizza for dinner |
Weather |
|
Near Laayoune, Morocco |
16 February, 2004 |
Camping Nil |
27°10.555’N
13°23.563’W |
Odometer:
6253km |
Sunny & 85 (F) degrees |
|
We were all grateful for a quiet night’s sleep
last night. After making coffee, the four of us took Rafiki into town to
check email and visit Royal Air Maroc. The word is that the flight arrives
at 1730, not 730am as we had been told. There’s no official word that the
transmission is on this flight, but we’ll be at the airport this afternoon
to check. With another day to kill, the four of us located another
geographic confluence 27°N x 13°W and went off in search of it. This one
was closer to town, and only about 7km off the nearest paved road. We
followed the GPS and arrived at the appointed location just after noon. We
took photographs (not much to see) and watched a goat herder give us a
wide berth, surely wondering what the tourists were doing driving around
in the desert. We had lunch and used the sat phone to call our friend Alan
in Colorado, who provided the phone and told Witt about the degree
confluence project. It was six am in Colorado, but fortunately he was
already up watching TV with his baby daughter. We drove back into town and
spent some time at the internet café, then had some coffee, and went to
the airport at four pm. The flight, we were told, was actually due in at
830, so we went to a pizzeria for dinner. Witt and Jen split the
Primavera, which had onions, olives, tomatoes, corn, and green peas.
Graham had a four cheese pizza, and Connie had “Fruit de Mer” which
consisted of shrimp and calamari. We then headed back to the airport where
we learned that yes, the transmission is on this flight, but no, customs
is not open right now and come back tomorrow to pick up your package. So
back to Nil Camping once more and hopefully tomorrow will bear fruit (or
even better a new transmission.) |
Jen searching for the right spot
Jen and Graham at the confluence
The expedition team is a little off kilter
We believe this is a Citroen dressed to look like a camel
Jen searching for the right spot
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0 km |
Meals
Bread, cheese, and Moroccan Harira soup |
Weather |
|
Near Laâyoune Morocco |
17 February
2004 |
Champignon Bungalows |
27°10.555’N
13°23.563’W |
Odometer:
6253 km |
Very windy, dusty & 80 (F)
degrees
|
|
We awoke this morning after a peaceful night’s
sleep. The wind picked at around 8am, but we didn’t think much of it. We
drove to the airport, with the expectation of being able to pick up the
new transmission. We arrived on schedule at 9am. The man we were supposed
to meet wasn’t there yet; he would be in “in a few minutes.” At nine
thirty he arrived, but couldn’t do anything for us because the customs guy
was busy. At 10 am Graham was told he would have to pay 6000 Dirhams for
import duties. Graham asked if, since he was exporting the transmission,
he would get the money back at the border. The guy made a few phone calls
and the import duty was eventually reduced to 250 Dirhams (which would not
be refunded.) Next, Graham and Witt got into the customs guy’s Mercedes
and drove to the customs office in town. The office was a central waiting
area (without chairs to wait in) surrounded by about 7 offices. We visited
four of the offices in turn and sat while men (and in one case a woman)
behind desks put stamps on various pieces of paper, copied other pieces of
paper, and copied details into large books. After this was finished, Witt
and Graham took a taxi back to the airport. Graham presented a heavily
stamped bit of paper, and, after paying another 244 Dirhams for freight
handling, we loaded the new transmission into the back of Rafiki. While
all this was happening, a full-blown desert sandstorm had developed.
During parts of the drive back to our camp, visibility was reduced to only
50 feet or so. As an added benefit, driving a Land Rover is like actually
being out in the sand storm, so we got to feel the full effect of grit
everywhere. When we got back to camp, we discovered that the owner had
used his wheelbarrow to transport all of our belongings that had been
outside the car under Connie and Graham’s awning into a building. The
awning has three sides and roof, the fourth side is provided by the car.
The three sides zip onto the roof section, which is held in place by a
metal frame attached to the car. The bottom of each side is long enough to
put heavy object or sand on top of to keep the sides in place. In a strong
wind, the sides probably came out from under the stuff we had on top of
them, leaving the awning to flap about in the wind. The owner had unzipped
the sides of the awning and left them neatly folded for us. We loaded our
stuff from the building into the car, thanked the man profusely, and
headed for some bungalows just down the street. The bungalow is nice but
sparse, but it’s out of the wind, doesn’t flap and has hot showers (or at
least a hot dribble of water, which is pretty good.) Graham in
understandably frustrated to not be able to get started replacing the
transmission, and we spent the afternoon watching the only channel
available on the TV and playing cards. We are very much hoping for a calm
day tomorrow. |
|
Sand Storm
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0 km |
Meals
Pasta with carrots and zucchini |
Weather |
|
Near Laâyoune Morocco |
18 February
2004 |
Champignon Bungalows |
27°10.555’N
13°23.563’W |
Odometer:
6253 km |
Sunny & 85 (F) degrees
|
|
We were very excited to awake to clear skies
and only a light breeze this morning. Witt and Graham immediately began
the task of tearing apart the transmission. Briefly, this consisted of
removing the floorboards, center console, and transmission tunnel, as well
as the drive shafts (front and rear) and most of the exhaust system. We
used heavy-duty ratchet straps to lower the transmission, bell housing,
and transfer case assembly to the ground. The whole thing probably weighs
about 250 pounds. We dragged it out from under the car and took the bell
housing, transfer case, and gear change housing off the old transmission.
Graham reached into it and pulled out several broken bits of gears as well
as lots of metal shavings. The input shaft to the transmission was very
loose. Graham was surprised it had lasted as long as it has. We then
attached the transfer case, bell housing, and gear change housing to the
new transmission, adjusted the gear selector lever as per the Land Rover
manual, and levered the beast back underneath the car. We then repeated
the process in reverse, using the ratchet straps to lift the assembly back
up into the car. Getting it aligned properly was of course very difficult,
and basically amounted to wrestle-mania, Witt and Graham versus the
500-pound (yes, it got heavier as time went on) Behemoth of Inertia. We
eventually got it seated and bolted in, and with darkness upon us we
stowed our tools. Jen had made us a wonderful dinner, which we were not
quite too tired to enjoy. Then halfway through 007’s Live and Let Die
(subtitled in Arabic) we dropped into bed. |
Dropping the old transmission out using ratchet straps
Graham was very excited to retrieve broken bits from the inside of the old transmission.
Fortunately, the local mechanics know the Land Rover R380 transmission well and are willing to help.
Graham and Witt preparing the new transmission for installation
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
0 km |
Meals
Rotisserie Chicken, Harira Soup |
Weather |
|
Near Laâyoune Morocco |
19 February
2004 |
Champignon Bungalows |
27°10.555’N
13°23.563’W |
Odometer:
6253 km |
Rainy & 70(F) degrees |
|
We got up early this morning to complete the
installation of the transmission, and by noon had Graham and Connie’s
truck back together. This was fortunate, since today we were to complete
our triumvirate of weather: Deluge of bugs (okay, not strictly weather),
deluge of wind and sand, and now deluge of rain. We drove into town in the
afternoon to try to send the old transmission back to the UK (Graham and
Connie were charged a 350 pound “core charge” which can be refunded if the
old transmission is returned.) Unfortunately no one in Laâyoune can ship
something like this, and it looks like they will have to eat the core
charge. It remains to be seen how we will get rid of the old transmission.
We had dinner in town and are planning to leave for points south in the
morning. We’re very much hoping for no more car problems for awhile! |
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Updated Information
|
Date |
Camp Site or Accommodations |
GPS |
Distance Today:
748 km |
Meals
PB & J Frisbees, Moroccan Couscous |
Weather |
|
About 100km north of
Mauritanian border |
20 February
2004 |
Beach Camp |
21°58.877’N
16°52.659’W |
Odometer:
7001 km |
Rain/sun & 75(F) degrees
|
|
We departed Laâyoune early this morning to try
to make our Saturday (the 21st) appointment with Artouro, who is to guide
us through the formalities at the Mauritanian border. The drive was
uneventful, and much less stressful for Graham and Connie with their new
transmission. We filled our tanks and jerry cans at the last reliable fuel
station in Morocco, both because fuel is more expensive in Mauritania and
because we plan to turn inland and head for Choûm without stopping in
Nouâdibou. We were aiming for a beach camp used by Michael and Sandy,
whose website (www.expeditionoverland.com)
has been very helpful to us. Navigating by GPS, we arrived at the campsite
shortly after dark. It was right at the water’s edge, and the soft sand
made the going tough, but even heavily laden our vehicles made it to the
campsite. Connie quickly whipped together an excellent meal of spiced
couscous and we fell into bed listening to the waves crash on the beach. |
|
Beach Camp |
Camel Crossing |
|
on to Mauratania |
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