Sadly, and as much as I loved being in this oasis of calm at Villa Maguela in Nouadhibou, I had to head south. Leaving early I said my goodbye’s and stopped in the town to buy water as well as filling-up with fuel, including my jerry-can and fuel bladder. There is a SHELL petrol station before the junction where the road splits north for the border and south for Nouakachott. I stopped here because when I last got fuel in Morocco I think I got some bad fuel as the bike was not running well. She wouldn’t rev above 4500rpm. The new fuel was really good and before long we heading south with the engine starting to sound normal again.
Nouadhibou is at the end of a long thin peninsula so I had to ride north before I could ride south for Nouakchott. Today’s ride was a little over 300 miles and it’s one of the hardest rides I’ve ever done. Completely and utterly boring with nothing but flat sand on either side of the road and with very little traffic – except HGV’s which try to blow you off the road each time they pass you in the opposite direction. When I left it Nouadhibou it was 27 degrees but soon the temperature started to rise and at one point it reached 36 degrees. I just had to keep riding as much as I could because when you stop the heat gets you – because there was just NO shade. No trees, no nothing. Some of the time I would stand up on the foot-rests when riding for a few minutes just to get a breeze.
If you do come this way, make sure you carry enough fuel for the jump. I was planning to get fuel in Chami, and then cut across to Atar, but when I stopped at Chami there was no petrol at any of the four fuel stations. Fortunately I had just enough to get me to Nouakchott – which is why you need to carry EXTRA fuel. I also have a camelback, as it’s important to drink little and often, but took it off and strapped it to the bike as it was stopping air circulating inside my jacket. Also, put some sunscreen on your neck and try not to ride with your gloves off – as the back of your hands will catch the sun and when you try to get your gloves back on you’ll struggle to get them on your swollen hands.
With a full tank and two extra fuel containers I made it to Nouakchott with around 32 miles of range left. Phew…! 300 miles and it took me about 6 hours, with a couple of small stops. I was pretty drained when I got here, so was more than happy when I arrived at the campsite called Terjit Vacancies.
The site is located just a few miles outside the city next to the beach, and it’s a stopping off point for overlanders so there’s lots of Europeans here – plus toilets, hot showers and Wi-Fi… There is lots of space for campervans, and if you are camping there is an area for tents – on sand. There is also a café which sells food from around 10 am in the morning to around 10pm at night – where you can also buy cold drinks. They do a wonderful milkshake.
Riding around Nouakchott is an experience in itself. It’s a big city, full of chaos, smells, dust, colour and cars. There doesn’t seem to be any rules for driving here, except maybe one: don’t hit any other cars. It seems to work and although it’s utterly chaotic, the traffic flows relentlessly – sometimes four ways at once, including the occasional donkey, goat or cow for good measure.
When I leave for Senegal I’m hoping to stop for a night in the National Park, which is just before the border to Senegal. The ride south to the border at Diama is about 150 miles, and then a further 160 miles to Dakar. I don’t know how long the border will take. It could be an easy border or it could be less so, so the plan is to get through the border and head for Dakar, but it it’s a long day then my plan is to head for Camp Zebra, which is a camp-site for overlanders near St Louis.
Other than that, life is good. The bike is just brilliant, even in the extreme heat she just keeps on eating the miles. And all’s well with me, too. I keep having to pinch myself as I just find it hard to believe I’ve actually made it this far south.
Sheer luck…
