7 JAN – Today I got to Dakhla. It was an easy ride of about 180 miles, with the only drama being that I filled up with fuel about half way and since then my bike won’t rev over 4k revs. The only vehicles in this part of the world that use petrol are small motorbikes so I think the octane of the petrol in this part of the world is either quite low, or is contaminated. Coming into Dakhla I saw a Shell garage so tomorrow I’ll refuel there and hopefully they’ve got E5, which will dilute the fuel I have.
There were three campsites listed for the area but one had disappeared and the other two were closed so I booked myself into a hotel – and it’s rather grand… and not bad for £20 for the night. It’s next to the sea and I am looking out over the harbour. It’s got a great shower, plus the bed is so comfortable. I’m looking forward to tonight’s sleep.
8 JAN – This morning I also caught up on some laundry, which is hanging all around the bathroom and inside the wardrobes hanging up to dry. Dakhla is really quite nice and I decided to stay for an extra night as the bed is sooooo comfortable. I went for a wander earlier and there is a big street market next to the hotel which came alive about 5pm. It’s a pretty good market, too. And, they’ve even got a giant tea pot on the promenade. And here’s me running short of tea…
I am starting to run low on tea, so while I was wandering around the town I popped into a large supermarket and found the tea – a whole aisle of it. I have never seen so much tea and found it difficult what to choose. The tea they drink in Africa and the Middle-east is totally different to the type of tea we’re used to in the UK. Totally different. Even the way they make tea is different because they use tea-leaves instead of the granule-type tea were used to. It’s also much lighter in taste and clarity. I picked a box of tea (fingers crossed) and also some snacks for the evening and headed back to the hotel.
In the market I could not believe the amount of fruit that was available. Melons, apples and zillions of oranges – and not the puny little orange things we get in the UK (after BREXIT) but lovely large oranges, and some are huge, bigger than grapefruits. I love oranges so I bought some…
Breakfast is also included, and that is served in a large gazebo on the roof. And what a breakfast..! this morning I failed to finish my breakfast, as besides porridge, bread-rolls, cheese, yoghurt and several pastries, there was also lots of tea and a huge omelette.
Dakhla is a popular place for wind-surfing and fishing, and if I was into that then I would have considered staying a day or two more but I’m not so tomorrow I’m heading for Laayoune, which is around 340 miles. After that I’m heading to TanTan where I’m going to chill out for a few days, recharge my batteries and hopefully do an oil and filter change on the bike.
