NEW HORIZONS jan2025
Morocco to Mauritania
IT'S TAKING TOO LONG!
Our rough plan was to be in Senegal around December..
How hard could it be? Europe in a couple of days. And we've been in Morocco so many times so that should also not be a time consuming thing to do.
So if we stick to our original plan we're on time in Nigeria to cross into Cameroon before the raining seasons starts. This is important because there are hardly any roads over there so to get stuck with a 12 ton truck in the mud is not something we're looking forward to.
But as always in real live, things are changing. Our biggest problem is that the world is too beautiful to hit the gas and travel on top speed through every beautiful part. Ans off-course the cycling takes also a lot of time. So what's next?
Simple, we accept where we are and we're not going to speed things up. The trip till now is such a great experience we don't want to ruin it. We take it step by step and find solutions during the journey. We have about 6 different long term travel scenarios but for now the horizon is for about 1 week. That's more than enough. And what a great experience we had again in the month January!
DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING
When you expect nothing you get the most.
The idea was to quickly drive to Assa to dive back into the desert from there. A transition day, nothing special. Just tarmac. Nothing technical to drive. How hard can it be.
But we didn’t count on the gorge around Igmir How beautiful. The road twisted around great rock formations to end up in a deep canyon. We can see the damage of the last earthquake. Parts of the road is washed away and villages have a lot of damaged houses.
These are the last mountains before descending into the Sahara desert again.
LAST DESERT OF MOROCCO
Yes, we could take the highway straight to the coast. It's easier, less fuel consumption, no danger of breaking the truck or ourselves. Much more comfortable and it's taking less time.
But the desert is calling so we decide to take a track from Assa to Tan Tan. And what a great route again. No, it's totally not comfortable. Lots of rocks which makes driving a tedious experience. But on the way we see a desert totally transformed in a bed of green plants and a lot of herds of camels.
WEST SAHARA
One road. Going South. For about 1000 kilometers.
In 1999 we cycled this epic road. Small, hardly any traffic.
Now the road is a lot better and with a little bit more traffic. The development in this area is enormous. New villages and cities are rapidly build. We see big fields with windmills. And cities like Tan Tan and Laayoune, Boujdour are hardly recognized by us. It's like driving on a new road.
The only thing what's the same is the emptiness. That's always an impressive feeling.
BACK TO EUROPE
Shit! We have a problem. We have no idea how it happend but Marco's insuline pump is damaged. Cracks in the housing and errors on the display. With a lot of glue and ducktape we are able to have it working again but after a replacing of insuline more parts brake off. So not a very save solution for a device which controls life and death.
And then we have a lot of luck. The supplier of the pump is able to send it to Madrid and Ryanair just started this week with a direct flight from the Western Sahara to Madrid. So....Lisette is taking a holiday to Madrid with a list of spare parts for our German friends and to collect the pump.
MAURITANIA
Crossing the border between Morocco and Mauritania seems to be a global competition. Crossing times are exchanged between travellers like lap times in a cycling race. Obstacles challenges are mentioned as trophies that have been won despite all setbacks. Experience tips are valuable sources of knowledge that are in great demand.
As experienced travellers we should be able to achieve a top score without too much effort. If you have overcome 90 borders, the 91st can't be that difficult.
But we hadn't counted on two things. The introduction of a new IT system and the help of a so-called fixer. Both should change the process into a pleasant experience. How wrong could we be.
Long story short: days, or no weeks, spent trying to obtain an e-visa just when the system was introduced. We were the testers, as it turned out. Each new application resulted in a new experience with new questions and unclear answers with the result we had to do it all over again.
Once obtained, we made a crucial mistake. Our fixer at the border cheerfully indicated that we could still change our visa during the entire entry process. I will spare you the details with the only sentence: don't do this! It took us 5 hours with the result that we had the same visa as requested. Unless you find staying in no-man's land a pleasant experience. Otherwise, keep it simple.
A fixer? Yep, a fixer. Someone who helps you gain access to all the doors behind were men apparently doing nothing while your passport is on a big pile with no prospect of progress. And that applies to a lot of doors. Customs, police, vehicle clearance, insurance, police again, something else with customs where the source is unclear, visa approval, visa payment, etc., etc. Never done it with a fixer before and it is very unclear whether this really helped.
Result: started at the border with Morocco at 9:00 and entered Mauritania at 16:00, where 16:00 is actually 17:00 because there is a time difference between two countries on the same longitude. ‘Potje verpissen’ (yes, Dutch expression) between two Sahara countries.
8 hours in total. And that seems to be quite ok.
NEW COUNTRY
How do you get used to a new country?
Simple. Dive in. Explore on of the biggest cities of Mauritania, Nouadhibou.
Preferably by bike. No tin armor around you. Just in the open air so that all the smells and sounds hit you hard. No restraint. The heat, the stench, the poverty, dust and noise and try to understand it.
And although we also cycled in Mauritania in 1999, it’s still an adjustment.
During the first 10 kilometers we still think, there is nothing here! But the more we ride, the more details we see and the more the country opens up for us. What seemed scary is now pleasant. Traffic is a breath of fresh air. Nice and slow, without rules and open to much interpretation. Moving along smoothly works great. Very different from the rule-hungry European road habits. Here you give each other some space and you are not startled if someone drives in the wrong lane.
If there is space, there are possibilities.
It's all a matter of adjustment.
THE MAURITANIAN DESERT
Sand? Sand again?
Isn’t that starting to get a bit boring?
On the contrary. This is different sand. Mauritian sand. Finer, softer and more challenging than the Moroccan version. You get stuck in it faster and getting out is even slower.
In any case, the route has to be done. Today we start the crossing from Nouadhibou to Atar. From the coast to the interior. A route that probably means nothing to the average Northern European but appeals to the imagination of the African adventurer all the more. The once so inaccessible Mauritania is a nice challenge for our truck. And so we are on our way for 500 kilometers of sand and wind.
With a bit of a feeling of fear and tension. Because that we will get stuck is certain, the question is with how much effort we will dig ourselves out.
And yes, we will make a few pictures. And yes, there will be a new movie on our YouTube channel. Because even we cannot believe that we’re doing this. Little bit stupid but also such a good way to see our planet.
IRON ORE TRAIN
We thought it was a great idea. Free and safe transport through an area full of mines.
In 1999 we wanted to cycle along the track of the largest freight train of the world. Iron ore is transported over a track of more than 700 kilometers and a train of more than 2 kilometers. And on the way there the wagons are empty so we jumped into an empty wagon with bike and luggage and drove into the dark night in the desert.
Now in 2025 the mines are gone and we drive the same route with our truck through the desert along the track.
BEN AMIRA
When you drive it you also have to climb it. After 2 days of driving through the Sahara desert we arrive at the Ayers Rock of Mauritania, Ben Amira. A cup of coffee and the cake from baked by Jutta gave us the courage for the next step. Just before the desert storm we climb the rocks and walk like pilgrims around the enormous stone. What a great day again.
CHOUM & ATAR
It’s all about meeting people. Arriving in Choum after a few days eating dust in the desert we see people again. And much seems to have changed in the last 25 years in Atar It's still a place with a mix of cultures and people. In the middle of the Mauritanian desert Atar is the place to be. Market with fruit and vegetables, water to fill up our tanks and the only place where you can have a few days of rest before hitting the sand dunes again. The plan? Travel to the east where there is more sand and dust.
THE ROUTE, JANUARI 2025
