Destination Dakar: Agadir

 

The land border to Mauritania is closed meaning a destination of Dakar is impossible. Time to begin the journey home which will take approximately two days from here. ,

The first of two loooong days, this time in the search for a laboratory!  Bloody Covid and UK regulations had me searching the country for a lab. The nearest was 300 miles away, a big distance in the UK, not so much here.  100miles on the bike and 200miles in a cab! 

Sunset over Agadir, some 10hrs later. 

Knowing i had to get to a lab in a city by evening, there was little time to waste. I set off before the rest the team to make the most of the day.  

My final piste and off road this trip.  Amazing.

Look how overcrowded and busy the roads are.

Look at that handsome and happy chappy!

I stopped at a fuel station on the route and everyone pulled in over the next hour,.was good to see them one last time. 

Saying goodbye to the French team.  

Loading my reliable and trustworthy steed onto Barrie's support truck. 

Justin taking it easy in the shade. 

Next up, a 200mile taxi ride had to be acquired.  I'd pulled into Tata, a little dusty dirty town, earlier on and followed a cab until it stopped. 

In my best Arabic, I said said to the driver  'Agadir' and rubbed my fingers together to ask 'how much?' 

He wrote the price down, I agreed, and then pointed at my watch to signal 2pm and then at the ground to agree the meet point.  What could possibly go wrong? 

Nothing as it happened!  The driver turned up at 2pm just shortly after Covid Alan and I had finished being ripped off for lunch. Many of the Moroccans view the Europeans as a walking wallet or 'mark'. It gets tiring and has me arguing with everyone.

Covid Alan had decided to part company with the rest of the team after a week.  He'd had a good time and felt the time was right to go home and see family. As I had to set off too, he decided to travel with me.  I was happy for the company and Alan was happy for the Covid test help! (Obviously) 

I like the village above, it looked like it had grown out of the hill, as a fungus from a log. 

After 100miles or so the taxi driver stopped at a road side cafe and shop for a drink, me and Alan followed him in. 

We (the Europeans) were each charged 5dh for these 3dh drinks. Robbing bar-stewards! I made my dissatisfaction quiet clear, arguing and towering over the sweaty little highway robber. 

To add insult to ..erm...insult, the shop owner actually split the difference he'd made from us with the taxi driver!!  Turds. 

Below is a pic of Agadir beech the following morning. It was cloudy with a sea fret, like Scarborough. It reminded me a lot of the desert, in that you couldn't quite make out the horizon and the sea could have been another mirage. 

Lots of money in Agadir, big cars, boats and expensive hotels, a far cry from the simple life led by Useff.  I respect his life, I'd been to more place than him in Morocco, but who is the happier and more centered? 

This has got to be the freshest butcher's I've ever seen. 

In the cages are animals, rabbits, chickens etc. On the floor are feathers and skins, and at the back  is the butcher's.  The meat goes from cage to customer bag in just a few moments.  It will still be warm as the punters walk away.  

I didn't catch it in the shot, but there was a big Cockrell walking about the back that kept making a break for the door.  All the staff hid when I took the photo. 

Our final spot; a visit was the fish market. It was thriving with life, human, animal, fungus and virus.  We had a meal amoungst the chaos and squalor, got ripped off (naturally) and then had food poisoning for three days (obviously). 

Ahh Morocco.