For the first time ever, Fay had a little splutter on starting. Please don't get sick here, Fay! Some dust in her throat maybe? It was just the once, then back to her normal bright and breezy self. Our destination today is M'Hamid, it is the last town before the dunes, the road ends here. After M'Hamid it is desert! The guide books all warn of the excessive amount of hassling to be endured the closer you get to the desert. As much as I want a camel ride, I will not be hassled into one. Cut my nose off to spite my face? Maybe, but that's how it is. We have hardened to these approaches. Is that what is meant when people say it takes four weeks to accustomise?
The road soon becomes single track and rough, with large loose stones. One of these stones flicks up harshly underneath us with a loud clang. After this we hear a worrying noise from somewhere in Fay's undercarriage. Has something broken? Did the stone manage to penetrate a part of Fay not protected by the pre trip shield we had fitted in our efforts to armour her vulnerable parts. We pull over as soon as the road widens enough. Relief, it was only a stone momentarily caught that we could hear rattling. Now free of stones, we continue on, thankfully!
As per the book the closer we get to the desert the more people try to flag us down. We wave and drive on! As we pass the various campsites en route, we briefly look in. You can't stop too long or you will be descended upon by hasslers. Most campsites are all but empty. None take our fancy. The map shows two campsites on the other side of the river, more promising we think. The river will distance us from the hasslers in the town. We drive in that direction and see an attractive looking site on the other side only to discover....the bridge has been washed away! Instantly a young man on a scooter is beside us, tapping on the door, gesticulating that he knows a campsite, can get a god deal etc. etc. We have three choices. 1. Follow him and go to his camp? No, that is against the pact we made not to have any dealings with hasslers. 2. Turn around, drive back the way we came and try to find somewhere in the desert to wild camp? This would be an unknown quantity, it could be great fun or we could be beset by even more hasslers or 3. Take Fay for another paddle!!
We manage to loose our would be camp finder and make our way to a quiet corner, from here we can watch the river. We see donkeys being reluctantly urged across, then we see a Land Rover make the crossing. Richard watches its meandering route carefully and notes how far up its wheels the water comes.
Whilst I held my breathe and said a few prayers, Richard and Fay successfully negotiate the riverbed. Why did I worry? I worried because I really, really didn't want Fay to get stuck here; that would definitely be "invitation rip off."
We enter the Hamada Sahara site we had seen from the other side and are greeted by Ibrahim. He is impressed that we came across, he tells us how he has watched tourists in big 4x4's reach the river and turn back.
Ibrahim shows us around the tastefully and typically Moroccan decorated site. There is even a swimming pool, Hamada, restaurant and bar. The bar though is soft drinks only. We ask if there are other guests staying here. "Yes," he replies "they will be back later, they are all out on a dessert experience." We know that this site also arranges these Saharan experiences, yet not once does he push it. Unwittingly, Ibrahim, you have just made a sale!
A group of Dutch travellers return to the camp, late afternoon. They have spent the night in the desert. We all eat in the restaurant, our plates piled high with vegetables and couscous. We pick their brains about driving in the desert and reach the decision that, being alone, we should stick to what remains of the roads. Tomorrow they are driving across the desert in their 4x4's, a two day trip. They offer us the chance to go with them, which was kind but we decline. Fay could not be expected to keep pace with them and although it would be good to know if we got stuck, there would be plenty of help to pull us out, I don't want to get stuck in the first place! We have driven Fay from the Russian boarder to the Sahara and more, we want to bring her and us home, in one piece.
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