27.5 hours down...more than half way :]
We made it safe and sound to Dakhla! The ride actually passed pretty quickly and most the ride we could spread out take up two seats each! Which makes for much more comfy rides. We must have been quite a sight curled up in our sleeping bags sprawled throughout the back of the bus!!!
The bus stopped often enough for pee breaks and food breaks and we kept ourselves amused with books and food :)
We did manage to piss off the entire bus along the way! We unfortunately were not aware that we would be crossing numerous checkpoints and at each stop we would need to give our passports so they could write down our information! At the first checkpoint the police came on and took our passports...took them outside; copied all our information; came back on and asked me why I did not have an entry stamp!!! Arrghh silly me had entered the country on my Danish passport given that that is what I had used all throughout Spain. And of course my Danish passport was now sitting well buried in my big backpack underneath the bus!! So while the bus driver swore at me up and down in Arabic I had to get off the bus and dig my bag out from the piles underneath the bus...then I had to give it to the police who had to recopy all this new information!!!! The next checkpoint was a little easier but it still took a while to copy all the info. Finally in Laayoune in the morning we were able to make photocopies and all the checkpoints after that ran a little more smoothly!!
Bottom line is that we made it!! We spent the night here in Dakhla last night....and are staying here tonight.
Today we spent the day at the beach after this guy picked us up and drove us out to his resort/cafe/restaurant thing near the sea! I guess we looked like we were lost so he offered to take us out there. We were a little skeptical but decide to go along becase we were all getting good vibes...turns out it was a fantastic decision!! We had the place to ourselves...we got free pizza for lunch...and a free ride back to the hotel! I think we have all decided that after this trip we will have a little more faith in humanity! We have met so many nice people who we were all wary of at first but turned out to be super fantastic people!! It kind of throws us all off because we came here expecting to be on our guard and even though we still are on our guards at this point all of our experiences with people here have been great!!!
I guess we will see if Mauritania proves to be the same!! Tomorrow morning we are taking a car to Noudibou in Mauritania.
Then we will spend the night in Noudibou and the next day go to Noukachott. Spend a night there and finally on to Saint Louis. The goal is to be in Saint Louis on Wednesday!!
I think we are all looking forward to being stationary for a while!!
Once in Senegal I will write more details about the trip!! And post pictures...we have some fantastic ones! The desert is a beautiful place.
Oh and most importantly...after consultations with my fellow lady travellers I will include a very helpful guide with the best tips on how to pee in Morrocan toilets...without making a mess!! Stay tuned :)
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4 comments:
I'm so glad you are alive! I was getting worried! I love you very much and it sounds like the craziest bus ride ever! I'm so glad that you are having adventures just like you wanted and that people are being nice (and not creepy!). Be safe sweet one!
Excited about that guide, can't wait to read it :P
Haha it's funny you talked about the whole trust thing, because the first thing that I thought when I read that you gals got into a car with a random guy was "What were they thinking!!" hehehe. Glad your creep-dar (radar, creepdar) is working well ;)
MISS YOU TONS. I'm sure we'll chat much more once you're stationary :)
P.S. TRANSPLANTATION occurred today :) They are looking good. Sad note, one of your 'stalks' didn't survive, soon after you left, I think it couldn't handle it. But the other one is growing nice and strong, since I leaned it up against the plant next to it (remember how they were like soggy?). Now it's tall enough that it's leaning on the window sill, hopefully soon it won't need to lean at all :)
oh Sarah you always know how to make people smile and you're such a trustung person. :) I'm glad you are having a good time, but I can't wait until you get opn solid ground and into the swing of things, its not fair!!! me sitting here studying for midterms while your travelling the world :P but I'm glad one of us gets to. I'm so excited for you, even when you're in school you'll be having a blast :) miss you muchly and can't wait to hear more and maybe even get a phone number to call you??? let me know, miss you hugs and kisses xoxo
saraaah! wow im so impressed by u, to think i could be flying off in just a couple months! EEK. hopefully we'll be near by... i havent seen many postings in senegal tho :(
anyways continue having an amazing time. miss u!
kram (is the same in danish?)
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