Blogs from Dakhla, South, Western Sahara, Africa

Dear All, We hope you are all well and surviving the snow that seems to affecting the UK and the continent. We are meeting loads of Europeans on our travels at the moment who are marvelling at the transformation in temperatures as they travel from -5 to +25 and arid desert conditions! Well, we are now truly in the holiday part of the trip so please excuse the following words if you were hoping to hear of car troubles and stomach troubles. Both have also been also experienced but more about that later. We are currently at Ocean Vagabond, Dhakla, southern Morocco trying to kitesurf. I seem to be always 'trying' to kitesurf....but it is particularly more difficult when there is no wind! The wind is supposed to pick up tomorrow so fingers crossed as our ... read more

Troche historii z drogi. Lotnisko w Marakeszu jest bardzo blisko miasta ale postanowilismy tam nie zagladac i ruszyc odrazu w trase,co prawda pojechalismy nie w ta strone co trzeba,ale mily starszy pan wywiozl nas na wlasciwa trase w stone Agadiru. Nie przemieszczalismy sie za szybko ale co dzien o kilkaset km do przodu poznajac nowych ludzi. Znow ladowalismy w Tiznicie i Tarfaji. Trafilismy w srodek ramadanu wiec czesto musielismy poscic razem z muzulmanami bo glupio pic i jesc przy kims kto posci caly dzien. SZczerze mowiac nie wytrzymywalismy i jak tylko zostawalismy sami wpychalismy w siebie szybko co sie dalo,szczegolnie wode. Ogolnie do Al Ujunu dojechalismy w kilka dni,ale nie bylo latwo ze wzgledu na policje ktora czepiala sie kierowcow ciezarowek ze nas biora na stopa i przetzymywala nas razem z kierowca do pol godziny ... read more

A blistery wind front roars through the town, and the sky is blotted out with clouds of orange and grey. One could call it a dust storm, but any storm in the Sahara is worthy of that title. The wind merely lifts all the particulate that's always present into frenzy. Maybe you just don't see it until the storm. The landmass of Western Sahara is a region sparsely populated but largely contested. This is nothing new, and is evident even by the language spoken here. The dialect is known as Hassaniya Arabic, and only has about 3 million speakers. Its origin stretches back into the Middle Ages when Bedouins led by a Beni Hassan migrated and conquered the Berber tribes. Today's more pressing issues are rooted in Africa's colonial history. A brief history: The mass known ... read more

Ess-Agadir-Laayoune-DakhlaTom Griffith When is a country not a country? According to Morocco, and 25 other countries, and the Arab League, Western Sahara is not a real nation. It is simply the large, sandy, camel-infested, southern provinces of Morocco. According to the Western Saharan government in exile, 45 other countries, and the African Union, Western Sahara is the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, an independent country under Moroccan military control. And, according to the UN, it is a non self-governing territory, whatever that means. Whatever it is, and whoever actually owns it, it is basically just a huge patch of desert, and is one of the most sparsely-populated parts of the world. There are only about 350,000 people in the whole place, and 150,000 of them are Moroccan soldiers. So why would Morocco wan... read more

Not only is this a physical journey for me, but also a journey in english semantics. Be indulgent, have patience with my linguistic faults as I try to twitch and wrestle with english expressions that you'll find far from idiomaticly correct. It felt good to leave Chefchaouen at last, next time I'll be back with the hordes of tourists in July or August. Not only did all the hotels get booked by police and security staff prior to the kings arrival, the constant cold and the afternoon drizzle got to me at last. So of to Fes it was. Once again I had sharpened my elbows all for nothing, the hassle I'd prepared for was not to come. I mean, of course you've got the restaurant-touts at the main entrance to the medina, but they were ... read more