Western Sahara

As I rode south through Western Sahara the settlements got fewer by the side of the road and it would be some time before seeing other vehicles. I filled up with fuel and to my surprise the fuel was about two-thirds the price than the previous stop. The reason for this is that Western Sahara is tax-free.

The Moroccan controlled state is a disputed land, after the Spanish moved out in the mid seventies the Moroccans have taken control and claimed it as part of Morocco. This is still disputed by the UN and of course by nomadic tribes that live in the Region. A berm has been created and land mines placed all along the border with Algeria. A tarmac road has been laid from north to south as well as mobile phone masts. A large mine extracts phosphorus from the ground and shuffles it to the coast on the largest conveyor belt in the world, (or so I’m told). There is due to be a referendum on the control of Western Sahara although this hasn’t yet taken place.

I really enjoyed everything about Morocco and would definitely recommend it as a motorcycling destination. The roads and pistes were awesome, the people friendly and there is a lot to do, I could have easily spent a couple more weeks there but I've still got a long way to go.

The Border with Mauritania was straightforward but time consuming. Three different lines Police, passport control and customs. Then a five-mile ride across the sandy no mans land to do the same with the Mauritanian officials. This was the hardest day so far.

The plan was to camp up in the desert this night but when filling up with petrol the garage owner said we could sleep in a little hut that he had a little way out into the ?desert. It made for a very comfortable nights sleep all for a couple of quid.