Great to read your story of your travels across the Sahara - when did you go?
My boy Charlie picked up his visa for Mauritania at their embassy in Rabat, capital of Morocco before driving through the Atlas Mountains and across empty land to the coast at Agadir, where his little group picked up their guide and armed escort. They then ran through Western Sahara (annexed by Morocco 30-odd years ago) and cut across the desert towards the border with Mauritania, which is land-mined. They deliberately avoided the road to avoid being picked off by bandits.
Finally had a text from him tonight to say he'd arrived in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania and advised to keep a low profile for safety reasons. Tomorrow heading on to St Louis, just across the border in Senegal.
I've been trying to follow his progress on Google Earth and Googling the route.
One website that gives a flavour of travelling across the Sahara and into Mauritania, is:
You might remember hisSaharaBBC programme from a few years ago, going on to Timbuctu in Mali.
I'm sure it'd trigger loads of memories for you!
Yea i remember that programme was wicked i got the book as i was really into it when it first came out and really its what made me want to go. Also i had a mate who has family in Morrocco and Tunisia so we went that way. Its a really interesting part of the world and Mauritania is on my list of places to go before i die.
I would much rather do a trip like i did or your lad is doing than go on some package holiday to a place everyone else have been before. Yea the Western Sarah was a strange place i cant remeber the name of the settlement went to but we had to be checked by their authorities too before gaining clearence to enter Algeria.
So i went in 2005 February through to June so i was out there a long time it was a hell of an experience. I would do it again in a flash. Went to Rabat fantastic city thats the real Morrocco there and Agadir were my favorite places there none of that Marrakesh touristy rubbish lol.
Also Tripoli in Libya was interesting Gaddafi has messed it up in a royal way. However was incredibly interesting a bit scary in some ways though but charactor building stuff.
What a fabulous trip, Rupert - especially if you went with someone who had family in Morocco and Tunisia, because then you get shown from the inside how the people live and what the place is really about, rather than just the glossy tourist bits.
As you say, travelling is a fantastic life experience - you learn to live off your wits, realise that despite differences in culture all humanity is one. There are truly wonderful people out there, many don't have much but they love to share what they do have with you.
And you won't discover that by just sitting at home watching television!
Much of my own travelling was done around the time the Berlin Wall came down - and in several trips, I went to most of the Iron Curtain countries of eastern Europe to see what the Eastern Bloc communist countries were really like. The scariest place back then was Romania, like stepping back in time with broken dilapidated towns and primitive peasant culture, oxen ploughing the fields, and men galloping on horseback like the Wild West - but also real bandit country let alone wild Gypsy people roaming who would mug any traveller foolish enough to be alone.
I got "rescued" by a really warm hearted Romanian family and stayed with them for a week in their tiny tower block flat in Medias, got to meet all their extended family and as the first English person they'd ever met, was treated really well.
This was 1991, tramps and chickens lived in the abandoned churches, the shops had literally nothing to sell and because of scarcity and rationing, bread could only be bought on Tuesdays.
Their flat was very austere and threadbare but despite their absolute poverty had satellite TV - and they were amazed when I said I didn't have it and couldn't afford it!
Did I mention I got strip searched at gunpoint by the military at the Romania/Hungarian border station, and the officer stole from me 11 US Dollars and put it in his own pocket! Another day, I was met by an English speaking Romanian who wanted me to help smuggle him into the UK - he and his mates got really nasty when I refused to do it and pulled a knife on me ..... so I agreed to help him, gave him a false address and got the hell out of there!
I'll look forward to meeting you when I'm next up - and buy you a beer!
PS: My boy Charlie is at last safely out of Mauritania now, and driving through Senegal heading towards Kidira, near the border with Mali.
[cite]Posted By: Ru1986[/cite]Ok Oggy so i just finished reading your message. WOW Romania sounds like it has improved drastically since you were there mate i have never been but i think with them now in the EU they have probly come on leaps and bounds since back then.
I totally agree with you about travelling it really opens ones mind to all sorts of different cultures and people. From my experiences i would now never judge someone on what others tell me i would wait until i have met them first.
Well your right it did help that my mate knew locals as we stayed with them and they hooked us up with the camel train which took us through the desert. I think Algeria was the scariest place i ventured to ever in my life. We were told to go through the desert and staight into Tunisa however being young and cocky we decided to explore the two main cities of Algeria. First stop Oran a town left for dead by their goverment white skinj must be covered up when out in public and there is serious threats of terroism so we spent maybe 3 days there before we were asked to leave.
Algiers was a little better as it was once a thriving port one of the busiest in Africa. Now it is a shadow of its former self however its a city steeped in hostory with lots of old fashioned roman infulences but still very Arabic. Libya as i said earlier Gadaffi has ruined and eveyone that lives there wants out.
Your story about the SKY tv made me laugh they want to try living over here "expensive" lol. You probly had alittle more scary experiences than i did. Although we weere threatened in Oran to give all posseions and my life or just my life it was up to me. So my mate who speaks arabic agreed that if we left Oran immedietly we would be ok so we did on day 3 of ebeing there. Also in Trippolli we were offered to be drug mules to carry some Coke into Egypt when we refused we were told not to be seen in Trippolli again or they would take our heads after 2 weeks in the city we decided it was time to go bak to the UK.
Glad to here charlie made it safely to Senegal and that he encountered no probs in Mauitania. You will have to give an acount of what that countries like when he lets you know. By the way i would love to meet you for a beer next time oyu at Le Valley.
Are you going to the Hartlepool game if not you must try and make Orient mate i know its a monday night and on sky but its a sort of derby at the end of the day init.
Speak soon mate Ru
You know, Ru ......... loved reading your stuff especially about in Algeria, makes you wonder sometimes how you got out alive! Oran in particular sounds scary - you're right, you just have to know when to keep your head down and get the hell out of there.
The only time I've been to Tunisa was about 100 years ago before it became a known tourist destination - Charlton were playing in an end of season football tournament with Millwall, Bournemouth and Swindon Town, and about 50 of us went over with them and stayed with the players at the same hotel ......... which was later blown up by terrorists a few years ago.
I remember the camels were muzzled because they could carry syphilis (the arab version of the Welsh lovelife and sheep, perhaps?) and you could be infected from their spit; no other tourists, the soukhs and culture in the towns, and the safari trip in a Landrover deep into the desert. It was so damned hot! Loved it.
I'll keep you posted when I next hear from Charlie Farley - he should get through the frontier and into Mali, in the next day or two. You've already been into Mali, haven't you mate......?
As I live in Cornwall these days, I can only see about 10 matches a season so won't be up for Hartlepool or Orient, especially as they're night matches - but hope to do Tranmere.
Might do Swindon too, but been there lots before - and deffo doing the new ground at Brizzle Rovers!
Joy joy joy joy joy.
Roads are a nightmare.
Only one car away from getting smashed up on the m23 this morning on my way to work. Two vans and a car smash into each other all over the place right in front of me at 6:20 this morning due to ICE. Very scary.
Got to the top of the m23 and turned around. I counted 19 crashed cars altogether on the north bound carriageway and it was shut. Very lucky this morning.
On the bright side, can go to the game now.
Is nearly dieing and being able to go to the game a good omen or not????
[cite]Posted By: C.Walsh'sLoveChild[/cite]Joy joy joy joy joy.
Roads are a nightmare.
Only one car away from getting smashed up on the m23 this morning on my way to work. Two vans and a car smash into each other all over the place right in front of me at 6:20 this morning due to ICE. Very scary.
Got to the top of the m23 and turned around. I counted 19 crashed cars altogether on the north bound carriageway and it was shut. Very lucky this morning.
Comments
What a fabulous trip, Rupert - especially if you went with someone who had family in Morocco and Tunisia, because then you get shown from the inside how the people live and what the place is really about, rather than just the glossy tourist bits.
As you say, travelling is a fantastic life experience - you learn to live off your wits, realise that despite differences in culture all humanity is one. There are truly wonderful people out there, many don't have much but they love to share what they do have with you.
And you won't discover that by just sitting at home watching television!
Much of my own travelling was done around the time the Berlin Wall came down - and in several trips, I went to most of the Iron Curtain countries of eastern Europe to see what the Eastern Bloc communist countries were really like. The scariest place back then was Romania, like stepping back in time with broken dilapidated towns and primitive peasant culture, oxen ploughing the fields, and men galloping on horseback like the Wild West - but also real bandit country let alone wild Gypsy people roaming who would mug any traveller foolish enough to be alone.
I got "rescued" by a really warm hearted Romanian family and stayed with them for a week in their tiny tower block flat in Medias, got to meet all their extended family and as the first English person they'd ever met, was treated really well.
This was 1991, tramps and chickens lived in the abandoned churches, the shops had literally nothing to sell and because of scarcity and rationing, bread could only be bought on Tuesdays.
Their flat was very austere and threadbare but despite their absolute poverty had satellite TV - and they were amazed when I said I didn't have it and couldn't afford it!
Did I mention I got strip searched at gunpoint by the military at the Romania/Hungarian border station, and the officer stole from me 11 US Dollars and put it in his own pocket! Another day, I was met by an English speaking Romanian who wanted me to help smuggle him into the UK - he and his mates got really nasty when I refused to do it and pulled a knife on me ..... so I agreed to help him, gave him a false address and got the hell out of there!
I'll look forward to meeting you when I'm next up - and buy you a beer!
PS: My boy Charlie is at last safely out of Mauritania now, and driving through Senegal heading towards Kidira, near the border with Mali.
You know, Ru ......... loved reading your stuff especially about in Algeria, makes you wonder sometimes how you got out alive! Oran in particular sounds scary - you're right, you just have to know when to keep your head down and get the hell out of there.
The only time I've been to Tunisa was about 100 years ago before it became a known tourist destination - Charlton were playing in an end of season football tournament with Millwall, Bournemouth and Swindon Town, and about 50 of us went over with them and stayed with the players at the same hotel ......... which was later blown up by terrorists a few years ago.
I remember the camels were muzzled because they could carry syphilis (the arab version of the Welsh lovelife and sheep, perhaps?) and you could be infected from their spit; no other tourists, the soukhs and culture in the towns, and the safari trip in a Landrover deep into the desert. It was so damned hot! Loved it.
I'll keep you posted when I next hear from Charlie Farley - he should get through the frontier and into Mali, in the next day or two. You've already been into Mali, haven't you mate......?
As I live in Cornwall these days, I can only see about 10 matches a season so won't be up for Hartlepool or Orient, especially as they're night matches - but hope to do Tranmere.
Might do Swindon too, but been there lots before - and deffo doing the new ground at Brizzle Rovers!
Back on topic .......?
this am they said cornwall had 8/10 degrees!
Thought Oggy said he'd had 6inches ?!
;-)
Oh FFS!
FFS hurry up summer.
Get back to your work, no skiving off !
Down here in Carnwall me lovers, we be 'aving they couple of isolated short sharp showers, but otherwise mainly sunny.
But bloody cold wind.
But it ain't 'alf nippy out there.
Roads are a nightmare.
Only one car away from getting smashed up on the m23 this morning on my way to work. Two vans and a car smash into each other all over the place right in front of me at 6:20 this morning due to ICE. Very scary.
Got to the top of the m23 and turned around. I counted 19 crashed cars altogether on the north bound carriageway and it was shut. Very lucky this morning.
On the bright side, can go to the game now.
Is nearly dieing and being able to go to the game a good omen or not????
Bloody hell that sounds like a nightmare.