Tag Archives: Western Sahara

Just to be thorough.

February 28, 2008 – 6:47 am

Here in the Western Sahara semi-autonomous, free administered territory UN controlled Moroccan owned rebel occupied landmine danger zone surf resort area of the globe, it is really difficult to really tell what is going on.  No one really claims this as a country, many people occupy it, laws contradict themselves and roads are actually pretty good here, which would lead you to believe that it is well run.  The problem is that it is hard for us to really tell who is running this show.

All of the 8 checkpoints we went through on our way from Boudjour to Dahkla, a span of only 500kms, were managed by soldiers wearing Moroccan uniforms.  These men were all very nice and quite friendly, but regularly over the 4-5 hours of time we spent during that day stopped at checkpoints, I wondered how “independent” these checkpoints are.  Sometimes we would simply be waived through, other times stopped for as long as 45 minutes.  We tried everything from being short with the men to making friends, but overall nothing seemed to really expedite the stops.  Since nothing is computerized and many of the checkpoints don’t even have power it is hard to see how this makes anything more secure.  We were told recently that they have the checkpoints to make sure that you arrive at the next one.  It you do not arrive at the next one, they will search for you as many people have had problematic run-ins with the land mines here.  The problem is that I cannot see any search party being sent out, considering that a lot of people pull off to the side of the road to camp here, just like we did the first day.  Obviously you would be late arriving to the next checkpoint if you camped for two or three days between them.

Everything is handwritten, nothing is organized, and if these checkpoints are for security, it is hard to see why they waive so many other people by while spending so much time with us.  After talking to some of the locals here in Dahkla, we think we have a solution, if we have photocopies of our passports they will take those and send us on our way.  I will keep my fingers crossed that this works.  The other thing we learned is that being too friendly with the guards will only make your stay longer.  These guys are working 100s of kms away from anything in the middle of nowhere, so a little entertainment from the TWBR crew is just what they need to break up their day.

So at the end of the day, 3 Polaroids, 2 t-shirts, a Toyota gorilla, and a pack of cigarettes later we made it through one checkpoint in around an hour instead of a half an hour.  We learned our lesson, even if you speak French, you don’t at the checkpoints.  Even if you have t-shirts and jokes to tell, you don’t at checkpoints. It was a fun experience and we all had a good time, but from here on out, we are sorry to say, “Border guards, we cannot be friends with all of you.”

Oh and one more thing, thanks to the guard at the second to last stop at 10pm for giving us some fried fish as a gift at checkpoint #7.  We liked checkpoint 7:).

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For this picture, the extra hour was well worth it. Please note some sort of weapon tucked behind the picture of the king.

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8 times in one day…maybe a little excessive?

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30 more minutes of my life down the drain, checkpoint #6.

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By Steven Shoppman | Posted in Africa, Morocco | Also tagged , , , | Comments (4)

This is the Desert

February 27, 2008 – 12:09 pm

Well, we are in the thick of it now. The thick, blowing sand of the Western Sahara Desert. In fact, we are actually in a UN administered territory called Western Sahara. (The Moroccans like to claim it as their southern province and the rebel POLISARIO Front refers to the land as the “free zone.”) Whatever you want to call it, politics aside, it is definitely the desert. It is strange that a place so empty and so seemingly void of life can spark so much interest and arouse so much curiosity in people. On the surface, it does not seem like the desert has much to offer, but nothing can be farther from the truth, and when it comes to things to offer, the Sahara has a full plate to chose from.

Driving through Western Sahara is a bit odd. Obviously there are not too many people living here as daytime temperatures soar well above 40 degrees and plummet to next to nothing after the sun goes down, but signs of people seem to be everywhere. Signs of life come in the form of ramshackle tents distributed quite randomly amongst the rocks and sand dunes. Sings of life come in the form of blown-out tires scattered along the side of the lone road that meanders its way south to Mauritania… there are other tracks further inland, but the risk for exploration is high as landmines have been buried all over the place. Unfortunately, signs of life here in this part of the desert also come in the form of trash which seems to accumulate everywhere. Although the plastic bag may be practical, when you see “plastic bag bushes” hundreds of miles from any form of civilization it makes you wonder if they are really beneficial at all.

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Navigating the trash and hopefully the landmines

Signs of non-human life are even more evident in the desert. Snakes and critters of all types reside here and although they are extremely difficult to spot due to both their camouflage and calculated movements, their tracks can been seen throughout the sand. Underground rivers wind their way through the dunes, completely hidden from view and the only indication that there is water around is the occasional patch of green grass or the even less frequent oasis. No mirages just yet.

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Desert Oasis

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Mark scouts out a shipwreck we spotted from the road

It is a bit cliche, but camels are also part of the desert and the Sahara is no exception. I am not sure if they are completely wild, but camels here freely graze wherever they chose and sometimes that tends to be in the middle of the road. When you come to a place like the Sahara, you hope that you can catch a glimpse of a camel outside of a typical tourist attraction. For us, this glimpse started in the form of concrete structures which gave way to road signs alerting you to their presence to finally seeing live camels roaming about the desert plains in giant herds. I have to admit, camels are a strange breed of animal. There is nothing quite like a camel and there is no other animal I am aware of that communicates by using what sounds like deep, prolonged belching. In any regard, seeing the silhouette of a camel herd grazing against the backdrop of a setting sun in the Sahara desert is up there with one of the coolest things I have seen in my life.

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First sign of camels in the desert

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Second sign, literally, of camels in the desert

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Almost hitting camels in the desert

We have only been in the desert for a few days and the peace and tranquility that you find here can sometimes blind you to the fact that although beautiful in countless ways, the desert can also be a very dangerous and inhospitable place. So far, the desert has been good to us and we can only hope that the trend continues because we still have a long way to drive before the sands of the Sahara start to give way to the lush vegetation of equatorial Africa.


By Steve Bouey | Posted in Africa, Environment, Morocco, Observations, Wanderings | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)