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Voyage en Afrique

Morrocco / Maroc

Dhakla: hell

Run, quick, dark, cold, desert, wolves hanging around, maybe dangerous, water behind, left, right, front, can't see the shore, run, midnight, no help, run, alone, so dark, next city 20 miles awaycool down, no more car, no more passport, no more money, no more computer, useless to hope, get some help on the road, avoid thieves. Why did I choose to make this trip around the world ? I had everything: a good job, a nice girlfriend, projects... Now I will have to to get back to Paris, shamefully telling my friends that I had to stop my trip in the first african country.

A car coming from nowhere stops: “Please, my car is stuck in the bay under the water, I lost my passport, my money and everythig I had, I don't have anymore shoes... Help me !”. Luckily, they are fishrmen in a 20 year old french peugeot 309. One of them seems so concerned that he may be a policeman. I tell him the story: yesterday I found this asthoning place in the middle of western Sahara called Dhakla area. Maybe 80000 souls, a quarter of them soldiers sent there to defend the kingdom's integrity. No town in a circle of 100 miles. And those incredible dunes, endless yellow sand beaches, emeraud lagunas and kite surf spots. It took me one hours to decide to stop on my way to Mauritania to take some kite surf courses and relax for a few days in this 10 tents unlikely camp, called Dhakla Attitude, led by a famous Essaouira surfer, Rachid, with connexion all around the world in the surfing community. I had my chance to learn a surfing sport lost in a spot lost in the middle of nowhere. I find the track to access the camp, meet Rachid and get back to Dhakla, 20 miles in the south to get some cash. I drive back quickly to have dinner with the guys.
8pm: I take the wrong track and my 4wheel driving car gets stucks in the sand: shit, I wont be able to have dinner.
10pm: after a 2 hour digging, I realize, I will be lucky if I sleep in a bed tonight. This is the new challenge.
10.25pm: I get out of the car and check what is around. As I walk back to the tared road, I realize the car is very far from. As I came back, some beasts let me know they are here. Run and lock inside the car.
10.34pm: I dig again. Should any threatening come to me, I will shout loudly. It already worked in Rumania with dogs trying to get a bit of my shoe. I get under the car and accept being covered with mud all over me.
10.45pm: too tired. What about have some rest ? Why not sleeping in the car. With some luck, I will need only 2 hours tomorrow morning and I will be able to take my first Kite sourse at 10 am. I try to sleep 10 mn in the front seat to check that everything is alright.
10.49pm: I place a phone call with my handy to get some moral support from a person. Bad idea. : Lesson to be learned: never call a former girld friend in a desparate situation.
11pm: the new challenge is “saving the car” : I am not lost in the desert, but in a bay that will soon be covered by the sea: the tide will high very soon. Water is only 1500 feet far. I dig harder and faster in a desperate move. From outside, I must look like a little lab monkey desperately trying to escape a the cage he is trapped in.

11.13 pm: the tide gets higher: the water is now 500 feet from the car I bought 13 weeks ago. The sound of the water gets closer. And I dig, dig, dig with my hands, with my fists, with my legs, with my feets and everything I can.

11.26: the water is now less than a minute from the car. Change priorities. Take everything with value: money, wallet, passport, camera, computer, video and backpack. Rush to the shore and I will be able to go on my trip. Take off my shoes, get back to the car already surrounded by water and save everything that can be. Let the car light on in order to find back the car.

Faster. Faster. Faster

11.35pm: so dark. The car is already half in the water. It will hard. Run again to the shore and gather the stuff. But where is the shore ? How to get back to my bags ? So much water all around. I can't see any more car lights to locate the road.

12.am: the car is under the what. I check everywhere but could find my valuables. I must accept reality. The bags with the passport, the money, the computer and the camera have been taken by the sea and my miglite decided to retire 5 minutes ago.

Ali, the gently soul that stopped its car to rescue me trie to reassure me: if my bags are heavy, they can't have dragged very fast as the sea is rather low. If I have a diesel, the engine should still work, if we succeed to dig the car out of the water.

12.45am: we try to find the bags. Unsuccessfully. Gets colder. Dont worry maybe the bags are to bef found in the fishers net, next morning. I enter Ali's car and receive a wool Djellabah with a singular smell. But it works.

1.40am: we walk to the car as the sea tide gets lower.

1.48am: first glimpse of hope. The car has not been entirely recovered by water. Ali tells me that if I had flattened my tires a little bit, I would have out of the sand so easily without any help. Good news...

1.52 am: the engine still works.

2.25am: we are two to be digging now. But the mix of water and sand is really tricky to handle. The bottom of the car is litterally glued to the soil and it becomes clear that hand digging shall not be enough.

3.22am: my trousers, shirt and tshirt are now full of mud and water.

3. 45am: my savior begins to lose faith. Without equipment and more men, I will be impossible. But we must worry: he already helped a friend of that already experienced the same stuff in the same bay.

4.15am: we try try to move the car for the third time, but it is hopeless.

4.24am: we decided to get back to Ali's home to get proper equipment and some more arms.

4.25am: we abandon the car.

5.13: arrival in Dhakla at Ali's. His twenty something brother and his young son sleep on an improvised sofa. Ali wakes them up and ask his brother to help us.

5.19: I fall asleep exhausted by this nightmare night.
5.39am: I wake up and we get back to the car while Ali who is no dressed in a military costume informs me that he will not stay with as he has to get to work at 7am. His brother and I way will work together to save the car.

6.25am: Ali finds the two bags containing my computer, camera, video and passport. They were not taken away by the sea: I simply left them in a place two kilometers away from where I thought they actually were. What a relief.

6.26am: we get a new motivation to dig.

7.04am: digging.

8.04am: digging again.

9.04am: more digging.

10.04am: even more digging

11.04am: digging

12.04pm: digging.

1.04pm: the sea gets back and surrounds the car

3.04pm: digging again with Ali's help and some rails. Ali's very confident.

4.04pm: digging. The car moves and stops again. Ali's still very confident.

5.04am: digging with the help of 4 fellows who saw us from the road. The car moves and stops again. Ali is not confident anymore but doesn't show it.

6.04pm: digging with the help of 20 fellows who saw us from the road. The car moves and stops again. Ali is not confident anymore and shows it as he leaves the leadership to newcomers.

7.04pm: exhaustion. I stop digging as my hands begin to shiver. Get back to Ali's car to get some rest and warmer.

7.27pm: the car suddenly moves and gets back to the road. Can't believe it. After 23hours of stress with no food and no water, tears come to my eyes but stay inside.

10pm: back in Dhakla in Ali's home with his family and sleeping

Next: Mauritania /Mauritanie

 
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