Death in the Desert

 

Requiem to a fallen comrade

It is not the critic who counts, nor the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and blood and dust; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails whilst daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. RIP

I found this famous wreck of a fallen 80’s Paris Dakar raider in the desert of Erg Chigaga on the same day I visited an old Foreign Legion Fort which was the site of a massacre in the latter part of the 19th century……..thought provoking🤫

Desert

Have stopped early for the night as I have had yet another f**king flat tyre 🤬 and it has taken me over 4.5 hours to get approx 50km from the last settlement.  Passed some stunning dunes, one of which I climbed to get a few photo’s  (drove round rather than over for obvious reasons)….Not going to talk you through the desert as a few pictures tell a thousand words 🤫




Any how, I finally stopped in the shade of a palm tree to change my tyre which I had noticed was going soft,  hot, bothered and frankly with morale flagging …… to be fair it had not only flagged but had completely buggered off!

Within 15mins a Touareg turned up just like a Berber Mr Benn and once he saw what I was up to promptly  left again after exchanging a few pleasantries only to return unexpectedly about 20 mins later with tea, straw mat, bread, and dates (and an old battered table!!!!), and made me sit and eat……..he ate nothing (it being Ramadan) and just watched and talked to me.   

Incredible generosity!…… in the end, after about 30 mins (and having understood one word in 10), I gave him a some dirham,  a bag of ground coffee (from the Naked Man in Settle none of your cheap sh*te), a pair of trainers plus a sweatshirt I had in the back (it was the warm clothing he really wanted), and he wandered back to his camels and tent which I hadn’t noticed before.  Made the day (if not the whole trip) worthwhile!








Location: Erg Chigaga، Morocco

Comments

  1. Life controllerMarch 17, 2024 at 4:50 PM

    That look will go well in the Dale! Bit shocked that someone's shows you generosity and kindness and you thank them with a pair of your trainers!!! Perhaps the sweatshirt and coffee would have been enough...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BuckoMarch 17, 2024 at 5:56 PM

      He actually was after my brothel creepers so thought it a good alternative!

      Delete
  2. The boyMarch 17, 2024 at 5:24 PM

    Just caught up on the blogs, shame about the 2 back to back mechanical failures but hey seemed to work out in the end meeting some fascinating folk. Also the Arabian look works better than the viking ones you've tried in the past

    In all honesty surprised you didn't leave that meeting with a camel of your own,

    ReplyDelete

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