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26.10. Sun (109) Midelt Erfoud, Morocco

I made rubber strings from car tire tube, in order to attach the GPS on the fuel tank. Attachment had to be flexible so that motorcycle's trembling would not destroy it. Rubber strings were useful also in attaching all my locks in good places. I have five different kinds/sizes of locks needed in locking the bike safely.

That day my intention was to continue to Erfoud, towards South. There are the biggest dunes of Morocco. Erfoud belongs to Sahara region of Morocco and it is visited by tourists, who want to experience the Sahara desert. The place is only 40 kms from Algerian border.

Some GPS related explanation: Because 'the real action' (meaning crossing of Sahara) was more than actual it was necessary to put the GPS into operation and get the first true experiences of it. I took the fuel tank off and connected the GPS's power cable to the bike's light cables. Because GPS'es are electricity eaters, this connecting was necessary. That's because the ordinary finger batteries last only for 16 hours...

Before starting to navigate, I had to measure the coordinates of a desired destination point from the map and calculate it from millimetres to deg/min/sec format. Requires accuracy! Then it was possible to see what direction I was going (in degrees) and at what speed, etc. My Michelin map was in scale 1:4,000,000 so 1 mm was 4 km in nature. Half-a-millimeters error meant two kilometres mistake in real.

As I headed towards South, the sceneries began to get more and more dry, resembling moon sceneries. Anyway, they were not completely lifeless, sometimes there were bushes and in certain small region palm trees.

I stopped at near the town of Errachidia for a break. There I met a local bicyclist, Mustafa, who was a bicycle tour guide by profession. His brother was a military officer, living nearby. I was invited to their home (inside a military area). I was offered an excellent meal and a place to stay overnight!

The cuisine was usually rice, vegetables and meat, offered in the same plate for all. And no spoons, nor forks: we ate with hands. Same water glass for all... And because they were ethnically berbers, I had a great chance to see the way of life of a berber family. Also as it was a military base, my bike was also in a very safe place.

27.10. Mon (110) Errachidia

We went with Mustafa (the bicycle tour guide) to the town to find a workshop to get my bike modified a little bit. I needed to put a place for luggage in front too, in front of the headlamp. At a moped workshop it was done, more or less good work. Then we searched for jerrycans. In Morocco the metallic jerrycans for fuel were always only 20 litres and very expensive (50 USD)! So plastic was the only reasonable material. A cheap plastic jerrycan of 10 litres cost 32 dirhams (3 USD).

Here was a couple of examples about local hospitality and how helpful the local people were! At the afternoon we left towards Erfoud and Merzouga, which were at Sahara, Erg Chebbi dunes. We rode about 10 kms of excellent 'piste' along which I could go 25-40 kms/h. Very good track.

A term:
La piste (in French) = track. Means a trail, (not a road), that has been formed to sand because of cars' wheel tracks.

Before sunset we found a motel. It was side by side with a dune. Place was quite touristic. There was some activity for tourists, such as a possibility to go on a camel tour to desert and spend the night below stars. Night in Sahara was something very special: Dark came very quickly. Then the extreme silence. As I walked a kilometre away from the motel to a dune area, I could easily hear the weakest sounds! Sand. It was so dry and fine. I took it to hands and drained it through my fingers. So fine. Stars. Universe. Something unbelievable.

There in the motel a local man asked from me (motorcycling is very rare there) and I told about my trip. He was seemingly surprised, and said:
- "Do you know the Tuaregs, the strong and traveling tribe living in Sahara?"
- "Yes, I've read about them."
- "You are not a Finn. You are a Tuareg. A very strong man!"

I took the comment as a big compliment :)

In the night the motel personnel played with drums and some metallic instruments (I don't know their name). Very nice, ethnic.

28.10. Tue (111) Merzouga

Day 111, the day of Finnish Forestry Union (Metsäliitto). The Finnish Forestry Union has in their logo an '111' ie. three axes in line in vertical position.

We left the place and headed to desert. Mustafa, as a tour guide and a local person, knew the region. On our way we met an American guy bicycling there in the pistes. Then they planned of making a bicycle tour to Libya... If I'm not crazy, they were, I thought :)

On our way back to Errachidia, I was involved in a serious traffic accident!!! As I was riding along a wide boulevard (two lanes to both directions), a mopedist rode SUDDENLY from the roadside just in front of me!

I had just a half of a second to react. As I remember, just a split of a second before the crash I had an idea of passing it from rear side, but there was not enough time. I crashed the moped right to the middle.

The two men on the moped flew against asphalt and hit their heads on it. They did not wear helmets!!! I hurt myself also, I couldn't stand up for half a minute. The mopedist hit his head badly, blood came out of his head!! When I saw it, I knew: "Same sight in the eyes than the bicyclist had in North Italy." "Out of this world."

But I saw him moving, so there was some hope. The other man on the moped hurt his nose a little bit. Ambulance came after five long minutes.

The moped and bike were stuck together in the same mess. We were told to go to the police station. Police questioned us (in French and Arabic). A translator was nearly impossible to arrange. We were told to visit tomorrow... We were also unaware, what had really happened to the mopedist.

In the last half a second before the crash time seemed to get 10 times slower. It was like 5 seconds. Later, I had 'seen' that 'film' dozens of times :(

Only small damages to my bike.

29.10. Wed (112) Errachidia

In the morning, at police station, we heard the bad news: the mopedist had died. Too bad! That situation meant more difficulties to me too. We spent almost the whole day on police station, being questioned. We were told to visit the prosecutor next morning.

Although I had been involved in a serious matter and as a foreigner, it was big surprise to me, that NO LOCAL PERSON threatened me, nor even blamed!! Everybody understood my problem! They thought, "It was Allah's will, destiny". I am not sure, was it destiny or not, anyway the accident was inevitable.

This time the mopedist would have been saved, if he had bothered to take a glance also to the other direction before rushing across the road and/or worn a helmet.

A lesson of true life to everybody: If you are two-wheeling, meaning motorcycling, riding a moped or bicycling,

ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!

It is the best life insurance.

In the evening I heard that I was about to get 40 days of inprisonment.

Although I was innocent to the accident, it was necessary to 'sponsor' (= bribe) the prosecutor, because the died mopedist happened to be his assistant! Bad luck indeed. 'Sponsorship' was 500 dirhams (50 USD) in order to cool down the prosecutor and avoid jail.

30.10. Thu (113) Errachidia, Morocco

I met the prosecutor. He was not angry at all, but sympathic! What a relief, 'sponsoring' had helped. Sad thing is that the law is not the same for the poor and richer people in this world. Money talks. I did not meet the relatives of the died man yet, maybe it would have been unwise (danger of revenge).

Problem was not finished yet, I was told to go to the court 4th November. I tried to relax a little bit after these shocking experiences.

I went to hammam. It is a Moroccan bath, where temperature is milder (about 50°C) compared with Finnish sauna (about 80°C). Also in hammam there is much more humidity. And the heat does not come from the stove, but from the heated stone floor.

There was also possibility to have massage. To me it seemed more like "bones into a new order". I told the man to stop when my spinal cord was 'cracking'.

Back to court house, I had to pay 3000 dirhams guarantee payment in order to avoid jail. That payment was according to the Moroccan law. During these days I felt I was on idiots' mercy: nobody tells me nothing, although I do my best to ask things. They just talked that Arabic with each other.

In these situations you just worry about your future and what you have caused to others. In the evening I bought a bottle of wine. I was thirsty!

I guess, in some more underdeveloped country I would have been thrown to jail at once or even killed.

2.11. Sun (116) Bounia Cascades d'Ouzoud

With Mustafa, we went to see the biggest waterfalls of Morocco (trying to relax), there were a couple of days before the court.

Waterfalls were a very impressive sight. The height was about 50 metres. Cascades d'Ouzoud is near the city of Marrakesh. Although that is one of the most touristic attractions nearby, the camping possibilities were very limited. Lots of cafes and souvenir kiosks anyway.

I was also interested to visit the place, because in a Swedish/Finnish BIKE magazine (10/93) had been an interesting article about a Sahara test of four enduros. DR800 was included in the test.

4.11. Tue (118) Errachidia again...

Visiting the court house. I insisted an assistant to search an English-speaking translator... not possible! Then I visited the court session. When it was my time to testify, the attorney asked me something in French. I replied "Do you speak English?" The court was told to go on recess. Ridiculous!!

After a moment I was invited to a hearing at the judge's office. One English-speaking local guy translated, who also was also a witness of the accident. I also could have explained somehow in French, but in these kind of serious matters it is important to have a translator! My luck was that he translated exactly as I explained!

Then I was free to go. But I felt like convicted. Then a phone call to home, at last!!! I did not want to call earlier and upset my elder parents.

In the evening we celebrated my freedom with Mustafa and other friends. Next plans were to head soon towards Agadir and Mauritania, as my second Mauritanian visa was about to expire soon too!


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