in

Panda Raid, into the desert - Part 2

Read the 1st part of the Panda Raid chronicle →

Stage 4: Merzouga-Tazoulait (12-03-2014)

A 224-kilometer stage begins with many course changes. The menu of the day is served: sand and dust. A few kilometers on asphalt, to cross the palm grove of Rissane and fill the tank at the last gas stations of the day. I take advantage of the fact that my partner was driving to practice my French around the town; I go into a bar, order a famous soda that is said the same all over the world and go to la toilette, s'il vous plaît.

Very useful the ice cube and the tap for when you have finished. We also bought coolant that we had exhausted and continued until the first stretch of dirt and regularity, which we would take it quite calmly.

After a few kilometers we find a few cars stuck and we go down to help them. Sling, shackles and everyone's on the go. From this stage are the most beautiful photos of the desert, although when you are on the road you are not aware of what you have around you, you are busy with car problems, not getting lost, not staying in the sand ...

Cutline
Beautiful desert, a shame there are other things to take care of!

The stage forced the 4 × 4 to go through different sections and we crossed a very long sandy “oued” taking the precaution, this time, of stopping before to cool the car so that it did not get hot. Later the famous fesh-fesh, that it prevented us from seeing the correct path, which in this part of the route was in the middle of the desert with different marked tracks; and also the occasional sandstorm. The references were at the back of the stage, the mountains, but they were hard to make out.

Finally we reached a section where cars were grouped together. It was about 100 meters of "oued" with very soft sands. The roadbook advised us to pass on the left and we did so, but not enough. There were very deep truck tracks at that site and I was trying to get the Panda between the ridge in the middle of the track and the edge, but he slipped in and got soaked with all four wheels in the air. Those behind me saw the maneuver and went further to the left, where they found a better path.

Shovel and get dirt. That's where we were when some locals arrived with a Land Rover, hooked us up and rescued us. Thank you handshake with a piece of paper inside and everyone is happy.

Cutline
[su_youtube_advanced https=»yes» url='https://youtube.com/watch?v=BvQ_jMmQ5Zw' ]
Apart from sand, dust and torrents, we also find stones (and fun)

We continued en route and arrived without further ado at the mandatory checkpoint, where, of course, there were children waving. At this point, again, the 4x4s had
to go a parallel route. It is known that many trucks pass through here, in fact we come across a few, and when there is mud they leave the tracks molded to their liking but not to that of the Pandas who have to jump between filming and filming.

The chott

We finally got to the first Chott. Chott is a term used in North Africa for salty lakes located in semi-arid regions that are dry for much of the year. They are fed intermittently in infrequent rainy seasons and are subject to high evaporation. Some chotts were possibly lakes in wetter climatic periods.

Going through it is like entering another world. It seems flat but at any moment the surprise jumps and you can not run very much if you do not want to load the car. In addition, sandstorms and fesh prevent you from seeing where you are going and the compass is the one that shows you the way. The soil is like the bottom of the sea but white with salt. It takes a long time to cross the barely 4 kilometers it has.

Cutline
We do not have a photo of the «chott», but this landscape is quite similar

At the end, at the right distance and in the right direction, we find the references: The well and the house. We stop to savor the moment and find the corpse of a burrito of which only the bones and skin remained. At the bottom of the well, about 10 meters, you can see the water. The timing is magical. Pandas appear out of the thick fog.

We continue on the route and populations are emerging. The houses are made of adobe - made from bricks of about 50 by 100 centimeters of mud and straw -, they are placed anarchically and are the color of mud, gray. The children keep showing up and waving. These children look different than the ones we met at school, barefoot and much more neglected.

We are blocked by a tractor with three young people, one of them gets out and speaks to us in very clear Spanish. «Are you from Barcelona?», He asks us, looking at the license plate. "No, from Mallorca." The young man recites each and every one of the Balearic Islands to us. «I have lived a lot in Barcelona», he tells us. We greeted him in surprise and talked for a while with him. After a handshake, a smile and we continue on the road.

Cutline
The children of Morocco, with their smile, are everywhere (Courtesy of Panda Raid)

We cross a bridge and continue on a slightly better path, although the desert is gradually eating it up, flooding it with sand. Then we left the path and faced another Chott, this one longer than the previous one and permanently covered by a mist of dust. Numerous rides make us be aware of the compass so as not to get lost.

After 6 kilometers we left the bottom of the dry lake and followed the route. As this day we had been good at it, we decided to stop for something to eat, and in one of the few trees in the desert we found another team that had the same idea. We stood with them and shared the food in friendly chat. The end of the stage was already near.

After a pleasant meal we continued through the few kilometers that we still had to reach the camp, which this time was attached to some immense dunes that offered us an unimaginable landscape. Too bad the sandstorm and subsequent rain didn't leave us all night.

Cutline
panda_raid_2014_42
1- The team enjoys an energetic breakfast
2- The compass, inseparable travel companion (Courtesy of Panda Raid)

 

Continue in the Page 2…

What do you think?

Written by Miguel Angel Menendez

Miguel Ángel Menéndez, a fan of adventure, tells us how he did in this year's Panda Raid.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Once a month in your mail.

Thanks a lot! Do not forget to confirm your subscription through the email that we have just sent you.

Something has gone wrong. Please try again.

60.2 kHappy fans
2.1 kFollowers
3.4 kFollowers
3.8 kFollowers