Everything Sand

As you can see from the map on our site, we’re still making our way across the Sahara. It’s nothing if not sizeable. Sizeable and sandy. Sizeable and sandy and windy. Sizeable and sandy and windy and hot. Add to this a distinct lack of refuelling and camping opportunities at our usual intervals and a general unfamiliarity, and it’s gradually starting to grind us down a touch. That’s to be expected but it has led to a few queries from people we know as to why we are doing it. Wouldn’t we be happier next to a picturesque lake in a Norwegian forest? Etc. I have to admit that at this stage in our trip through the Sahara, we’d both love a night in such conditions but this section is simultaneously hard work and pretty awe inspiring. It’s also one of the best shortcuts to mindfulness there can be. Being sandblasted by winds that keep trying to push you off your bike leaves very little capacity for contemplating the current state of the world.

Also, the artist in me is drawing a lot of inspiration from this section. Be this in the form of ideas that use such reliable and relentless power sources to artistic ends (I see aeolian harps in my future), to a growing sense that if I put as much singleminded effort into my art as we are into cycling this section, I could achieve greatness.

On the flip side, the fifty year old in me is struggling to find the energy to stop and take some of this in. Let alone photograph stuff as much as I’d like, or get my audio recording gear out. To be fair, most of my mics would be overwhelmed by the wind anyway but even those that wouldn’t feel like a lot of work to set up when being pelted by debris at great force. Even finding a spot to eat can be hard and when you do it’s generally only a few seconds before fine sand is distributed throughout your food. Young Sam would’ve had more energy for such stuff. Old Sam is starting to long for us to emerge into Senegal.

One other thing is playing on our minds when we do make it to Senegal, we don’t know what our plans look like. We may go further south but the rainy season is looming large. We may stay put for a while and see what we might get up to. I’d love to make a talking drum under the supervision of a master maker, for example. We may take some public transport south and then make our way back up again. One thing we do know is some form of transport back through Mauritania and Western Sahara will be a thing. Maximum respect to anyone that cycles this section into the wind. You’re awesome (people who know me will know I don’t use that word if I’m not actually awed)…but not for us ;) At present we are discussing possible freight ship options (looking unlikely) or considering trying to hook up with some overlanders that might have some space for us pair.

I think most of this should be put in the ‘stop worrying so much’ box. We’re quite good at worrying. The thing is normally it’s nicely balanced against riding more on our terms and spending plenty of time off the bikes doing our other hobbies. We look forward to this being more the case again soon. In the meantime, everything sand.