The Trooper was auctioned of in the last few days. It raised an amazing:


£1277


All this money will go to worthwhile local causes in Mali. Details can be found at the 'charity' link on the Plymouth-Dakar Rally site:
http://www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk/

A huge thanks to everybody who made all this possible, for the support you have given and the money donated. Every little will help make a big difference to the lives of those less fortunate. Thank you.

The last few days as we drove across Africa to get to Bamako (where our cars are to be auctioned) we have been overwhelmed by the kindness, happiness and joy in the hearts of the African people with whom we have met. The problems with the car have proved a double edge sword. On the one hand our stops to tweak and repair in remote places have seen us surrounded by children and adults alike who have sung with us, laughed with us and gone out of their way to help us. It is not a one off. Neither is there any other motive than to enjoy the company of strangers and make them feel welcome. For all their material poverty they are rich in goodwill and human kindness and we have so much to learn from them. The flip side of these problems is that, having made it to Bamako we have made the difficult decision not to do the extra 2000km to Timbuktu and back lest we do not make it back to sell the Trooper. But we are both agreed that the memories we now carry and our experiences with these people that have reulted are far more meaningful than a trouble free trip to Timbuktu.

{A personal entry}

As I sit here relaxing in a quiet Auberge in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, I ponder the last few magical days amidst the desert and wonder what I should tell, and what I should share.

I could tell tall tales of madness! Of climbing out of a moving Trooper to surf atop its bright red roof, of leaping headlong from it into the sand and gliding almost effortlessly along the dunes.

I might extol the virtues of our bullet proof car, who despite fuel pump failure, an exploded exhaust silencer, and the uncanny ability to only pull-away in 1st gear at 5000 rpm (!!) made the 3 day trip 500km across the desert. Or perhaps you would like to read about the shared laughter and fire-side camaraderie beneath the stars, of sunsets and sunrises and breathtaking evening skies?

But all of that aside I just want to tell you that as I sit here, I now know two very good reasons why I came and they both relate to loss.

The night before we left for Mauritania I was reminded so very clearly why it is we are raising money for this sound sound cause. So if you have not done so already, please read the blog comment from a very close friend of mine now serving in Afghanistan (it can be found by clicking on the comments link embedded within the blog dated 3 Jan 09 below). I commend it to you. There is no stronger reminder that, in the face of loss, the money we raise will still make a difference where it can and I sense the courage and the pain it took to write those words.

I also now know that I came here to mourn my father who died three and a half years ago. He and I would have loved to have shared this trip together and as our wheels touched sand and the horizon opened up before me I was touched so very rawly by both his absence and his presence. At both moments tears graced my cheeks and as I sit here I think that somehow the Desert has touched my soul....

Two days ago we entered the Sahara proper. And what fantastic views. The road disappears into the distance miles ahead and you are surrounded by sand and rock as far as the eye can see. The heat plays tricks with the light and the horizon shimmers like water. We have had two days of departing at 7am and arriving at our destination 11 hours later, firstly from Agadir to Layounne on the West coast and from there along the coast to Dahkla, where we are now having a rest day before the early morning push into Mauritania. The long days have been more than compensated for by almost desert(ed) roads and the views, particulalry along the Atlantic coast, home to the original Barbary pirates but now the 'skeleton coast' with rusting hulks of wrecked boats along an otherwise empty coastline of wide sandy beaches.

All cars and teams continue to hold up well with only a slight mishap with the 'Rusty Snail' - an old 2CV - when part of their suspension broke but all made good by those brave boys in the Red Trooper.

We leave tomorrow at 5am for Mauritania with our guide Dahid hired today to get the group across the minefields at the border, through the bureaucracy and 500km off road across the desert to Noucachout the capital.

The last few days have consisted of long days, and sometimes, some rather long nights.....Three days ago we spent a couple of hours enjoying the buzz and activity in the central square of Marrakech after a four hour drive through the mountains from Beni Mallal. After this it was a simple case of joining the new motorway from Marrakech to Agadir for two hours - or so we thought.....

After following the signs to the motorway, and only a couple of miles from it, we saw signs with red crosses across our route - not good . A passing local assured us the motorway was open though and so we pressed on only to find the entrance to the motorway barred. Two men explained that it was shut for maintenance. However, as we all parked up to discuss our next move the men relented and said we could go on. Past empty toll booths and a motorway to ourselves ! Fantastic ! We felt like royalty as we roared along a deserted motorway - half a mile to the next block. However, these chaps were not so forthcoming and despite sterling efforts by the more diplomatic members in the group we had to turn back and take the long and slow alternative route. Apparently the motorway would have been opened the following day so bad timing on our part. Or maybe bad planning on the part of the Moroccan Transport Authorities given the miles of hard core, unfinished bridges, incomplete slip roads we occasionally passed in the four hours it took to get to Agadir....So Shaun and I feel we deserved our Agadir beers and 4am bed ......

(And yes, we know we would not have done the same in Britain but all this African driving is clearly playing with our minds .....)

I am in a cyber cafe using a non qwerty keyboard with lots of squiggles on it, so will keep this short. We are in fine company and in supreme condition. The car has been sweet........fingers crossed and tomorrow we are heading to Agadir and the desert for real. The last few days have been centred on sorting out admin, visiting Fez and the Atlas mountains, the foothills at least. We now look forward to the desert over the next few days. I will write more when we have little more time but check out the plymouth dakar website; click on FIELD REPORTS, then TEXT MESSAGES, then Group 5 or G5 to get our text updates which we send daily whilst on the move. By the way having fun and causing mischief, the 1300 mile 24 hr non stop drive to Gib to arrive in time for New years eve was legendary, and what we have seen of Morocco has been inspiring. Carpet salesmen are an enigma?