Northern African: Morocco - The Lions on the Road: Cycling London to Cape Town - page 66

for entering the area and where I would stay as I headed south. I told them about my tour
(andthereasonforentering) andthatmygoalwastoarriveinBoutizakan inaboutoneand
ahalfhours.ThepoliceofficerswereexceptionallykindandbeforeIleft,theyinsistedthat
they top up my water jugs with cold water.
On My Way To The Sahara Desert
I kept my promise to the police and made it into Boutizakan within 90 minutes.
However,myintentionwassimplytopassthroughandfindaplacefurthersouth.Thetown
was quite clean and appealing to photograph but because of the late afternoon light I de-
cided not to. I cycled to the southern edge of the town where I came upon a larger police
checkpoint. I was asked to sign a registry for they wanted all tourists who ventured into
the Sahara to be accounted for. I also needed to explain my reason for the trip. Again, the
officers were extremely cordial and wanted me to stay for tea and to chat. Since daylight
wasfadingratherquickly,Idecidedtostaythenight.Acrossfromthecheckpointtherewas
a small inn and I walked over to book myself a room. This proved to be a good move for
I got valuable information from the officers I befriended. I ate dinner at the inn and took
a shower. The shower was actually a dripping faucet above my head which I shared with
three local cockroaches the size of my palm….I'm not kidding. I then walked back to the
police checkpoint and met up with the officers.
They made me some tea and we sat and talked. They explained what to expect fur-
ther south along the road in terms of police checkpoints and to tell me that the furthest
south I could go was to Dakhla. They said that beyond Dakhla, it was off-limits for it was
a military zone all the way to the border of Mauritania. They suggested that in Laayoune, I
could either fly to the Canary Islands and then into Nouakchott or go by ship. However, to
be on the safe side, they recommended that I contact the tourist office in the town. At least
I had some options to consider. Anyway, I thanked them for the tea, their advice and kind-
ness and was escorted back to my inn. I then went into my room and wrote in my journal
under my mosquito net.
I slept soundly for 6 hours and prepared to set out. I packed my bike, topped up my
water bottles and left. The temperature was rather and so for the first time, I wore my cyc-
ling jacket. Under an overcast sky and with a slight crosswind, I began to cycle at a very
good pace. Since the sun, temperature and the wind were all in my favour, my water con-
sumption was much lower. I passed another police checkpoint and all the officer did was
wave and say 'bon voyage'; I didn't even need to slow down. Perhaps the officers I met
the night before told him about me. Anyway, I continued on the empty highway and soon
arrived in Guelmim.