January 06, 2012

by Stephen Jan in Daklha, Morocco

Playing the waiting game is part of the rally: waiting at the border, waiting for help to arrive, waiting for the plane to arrive. Since our return to Dakhla, we’ve been waiting for the transmission filter and fluid to arrive and repairs to be completed. I’ve always accepted it as part of the journey but never been particularly good at it.

Our spirits were high. With Colin’s assurances, we still felt like Bamako was only a stone’s throw away. We spent the days in Dakhla learning about the fine art of taking life one day at a time. Colin taught the popular skill of darts, apparently hugely popular in England, second only to football. Colin also explained to us the complex political climate called “Moroccan Occupied Western Sahara”. This issue apparently has the distinction of being the last colonial dispute left to be resolved in Africa.

We should be counting our lucky stars that we had broken down in Dakhla. Colin and Freya took it upon themselves to bring us back into traveling shape by sheltering and feeding us. They’ve shown is the desert, the beach, and introduced us to the locals. Words cannot express my gratitude.  Despite no running water, spotty electricity, and couch sleeping, with Colin in the kitchen preparing food, we felt like we were living at a six star hotel.

I still have no idea what Colin and Freya did for a living prior to their retirement. They’ve had some really random and crazy experiences. Colin seems to be an experienced survivalist with a wide range of skills including dart throwing, cooking, and animal tracking. That couple with his comments about shady little things here and there make sound pretty mysterious. I’m not going to ask him about his past. I’m pretty sure he’d admit to nothing. I mean imagine meeting a late aged James Bond. What would he ever admit to?