Last night we left the comforts of cities and hotel rooms for the real camping experience - only for the tough you know - like the people that haven't stayed in a hotel and have only showered once in the last 3.5 weeks!!!). So we left Agadir yesterday morning and drove for ages and ages and ages. Its interesting because I noticed we pass a lot of rest stop type areas. Like the places the long distance buses stop and people can get off and use a toilet and grab snacks - we passa lot of those so that we can pee on the side of the road...I find that quite odd. It really seems like our leader wants to avoid any possible contact with the local people! But - and I might just be soft - I think its better to stop at the place designed for stopping and using the toilet than all lining up on the side of the highway...but that's just me. Oh - while I'm complaining - the truck has these massive windows on both sides.
They are covered with see-through coverings that have to be rolled up when you want the windows open and then the whole side of the truck is open. So the "hardcore" like to keep the windows open. It does make for a nicer view because the coverings are all scratched and hard to see out of - but it makes the inside of the truck super windy and its not that warm yet - so we all freeze. But the "tough" that want the window open all sit in the front where it isn't windy...(The rule is if one person wants the window open it gets opened) so anyways - pretty much everyone jams to the front of the truck and huddles under blankets to keep warm and no one really looks out the window most of the time - but its the cool and tough thing to do...so yea - actually - its like when I had my convertible and I used to ride with the top down and the heat blasting - I was cool then so I guess I am cool now with the window open huddled under my blanket...it all makes sense now :P
Enough complaining - so we drove and drove and drove and it quite interesting landscape. We are in the dessert now drivng along the coast - so we get some great coastal views and lots of desert scrub and vast expanses of wasteland. So when I'm not napping under my blankie - it is really cool. We even had a few picture stops along the way - which surprised me because we haven't done that before - its like our leader wants us to see something of Africa now!!
Around 5:00pm we pulled off the road and drove out into the wasteland. And we drove and drove and drove - and we were in the middle of no where and that's where we set up camp. It was pretty nice actually! The best campsite so far! We arrived just as the sun was setting behind a hill in the distance! Its warm enough at night now to sleep with the windows open and not freeze - so it was quite nice! Then the stars came out and we sat around the fire - there was even conversation that wasn't just completely meaningless smut talk. I was well impressed for my first night back on the truck and camping! But then there's the people...we packed up this morning (I'm not gonna lie - it was rough having to wake up before 8:00 again after sleeping in at our hotels) and I skipped breakfast because its just shit anyways and I'm not hungry right away - so I packed up went to the bathroom (beautiful view...I have a picture of my morning toilet view) and then put the tent away (I was a star and got the tent down and rolled up all by myself!!) and then I snacked on some of the chorizo I bought at the shop the other day (yummmmm). All was good and then other people started to get on the bus - and by other people I particularly mean "Kiwi" Anna (so called because she is from New Zealand - for those of you that might not know New Zealanders are called Kiwis) - but Kiwi Anna is a bit of a bitch. She apparently doesn't really believe she can make friends by being nice - only by being mean and bossing people around so that she can impress people (I think she's trying to impress the tour leader - she's one of those teacher's pet type people) so anyways - she shares a locker on the truck with Judith - actually - I'll digress and originally my stuff was in a locker with hers when we first got on the truck and just put our stuff anywhere. Then luckily she decided I wasn't cool and that she didn't want me in her locker so she told me we had to share a locker with our tentmates and she had her tentmate (at the time she picked Judith) put her stuff in - LOL...that might be one of my luckiest moments on the trip - because damn Anna is not nice. So now she's decided she doesn't like Judith anymore - they no longer share a tent and all Anna does is bitch at Judith and tell her that's she's doing everything wrong and basically she and one of the other girls have teamed up (they now share a tent) and they are mean to Judith together. the other day in Marrakech actually, I was stuck with Judith for the afternoon (not nice of me to say but I made it through) and we went to this nice spa that I wanted to check out and get information on. So Judith was like - "oh Anna and Charlene wanted to go so I'll bring them back the information" so she was hoping they would all go together. Well, the next day Anna and Charlene just took the information she brought back for them and went without her!!! What a bitchy thing to do - I don't think I would be able to do that - but that seems to happen a lot when there are 3 people - 2 team up against 1 and are just mean (at least that's how it goes on the overland truck).
Ok-so I wrote the above a couple days ago. Things have mellowed out since then. I did the brave thing and brought up the windows while we were eating around the campfire. That way everyone was a bit more relaxed and when people have eaten they are always happier. So our bitch of a tour leader - I told her ahead of time that when she finished her evening briefing I wanted to talk about something - and she asked what so I said the windows and she was like - Well there's an easy solution - the people that are cold can sit in the front. Just hearing her voice pisses me off now. But she doesn't sit in the back - she doesn't see that 3 of 18 people aren't frozen and the other 15 of us don't all fit in the front - especially since the warm people sit in the front. Anyways - I politely told her we would discuss it during dinner. So she announced that "someone" wanted to talk about the windows with a snotty tone. I took that as my queue. It worked really well - I watched the others try to fight to get the windows closed and that just gets everyone on the defense so I just said maybe we could compromise since we are in the truck all day now - that we could maybe try to have the windows closed a few hours in the morning and open them in the afternoon when its warmer. So Kiwi Anna was super upset and snapped out - and Kris did too at first - but the Kaye agreed that a few hours in the morning would be reasonable and everyone followed her and life was happy!! Kris apologized for snapping at me and when Anna realized people were being nice to me she said that I should just let her know if I was cold and ever wanted to changed seats - LOL...but anyways - the next day we had the windows closed - most people were happy. We had the first pee stop and there was a super cold wind - and when someone suggested opening the windows - one of the open window leaders said no and we had a whole day warm and cozy!! And then after lunch it was super warm and a warm breeze so with the windows down it was lovely (super dusty in the evening but oh well) and then this morning the windows were open over night and I asked to close them for our first drive and we had to keep them open because there is less dust but then the driver had already planned to stop when we got to the road and put the windows closed! It was perfect! No one is fighting anymore - no more bitchy comments - at least about the windows :)
So yesterday was a long long driving day. We stopped for lunch looking over the sea from a big cliff...it was a lovely spot - too bad I was on cook group so I had to prepare lunch so I didn't get to walk quite as much but it was a relaxing lunch and we were all warm and happy and friendly! But then we just drove and drove - but we stopped early for camp and dinner. Of course the night before with the windows down and freezing we drove super late and I was on cook group so we had to cook in the freezing wind again - but last night was better - we were able to set our tents up in the light and relax! We camped next to a big sand dune - so lots of people ran up and down that (I was a bit too lazy and preferred to just help with dinner) it was quite a nice spot - super windy again but its getting warmer at night - I don't have to wear as many layers - I think without the wind it would be reasonably pleasant!
Now we are having another LONG driving day! Oh - we crossed over into the tropics yesterday - so we should officially be warm all the time being in the tropics and the desert - but right now I'm wearing long sleeves and under my blanket - LOL...if only it was!!
Again - we are having a LONG truck day - we have 240km to Nouadhibou where we are staying tonight. Its just across the border. Our fearless leader reckons it will take hours and hours to get across the border, especially getting out on the Moroccan side - so we get to just sit and hang out. Hopefully there are a few people selling stuff - I need a scarf and some kind of light long-sleeved tee shirt! I can't believe I forgot one - I don't really do the sun and need to hide under long-sleeves but I just have jacket type things! Bad planning :(
They are covered with see-through coverings that have to be rolled up when you want the windows open and then the whole side of the truck is open. So the "hardcore" like to keep the windows open. It does make for a nicer view because the coverings are all scratched and hard to see out of - but it makes the inside of the truck super windy and its not that warm yet - so we all freeze. But the "tough" that want the window open all sit in the front where it isn't windy...(The rule is if one person wants the window open it gets opened) so anyways - pretty much everyone jams to the front of the truck and huddles under blankets to keep warm and no one really looks out the window most of the time - but its the cool and tough thing to do...so yea - actually - its like when I had my convertible and I used to ride with the top down and the heat blasting - I was cool then so I guess I am cool now with the window open huddled under my blanket...it all makes sense now :P
Enough complaining - so we drove and drove and drove and it quite interesting landscape. We are in the dessert now drivng along the coast - so we get some great coastal views and lots of desert scrub and vast expanses of wasteland. So when I'm not napping under my blankie - it is really cool. We even had a few picture stops along the way - which surprised me because we haven't done that before - its like our leader wants us to see something of Africa now!!
Around 5:00pm we pulled off the road and drove out into the wasteland. And we drove and drove and drove - and we were in the middle of no where and that's where we set up camp. It was pretty nice actually! The best campsite so far! We arrived just as the sun was setting behind a hill in the distance! Its warm enough at night now to sleep with the windows open and not freeze - so it was quite nice! Then the stars came out and we sat around the fire - there was even conversation that wasn't just completely meaningless smut talk. I was well impressed for my first night back on the truck and camping! But then there's the people...we packed up this morning (I'm not gonna lie - it was rough having to wake up before 8:00 again after sleeping in at our hotels) and I skipped breakfast because its just shit anyways and I'm not hungry right away - so I packed up went to the bathroom (beautiful view...I have a picture of my morning toilet view) and then put the tent away (I was a star and got the tent down and rolled up all by myself!!) and then I snacked on some of the chorizo I bought at the shop the other day (yummmmm). All was good and then other people started to get on the bus - and by other people I particularly mean "Kiwi" Anna (so called because she is from New Zealand - for those of you that might not know New Zealanders are called Kiwis) - but Kiwi Anna is a bit of a bitch. She apparently doesn't really believe she can make friends by being nice - only by being mean and bossing people around so that she can impress people (I think she's trying to impress the tour leader - she's one of those teacher's pet type people) so anyways - she shares a locker on the truck with Judith - actually - I'll digress and originally my stuff was in a locker with hers when we first got on the truck and just put our stuff anywhere. Then luckily she decided I wasn't cool and that she didn't want me in her locker so she told me we had to share a locker with our tentmates and she had her tentmate (at the time she picked Judith) put her stuff in - LOL...that might be one of my luckiest moments on the trip - because damn Anna is not nice. So now she's decided she doesn't like Judith anymore - they no longer share a tent and all Anna does is bitch at Judith and tell her that's she's doing everything wrong and basically she and one of the other girls have teamed up (they now share a tent) and they are mean to Judith together. the other day in Marrakech actually, I was stuck with Judith for the afternoon (not nice of me to say but I made it through) and we went to this nice spa that I wanted to check out and get information on. So Judith was like - "oh Anna and Charlene wanted to go so I'll bring them back the information" so she was hoping they would all go together. Well, the next day Anna and Charlene just took the information she brought back for them and went without her!!! What a bitchy thing to do - I don't think I would be able to do that - but that seems to happen a lot when there are 3 people - 2 team up against 1 and are just mean (at least that's how it goes on the overland truck).
Ok-so I wrote the above a couple days ago. Things have mellowed out since then. I did the brave thing and brought up the windows while we were eating around the campfire. That way everyone was a bit more relaxed and when people have eaten they are always happier. So our bitch of a tour leader - I told her ahead of time that when she finished her evening briefing I wanted to talk about something - and she asked what so I said the windows and she was like - Well there's an easy solution - the people that are cold can sit in the front. Just hearing her voice pisses me off now. But she doesn't sit in the back - she doesn't see that 3 of 18 people aren't frozen and the other 15 of us don't all fit in the front - especially since the warm people sit in the front. Anyways - I politely told her we would discuss it during dinner. So she announced that "someone" wanted to talk about the windows with a snotty tone. I took that as my queue. It worked really well - I watched the others try to fight to get the windows closed and that just gets everyone on the defense so I just said maybe we could compromise since we are in the truck all day now - that we could maybe try to have the windows closed a few hours in the morning and open them in the afternoon when its warmer. So Kiwi Anna was super upset and snapped out - and Kris did too at first - but the Kaye agreed that a few hours in the morning would be reasonable and everyone followed her and life was happy!! Kris apologized for snapping at me and when Anna realized people were being nice to me she said that I should just let her know if I was cold and ever wanted to changed seats - LOL...but anyways - the next day we had the windows closed - most people were happy. We had the first pee stop and there was a super cold wind - and when someone suggested opening the windows - one of the open window leaders said no and we had a whole day warm and cozy!! And then after lunch it was super warm and a warm breeze so with the windows down it was lovely (super dusty in the evening but oh well) and then this morning the windows were open over night and I asked to close them for our first drive and we had to keep them open because there is less dust but then the driver had already planned to stop when we got to the road and put the windows closed! It was perfect! No one is fighting anymore - no more bitchy comments - at least about the windows :)
So yesterday was a long long driving day. We stopped for lunch looking over the sea from a big cliff...it was a lovely spot - too bad I was on cook group so I had to prepare lunch so I didn't get to walk quite as much but it was a relaxing lunch and we were all warm and happy and friendly! But then we just drove and drove - but we stopped early for camp and dinner. Of course the night before with the windows down and freezing we drove super late and I was on cook group so we had to cook in the freezing wind again - but last night was better - we were able to set our tents up in the light and relax! We camped next to a big sand dune - so lots of people ran up and down that (I was a bit too lazy and preferred to just help with dinner) it was quite a nice spot - super windy again but its getting warmer at night - I don't have to wear as many layers - I think without the wind it would be reasonably pleasant!
Now we are having another LONG driving day! Oh - we crossed over into the tropics yesterday - so we should officially be warm all the time being in the tropics and the desert - but right now I'm wearing long sleeves and under my blanket - LOL...if only it was!!
Again - we are having a LONG truck day - we have 240km to Nouadhibou where we are staying tonight. Its just across the border. Our fearless leader reckons it will take hours and hours to get across the border, especially getting out on the Moroccan side - so we get to just sit and hang out. Hopefully there are a few people selling stuff - I need a scarf and some kind of light long-sleeved tee shirt! I can't believe I forgot one - I don't really do the sun and need to hide under long-sleeves but I just have jacket type things! Bad planning :(
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