When we were in the queue to board the Genoa-Tunis ferry I crossed paths with Albert Margarit, without knowing that he was one of the organizers of the Raid that was going to keep us 5 days in the dunes of the Sahara.
When he found out that it was my first experience in an adventure of this type he told me: “You are going to enjoy it like a child!” From my position of sixty on the verge of his retirement, it seemed exaggerated to me1. But it left me thinking. If it were true, I think there is no better way to express it. The children, those crazy little ones that Gila spoke of, enjoy with such intensity what they like that it makes them forget everything else.
I must confess that 2 weeks before that day I had no idea what a dune bash crossing was. Nor that I was going to be involved in one of them. It was an esteemed colleague, Sebastián Oriol, owner of a brand new Jeep Wrangler, who at a retirement party of another colleague told me: “I need a co-driver for an adventure through the Tunisian desert. Are you coming?” It took me 24 hours to decide. Just the right time to get permission from my Superior Headquarters, that is, my wife.
Our vehicle was a toy compared to the more professional ones of the 80s. No, it is not about any musical group from that time. But of the classic Toyotas that have the greatest prestige to face this dune thing. However, we undertook the preparation undertaking with the same enthusiasm. And I must add that we did not suffer any mechanical breakage. While many Toyotas needed the assistance. The electronics were something else because almost everything failed us: the Garmin, GPS, the video camera and the 2-meter radio, which worked when it wanted.
The planned itinerary, which was very much in line with reality, was:
• Genoa – Tunis. 24h boat ride
• Tunis – Douz. 500 kmts of more or less cursed road.
• Douz – Camp Zmela. 1st day in the desert.
• Camp Zmela – Camp Zmela. 2nd day
• Marathon day with free camping. 3rd and 4th days.
• Camp Djebel – Douz. Matchday 5
• Douz – Hamamamet. 500kmts of road.
• Hammamet – Chot El Jerit – El Jem – Sidi-Bou-Saïd – Tunis
• Return by boat to Genoa.
When they tell you that to do 250 kmts of dunes you have to do more than 3000 kmts of road and tracks, not counting the two days by boat to go and return, it sounds like a practical joke.
However, this is designed for people who like to drive. And even more so if it is to get to do something they like. Therefore, I did not hear anyone complaining.
Day 11. Departure from Barcelona early to Genoa to sleep in Roquebrune, Frejus. At the gates of the Côte d’Azur. 600 kmts.
Day 12. Departure for the port of Genoa. 270 Kmts. Boarding the Ferry to Tunis at 15:00h.
Day 13. Arrival in Tunis at 3:30 p.m. Immediate departure for Douz, at the gates of the desert. 480 kmts. Some of them on cursed roads. Dinner at the Hotel El Mouradi, very handsome. First briefing session to detail the 1st stage to the participants of the Raid.
Day 14. 50 kmts. of track to the first dunes and the first nailed in the sand. The tyres have to be deflated more. Small pre-heating dunes. Camping food with own resources. Water and more water. More than 35° at noon that hold up well with a humidity close to 0%. Arrive at a ruined French fortification from World War I located on a mound surrounded by dunes.
Postcard show with dunes to the horizon and in the middle the Ksar Guilane Oasis. Lake with hot springs created unintentionally by the French troops themselves in their eagerness to find oil. Fresh beers! Our guide leaves to support a team in the competition that has been left stranded3. We arrived at the destination camp by GPS and by hue…! Thank you, Carlo (Portuguese colleague) for opening the track. At the Zmela camp, showers (very clean), dinner and briefing.
The big dunes and the Dragon-Khan fun begin. Continuous strandings solved with little shovel and a lot of winch (electric winch to help each other). As if we were mountaineers who take turns to stretch from each other. The barefoot tires begin. Being low in pressure, lateral blows in the sand throw them off. We learn to “read the dunes”. That is, where to attack each other and where to exit to link up with the next one. We return to the Zmela camp. Shower and dinner with fresh Kebili white wine! The toilets never cease to amaze with how clean they are and the haimas with comfortable beds.
Day 16. We left to do the marathon stage. Two days in a row of dunes with wild camping on a full moon night. Dunes and more dunes. The pure and hard desert in all its splendor. Impressive. In the waits you can appreciate the silence, the life of the small fauna (birds, scorpions, snakes) and camels (sorry, dromedaries since they only have a hump). Wind, sand and above all good vibes between all nationalities: Italians, Portuguese, Castilians and Catalans, are shaping our state of mind4. Fun descent from one of the highest dunes to a plateau where we camp to sleep.
Day 17. A picnic breakfast, while the locals make their “pain de sable”, kneaded with normal flour but cooked on the grill under the sand. Very good. The whole day dedicated to the dunes. This time harder, always in first gear or reduction gear to be able to climb and then drop into a mixed exercise of skiing, up and down, and marine navigation through a sea of sand. Arrival at Djebel camp. A bit “shabby” with its bucket and basin showers but after two days of sand they are a glory.
Day 18. Last day of dunes. Many camels and very varied sand conditions. From dry mud to fesh-fesh with sand so fine it looks like flour. But fun and exhausting as always. Cords and more dune cords that do not end. We decided not to stop and continue to eat at the Hotel El Mouradi in Douz, our starting point and closing of the cycle through the desert.
Day 19. Sightseeing day back to the North. Visit the gigantic salt lake Chot el Jerid, where the remains of a Dutch bus abandoned in the salt half-buried is testimony to the time when there were no roads. Arrival in El Jem with the largest Roman amphitheater on the African continent, with a capacity for 30,000 people. We spend the night at the good Lella Baya hotel in Hammamet, where the trophies are awarded.
Day 20. We leave for Tunis to take the ferry back, but before we stop at a beautiful village on the hill overlooking the city called Sidi Bou Said. White lime houses with indigo doors, like those of the Aegean Sea, reminiscent of some small Andalusian village.
I don’t describe the return trip from Genoa because it was 10 hours straight of night driving, alternating behind the wheel and fighting sleep. Recipe to not fall asleep: eat unsalted sunflower seeds.
Epilogue
Albert was right. During the days I was in the desert I was abstracted from the world. I enjoyed it like a child.
Even though I came back with all the bones out of place, it was a lot of fun and I don’t regret doing it. If there is someone who is hesitant to participate I would tell them to sign up, this is designed for everyone. From the most competitive and adventurous to the most contemplative.
I do not want to end without a grateful memory to the organizers who made it possible: the brothers Rosa, Lluís and Toni, Josep Carbonell, Albert, the team of mechanics Josep Ripoll, David and Ramón, and to all those who my memory betrays And of course, to the travel companions with whom we share hardships and gin and tonics in the camps. A hug for everyone.
ORIOL CASAS GUI
