[ Boujdour, Western Sahara]
Thinking I had sorted out the spoke issue in Tarfaya, I made a leisurely start on my final day, stopping by the Antoine de Saint-Exupery Museum. Turns out The Little Prince author lived here for two years and it was his time in Tarfaya as an airmail pilot (1927-29) that inspired much of his writing.
Of course the reality is that the spoke issue was not resolved, and I broke another three on the first day out of town, once again hitching a ride to salvage an otherwise bad situation. This time I got the ride on my own, without the assistance of the Gendarmerie, after making it roughly halfway, to the “border” where Western Sahara begins. I caught a ride to Laayoune, the nominal capital of the territory, where I found the mechanic (#4) who rebuilt my wheel with all new spokes and got me roadworthy once again.
From Laayoune to Boujdour I was finally able to just sit in the saddle and ride, ride, ride–taking full advantage of the howling tailwinds. Now, rather than bike issues, the big problem was where to pitch the tent—when I stopped for the evening, the winds went from daytime friend to night-time foe.
Below are some of the highlights from this segment.
