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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7908   
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Thanks for starting the write up
Just a lovely purposeful 90, looks awesome! I always thought mud terrains weren't good in sand, obviously not the case? James MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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11th Mar 2017 9:36pm |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7908
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That's interesting thanks Jose
James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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13th Mar 2017 9:43am |
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| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258  
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DAY2 - Beja(PT) - Asilah (MA)
It as time to head to the ferry crossing to Morocco. It was drive through southern Spain B roads. Kind of boring but I've never passed there outside the motorway before, so it was different in that regard.  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Into Tarifa Click image to enlarge We there had a bit of a wait for the ferry with the rest of the group Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge There was it Click image to enlarge Front the outside you have a very hard time believing all the cars fit inside, but hey, they do. The Gibraltar crossing was spent standing at the line to get a passport stamp. Then a long, long, long, long wait at the Moroccan aduana waiting for our visas. And finally, Africa! It was night and we were crossing Tanger, leaving the city to sleep at the hotel in Asilah. This was our first contact with Morocan traffic. Chaotic, intense, a thrill. Some guys hated it, but we had fun with it |
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13th Mar 2017 10:46pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10844 
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Great pic's and the scenery was very nice, many thanks Jose
Clayton.
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper. |
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16th Mar 2017 8:49pm |
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| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
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Hi again,
Now we have.......... Day 3 Azilah - Er-Rachidia Click image to enlarge The last day of our "age of innocence"..... Good morning Azilah! Click image to enlarge We are not in Europe anymore Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge We had about 630km of Morocan B roads to reach our first camp near Er-Rachidia Filling up with cheap diesel Countless kms of crop fields Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge And many small cities in between. Most of them quite decrepit by our standards, not much industry in this area of Morocco (in contrast with the west of the country) Click image to enlarge Batman was never the same after Christopher Nolan left the franchise Click image to enlarge There were 3 guy in this weird 4x4 having trouble to keep up with the group. Their car didn't liked to be over 90km. They ended up being our companions for most of the trip. Turns out their car was a Portaro, a Portuguese made 4x4 from the 70's, 80's and early 90's Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge They were a Portuguese reengineered Aro (Romanian brand) with Daihatsu engine and gearbox. Pretty interesting car, specially for the time it was made. Wide, and an early adopter of IFS, with very long triangles. Their unit was mostly stock, except a snorkel, rollcage, winch, long range tank. Everything very DIY. Their project was to get the first Portaro to Dakar since the oficial brand participation on the rally in the 80s. Joining their adventure was great fun and brought a sense of mission to our trip. The mighty Portaro following us Click image to enlarge "I'm gonna kick yo in the @ss when you break down" Starting to gain elevation as we approached the Atlas Click image to enlarge First signs of snow Click image to enlarge Then there were a bunch of monkeys. Fat, lazy monkeys Click image to enlarge Remember the "when you break down" part? Well, there it was, right in the middle of the monkeys. The auxiliary fan was stuck, rubbing the rad and the Portaro overheated. Click image to enlarge I was afraid the car could roll over into the berm Click image to enlarge Turns out the fan needed a spacer. Turns out, when I installed the Mantec steering guard there was a spare M12 (or was it M10?) washer that I threw into the toolbox randomly. Turns out the washer was the perfect spacer. Just like that, we're in the road again. A couple km later we arrived to Antartida Click image to enlarge Bringing Chuck Norrisesque manliness to Morocco Click image to enlarge Just like the car And photobombing, lots of photobombing Click image to enlarge Wasn't exactly anticipating driving through 10s of kms of this in Morocco Click image to enlarge We then started to descend from the Atlas and night fell. After hours of crazy driving in complete darkness we arrived to our first camp. End of stage 3 Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:23am. Edited 2 times in total |
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16th Mar 2017 11:41pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10844
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Many thanks
Clayton.
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper. |
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18th Mar 2017 8:21pm |
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| JAY BOY Member Since: 04 May 2010 Location: Not here Posts: 1706 
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Looks a great trip. I'm enjoying your thread, Very good and thanks
I wish you luck on your trip |
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18th Mar 2017 8:43pm |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7908
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Great reading and photos, thank you
Wasn't expecting to see snow! 
How did the Puma's (if any?) fair? James MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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18th Mar 2017 10:20pm |
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| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
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There was an Italian guy (very good driver) on a 90 Puma with basic preparation. He had no problems except for the HD steering rods which came loose at least once.
However, personally, I wouldn't take a post 300tdi Defender on this trip. Too much luck involved. You can get 300tdi parts everywhere. Two TD5 110s had electronic problems, one turned around in Dakla, the other made it to the end with a Nanocom connection. |
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19th Mar 2017 2:15am |
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| Outlaw1 Member Since: 11 Aug 2016 Location: east sussex Posts: 273 
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Hi Jose . Excellent trip and thanks for sharing .
Was there any problems with RHD vehicles getting a visa to get in to Senegal ,especially re-entering from bissau as i understood you can only get transit visa if the vehicle is older than 8 years |
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19th Mar 2017 8:37am |
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| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
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Hi Outlaw1,
The route you see on their website with the Guiné leg will be for 2017/2018, this year it ended in Dakar so there was no re-entering. We had no RHD vehicles in the group, so can't comment on that. There are severe restrictions on vehicle age to enter Senegal. In typical Africa fashion, I was told that if you are solo the restriction can range from complete prohibition to a hefty tax. As a group we had our local guy who negotiated in advance our border crossing and managed for us to pay only something like 30 or 50 EUR for the older cars. We crossed at Diama and avoided the Rosso mess, but as I understand Diama is not always open. Mind that once in Senegal you'll need vehicle insurance, available in pharmacies, etc and cheap |
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19th Mar 2017 10:05am |
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| Arierep Member Since: 12 Apr 2013 Location: Portugal Posts: 258
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Hi all,
Sorry for the loooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnngg delay. Absolutely zero time lately to sort the pics, etc. Anyway, here it goes Day 4 Er-Rachidia - Mhamid (30-12-2016) Night from day 3 to 4 was really cold. -4� cold. Living the Portuguese dream. Notice the red wine, Barcelos rooster towel and general excess of cutlery Everything was frozen in the morning The plan was a 500km day, 90% or so offroad. We started by crossing a 25km oasis. Incredible views in the morning Click image to enlarge Villages are leaving the decrepitude behind and turning into a quite pretty traditional style Click image to enlarge Looking like we were going to invade some country YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Really feeling into the desert now Click image to enlarge First stop of the day Guys keep pooping up everywhere in Motobecane Mobylettes and the like. They absolutely rock them on the dunes, experience and lightweight bikes do that. I learned to ride in one of those at 12. Without the turban Click image to enlarge Broness.........YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Click image to enlarge We kept driving along the dunes, amazing views Click image to enlarge King of the hill Can you spell butt sag? Click image to enlarge "Want to buy some stuff? Like 100kg of cr@p of the 1500 we have in the back?" Click image to enlarge The tracks kept getting more sandy. We had our lunch stop at an absolutely stunning scenery, among large rock formations and what looked like an abandoned fortification. The images just don't make it justice Click image to enlarge The panoramic view was something else Click image to enlarge Yes, that's a VW Syncro Click image to enlarge The sand was getting harder Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge We then started our towing service business. Crazy profits, that's where it's at Click image to enlarge Then things started to go south. The Portaro lost 4wd in the sand. We had to spend hours opening the transferbox, only to find the selector fork was overriding it's socked. That problem followed them until the end of their trip. We got it moving with lot's of peanuts and Jack Daniels. It's was then a race to the end of the stage, trying not to arrive well into the night. Click image to enlarge Driving at night in the desert with crappy lights is not the best of experiences Click image to enlarge It was a crazy night from then on. Being very close to the Algerian border meant we had to cross some military checkpoints. Then the VW Syncro engine died with kms and kms of very narrow, step and rocky tracks to go. Then several hours later the Toyota towing the VW (which was way behind us) told us by the VHF that it was running out of fuel. Then we turned around to get them fuel. Then they found they still had fuel. Then we arrived to camp at 23h30, completely burn out, still having to cook, mount camp and check up the White Camel. End of day 4 Last edited by Arierep on 5th Jan 2019 10:29am. Edited 5 times in total |
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24th May 2017 8:05pm |
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| Blanc Member Since: 14 Jul 2016 Location: Suffolk Posts: 43 |
Many thanks for sharing your adventure.
David |
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24th May 2017 9:23pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10844
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Many many thanks for the time to post the info
Clayton.
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up. Keeper. |
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24th May 2017 9:33pm |
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