the dangers of over-coping

Ride photo from 2014 trip (Andorra)

We are all looking forward to a radical change of scenery and temperature this year after 2014's freezing alpine conditions.  No matter how awe inspiring the scenery, and how twisty the roads, riding a motorcycle in subzero air is always a challenge.  Fogged visors, snotsicles, and a perpetual nagging headache occasionally take the edge off the enjoyment.

This is one of the reasons that we have decided to bypass the magnificent Pyrenees in 2015, instead hugging the east coast of Spain enroute to Africa.  Barcelona to Valencia, Alicante, Almeria and Gibraltar will all occur over a fast four day period; ensuring that we have the maximum possible time available to cross the Western Sahara.

We will need to suffer through a period of tortilla's for breakfast, gazpacho for lunch and paella for dinner (building our protein reserves for Africa, of course).  It will be an absolute chore, and I am sure that we will need copious quantities of mahou negra beer to cope.  The real difficulty might lie in preventing Ty from 'over-coping' as he did in Grenada, Nicaragua.  By the time Gary and I rescued him, his eyeballs were rolling around in his head, and it was only due to the kindness of the streetside bar staff (who had wedged him into a corner) that he had not toppled over altogether.  Sharing a hostel room with him later that night was one of life's more regrettable experiences.

The route from southern Morocco through to Mauritania's border looks to be the most 'interesting' leg of our journey, with Smarttraveller noting:

Travel advisory from Smarttraveller.gov.au

Even the relentlessly upbeat Lonely Planet offers this commentary about the region:
"Ask any Moroccan about the status of the Western Sahara and they will insist it belongs to their country, yet the UN is clear that this is still under dispute. Local maps may show this region as a seamless continuation of the hammada around Tarfaya, but many outside Morocco disagree.

This area largely comprises the former colonies of Spanish Sahara and part of the Tarfaya Strip. Crossing the vast tracts of desert here, one does marvel at the dispute. The towns are merely administrative centres, and the terrain stretching away from the N1 is featureless, arid, inhospitable and uninviting. 

It’s one of the world’s most sparsely populated territories, and despite the 1991 ceasefire in the war between Morocco and the separatist Polisario Front, the Moroccan military sometimes seems to outnumber civilians."  Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/morocco/western-sahara#ixzz3MRRrnS1b

It's funny how the more damning the travel advisories make a destination sound, the nicer and more hospitable the people end up being.  If we had listened to all of the good advice (from people who had never been there) then we wouldn't have seen many of the wonderful locations that we have been privileged to visit so far.