Rabat

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We had updated our current position on the map, but succeeded in deleting it!  Thank you Andrew for plotting our track so far.  Today is actually 15th December as we overwrote our yesterday's message.

We are into the 2nd day in Rabat, waiting to collect our Mauritanian visas this afternoon and then we will set off immediately afterwards, probably to drive to Casablanca for the night and maybe find somewhere to celebrate my birthday.  We want to be around Agadir in the morning to find somewhere we can buy wine as none in supermarkets in Rabat.  We  have already drunk our cheap Spanish wine!!

Our progress has been slower than expected, due to a breakdown shortly after arriving at port Tangier Med late Sunday morning.  We didn't quite make it to the services (5 km short) before the Enterprise ran out of fuel. Chris went off to the nearest village and managed to buy 2 gallons of diesel in the can, but due to a recurring fault on the fuel system which requires removing the engine cover inside, we could not get started again.  As we were on a slope, Chris attempted a bump start in reverse and with a horrible bang, the gearbox broke.  We were lucky that 2 guys from the village came to help and phoned for a breakdown truck.  This arrived in due course and towed us to to a backstreet garage in central Tangiers.  We got going again slowly, enough to refill with diesel and drive up the autoroute as far as the first services near Asilah.  We were very pleased to get out of Tangiers in the dark and had a bad experience of gangs of boys jumping onto the back bumper.

The next morning, Monday, after phone calls to our expert Matt in the UK who was sourcing a gearbox for shipping out and who found us the tel no for the main Mercedes dealer in Morocco - actually in Casablanca (and who spoke enough English to understand Chris's demands), we attempted to continue to Rabat.  We only made it to the slip road before the gearbox ground to a halt.  It was a beautiful morning so we decided to walk into Asilah to find a mechanic, and hitched a lift in the back of a half-motorbike/half-cart.  Lots of attempts to communicate with local taxi drivers in French & Spanish with luck.  Our Spanish speaking taxi driver took us to his local mechanic who inspired Chris with confidence.  We then went in search of another tow truck to take us there.  Several hours later, and with the prop shaft removed for towing, we arrived back at the small garage in Asilah and they promptly got started on removing the broken gearbox.  My French for all things mechanical is rapidly improving, but Chris can communicate just as well if not better in English to get what he wants.  

We had a walk to the seafront in the evening, to the old Medina which was very picturesque and had a meal in a local restaurant, before retiring for the night parked outside the garage.  Everyone was so friendly.

Tuesday morning the gearbox was out and our friendly taxi driver returned to take Chris and the boss mechanic to Tangiers in search of a 2nd hand gearbox.  Apparently they had the choice of 2 which would fit the Enterprise and came back with the best.  The mechanics and assistants swarmed around and amazingly had the box back in, tested and we were ready to roll by 6.30pm.  A good smooth drive to Rabat where we arrived at the street outside the Mauritanian Embassy at 9.30 for a quiet night, ready to queue for our visa application at 9am yesterday.  We spent a good part of the day shopping again at Carrefours and the equivalent of Bricomart and believe we have just about everything we should need from now on.  We had a wander around the souq in the evening and spent the night in the Embassy street again.  Lots of interesting vehicles and people waiting for visas.  Met up with a group of British & Canadian surfers this morning on their way to Liberia.  Yesterday there was another big Mercedes camper (non 4-wheel drive) with a young German couple who are touring Mauritania and Senegal.

May be several days before we get internet access again, so we will post our position via the sat phone every 2-3 days.  Sue