The friends who helped me in Nouadhibou (foto: )
18th September 2001 Marrakesh (Morocco) Nouadhibou (Mauritania) 1575 km
There was some discrepancy about the weather at the airport before I could take off a difference of opinion about the ceiling, which to me seemed at least 3,000 feet (915 m). I was only allowed to take off at 0830. Detours to follow the obligatory VRF route increased the flight distance by 50 nm (87 km), but in any case, I needed to swing round the Atlas Mountains that offered me some stunning views. I filmed mountain villages, rift valleys, old volcanoes, especially just north of Agadir. When visibility became marginal due to haze, I was mighty happy to have the autopilot. What a difference it makes to the pleasure of long flights. There were strong tail winds at beginning, then light head winds. Although I would probably have tail winds nearer to ground, it was so cool and calm at 8500 ft (2600 m) I preferred to stay high and slower than endure the desert heat lower down.
I flew for many hours over totally uninhabited desert as I cut a direct route to Nouadhibou. Although I was never far from the coast, it was too far to walk with only three liters of water. I drank two already. But with the thermals over the desert, in case of an engine failure, I could reach the coast gliding and have fresh water from my survival gear water-maker.
Nouadhibou is really isolated. It is a surprisingly small town sitting on a spit of land where the desert meets the sea and forms a bay where there were many ships and fishing boats anchored. I landed after 8¼ hours flight and the Mauritanians – all dressed in glorious robes were very friendly. Abdul, my taxi driver/tour guide, explaied that there were so many boats in port because it was the seas biological rest period. I liked the expression.
Este texto foi escrito por: Margi Moss
Last modified: setembro 18, 2001
