We had a good night’s rest in the apartment that we had rented (the one with parking and a sea view !). We had a quick breakfast and then started the days business in what is reported to be one of the best kitesurfing destinations in the world. The number of signs offering lessons, kitesurfing equipment rentals, etc. confirms its immense popularity.

First stop was the Ford dealer in Dakhla, a mice near [New post] The ad said parking and a sea view [C&T, Day # 45: 30.11.2023] and very helpful staff. The guy brought his iPad-like terminal and plugged in the dongle that communicated wirelessly with the terminal. Like others, he said it was the dirty fuel that was causing the problem and spent about 15 minutes on his terminal testing and diagnosing various things. He cleared the problem and showed Trevor what to do if it happened again, but he was confident that it wouldn’t happen again with the low sulphur (10 parts per million) Moroccan diesel. He too refused to charge for this assistance. That being sorted, we then headed for a badly needed car wash as the car was looking distinctly red/brown with all the dust. The guys did a great job both outside and in the front on the inside (the back was too difficult as it is packed full of our gear) and we immediately felt clean again.

Then we took a drive first to the southern part of the peninsular past the industrial area but there was not a lot to see. We then headed back through town via the eastern shore to the northern part of the peninsula where most of the kitesurfing takes place.

Dakhla has a lot of construction going on, what looks like upmarket residential compounds and a number of hotels and resorts. There are also lots of very expensive looking houses lining the main road into town and various There are many resorts, hotels and vacation places which focus on watersports in general and kite-and wind-surfing in particular. The day was clear with a good breeze blowing and so many kitesurfers were out on the water. The popular kitesurfing area is where the mainland and peninsular meet with more skilled surfers heading out into the deeper water down the peninsular between the peninsular and mainland. The setting is stunning and photographs do not capture it well.

It was lunchtime and Trevor wanted to have some ‘mechoui’ which is meat (usually mutton) grilled on a charcoal fire and is usually done outside to the butcher where you buy the meat. This is something that we first experienced when we lived in Tunisia but is popular in Morocco as well. We Google searched for some places and found only a few. We headed for the one that seemed best but the butcher said they only start the fires after 3pm. Fridays are the holy day and going to the mosque for Muslims after which, in Morocco, they eat couscous. The butcher couldn’t speak French but tried to explain to Trevor where the mechoui could be found. We struggled to find the place and opted for a restaurant nearby where we had couscous and mince tajine.

On the way home after lunch we happened to pass by another street and came across 2 butcher’s with their fires going ! We were disappointed to only find them after we had had our lunch, but decided that since we had another part of the Dakhla coastline to explore, we would stop there afterwards and buy some mechoui for takeaway for the evening.

The mutton chops looked very small so we asked for some leg to be cut as chops as well. They grilled them for us (1.5kg in total !) together with tomato, onion and green peppers, and also gave us 3 Moroccan breads (2cm thick, 20 cm diameter round). At home we relaxed and did various admin tasks and then had the meat for a delicious dinner. There was so much that we will have more tomorrow and perhaps even the day after.