Fire - Blogabond

Wolf and I packed up and got ready to leave before the day advanced much so to avoid traveling at night. He turned the ignition key, sent power to the starter motor, applied some pressure to the gas pedal and then looked at me with a slight frown.

Wolf after the fire

He asked, “What is that strange noise”? We listened, and then smelled something burning. Smoke suddenly billowed black and flames shot out of the underside of the cab. We bailed, Wolf leaping out with a fire extinguisher, and within seconds the fire was out. That’s all it took: a few seconds. The truck was stuck. We were 50 kilometers from town.

Truck fire

On my satellite phone we called for help from Guerrera. Just before nightfall, Nasser and Ibrahim and three mechanics from town arrived to pull the damaged parts from the truck, and we decided I would accompany them back to town to assist in finding a replacement. We left after dark, leaving Wolf alone with the truck. Our vehicle did not have four-wheel drive and so we were not in a position to take off cross-country: we had to find and stay on the main “piste” back to town. We lost that piste.

Truck fire

Remember that drive out to “La Source”? The indecision, the arguments, the confusion? Reverse the intended direction, add more Very Opinionated Men, remove every conceivable landmark except the moon and what may or may not be the faint glow of the town (they call that a beacon????), add dirt tracks going in every conceivable direction, and in the back of your mind remember that story of the guy and his motorcycle dying out in the desert after running out of gas: at that point you are ready to imagine the level of concern and….um….discussion in the car when the driver made it clear from his erratic decisions that he hadn’t a clue about where we were or where to go.

All I could remember from my nights out in the tent was that the moon was setting lately in the west and that the town was north. We had to keep the moon to our left. That would have been fine but we had to find the piste, and that in the end took us hours. Even when we found something that looked like it headed in the right direction, we were forced to rely on the moon to keep us oriented; the number of possible tracks to follow and the number of times a track simply disappeared was truly disorienting. It was with tremendous good fortune that the moon didn’t set until just before we hit the highway, that the tire didn’t go flat until just before town, and that we had a full tank of gas to get us back. This is not an experience I care to repeat, ever.

I am back in Ghardaia now, and should be heading south shortly. After twenty eight years of simply imagining it, I’m going to see Tamanrasset. Happy Birthday, Mia. I love you.

written by

roel krabbendam on January 23, 2007 from Ghardaia, Algeria

from the travel blog: Harmattan

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How is the bike?

written by polly on January 24, 2007

hey roeltje,

what happened to Wolf? did you get him alternate means of trans. or new parts to the engine? are you eating the fresh food without a problem? no digestive issues?

very glad to hear you're charming your way around the border patrol and police!

Sophia and I had a great time at Mia's sleepover bday party. I tried to do your thing like set up the beds etc and provide general support for Polly. We stayed until after you called and just snuggled in for the day watching movies. Nothing ethnic, no campfire or subtitles but very cozy.

"On on" (as the members from the hash house harriers British running club say) to Tamanrasset! Have a great time. I hope it lives up to everything you imagined all these years.

written by NIeke on January 25, 2007

So what I hear is you need Gas, a Piste, and a Sextant (GPS) Hummmm, GPS!

A Sextant, well that would have been useful but then you already knew that - power up that GPS man.

It sounds like you have surely secured your protagonist role in stories for many of your generous hosts. Do the locals see you as an aberrant human or just another tourist?

The movie role, well that is just too surreal to even comment on.

Drive, ride, and write onward.

-victor

written by Victor Krabbendam on January 25, 2007

actually, that 5 day rave in the desert was originally billed as ¨just a party¨ lasting, I thought, just a day. I left the GPS and most of my other stuff in Ghardaia.

As for the protagonist bit...I get to write the story any way I want: if youve read the blog carefully you know Im sitting in Burbank United States and making all this up anyway.

Cheers to the family. Im keeping the blog clean in their honor, even when swearing would be entirely appropriate!

written by

roel krabbendam on January 28, 2007

Aren't we just the supportive group back here in the comforts of our homes...while you toil (?)around the desert chasing your.....steps, yeah that's it....I am so happy that you have made some progress! I can wait to hear about the past three days...hurry up and write, your audience is waiting with batted breath - I know this from the calls, emails and being stopped in the streets by strangers wanting to know how you are doing and where you are and why you have not written yet?
luv ya!

written by p on January 28, 2007

Roel,
I can't wait to see your movie debut & to hear more about this great adventure. Keep writing, and uh...maybe you might want to reconsider leaving your gps anywhere but in your bag...-Allison

written by Allison Betts on February 6, 2007

Alison:
so nice to know you're along for the ride. Hope the office is treating you well. Its all play and no work around here, as you might imagine....
Regards, R

written by

roel krabbendam on February 7, 2007

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