Gazelles: Another long Marathon leg – Day 2

 

 

 

Many choose to follow the Oued… CP7 leads to the vast expanse of the Chegaga dunes. Soon the more experienced (and more daring!) Gazelles are attacking the “X” route, while the others stick to their regular “ABCDE” route. In both cases, they will have a good twenty epic kilometres to cross in a magical landscape, with CP8 somewhere in the middle… “There are only two ways to deal with the dunes: drive straight across, or drive a long way around them!” summarizes Marie of Team 230 (Marie L’hermite and Aude Filippi – POWERNEXT) with a laugh. And once you’re in the dunes, there’s no going back. ”We prefer to go in as a group”, remarks a Gazelle. ”Since we’re bound to get stuck, we can help each other out! The shovelling is easier with 6 or 8 sets of arms…” And there will be no lack of shovelling today!

 

 

 

This is certainly the case for Canadian Team 170 (Marilou Perron and Myriam Côté – FAMILIPRIX). Luckily their compatriots Danielle and Guylaine of Team 174 (Danielle Ares and Guylaine Landry – PRO-SPEC VENTE) are following them, along with a French team. Sand ladders and shovels at the ready, they get to work! After about 30 minutes of effort under the hot desert sun, the pick-up roars out of the sandy trough to the sound of excited cheering!

 

 

 

And on they go. The dunes never seem to end… Just when you think you have reached the edge – and a wide plateau opens up like a clearing in the middle of a forest – here we go again… Getting out of the dunes proves particularly challenging for the teams and their vehicles. The large dunes give way to steeper, smaller dunes (1.5 to 2 m high) that are difficult to climb, and with a steep descent. The vehicles suffer… Team 160 (Elisabete Jacinto and Valérie Dot – VOLKSWAGEN VEHICULES UTILITAIRES) damage their oil pan casing… “The same thing as last year, and almost in the same place!” explains Valérie, unfazed… Slowly but surely, the truck loses all of its oil. Fortunately, some other Gazelles give them some of their oil. “We’re topping it up regularly and being very careful. Our goal is to get to CP14 on our own, and then go to the bivouac with the help of some other teams”… There is still a long way to go.

 

 

 

After the dunes, there are still 5 checkpoints to find. The scenery is magnificent and looks like something you would see in an old Western: wide flat plains – a change from the dunes – across the dried lake bed of Lac d’Iriqui! No water in this lake today: just a vast desert as far as the eye can see, interrupted here and there by the superb rocky outcrops of El M’Douaouer. The strategy here is to identify a feature and drive as straight a heading as possible towards it. A piece of cake for the navigation experts… And the novices are starting to get the hang of it.

 

 

 

Well, we all learn from our mistakes! After this relatively “easy” stretch, the teams reach the rocky, winding trail that leads to the bivouac. The second marathon leg is over. The Gazelles won’t forget it in a hurry. Filled with emotions, challenges and exploits, the marathon is also a time to help each other, make new friends … In two days, they have probably experienced more sensations than they normally would in six months! Tomorrow is the last leg of the competition. Exhausted as they are, the Gazelles are determined to live every remaining moment to the fullest!