Morocco Rally 2008

Morocco 2008 was my first International Rally.

I don’t think anything can compare to this one. First off NPO had just purchased the rally so they were as surprised about location and accommodations as we were. It was located in the Western Sahara know as the disputed zone, this particular part of the Sahara has been an ongoing war for 100s of years over who actually owns it. There are UN people and Moroccan Soldiers with roadside stops everywhere, even the average Moroccan does not come here, to make things worse it was Ramadan so there was no food or water available anywhere.

It definitely was trial by fire; I was lost in the Sahara for over 2 hours.  We were mugged. We spent two days without food and water in 100 degree temp.  We were housed in the worst conditions I have ever experienced at any Rally since.  NPO owner Stephane and Emma were as surprised as everyone else and they did their utmost to fix things. Poor Stephane ended up with a severe case of food poisoning and was not seen for a couple of days.

Natalie toughed out the worst conditions, she was amazing. She faced military checkpoints every time they went to the start area, no food, no toilet, no running water, and no real accommodations. Considering this was her first exposure to rally I am surprised she agreed to more.

I have to say there was nothing like crossing my first Rally finish line.