Day 26: Tinehir

Soutpiel Safari
John & Jenny
Tue 30 Nov 2010 21:34
 
Day 26: Tuesday 30 November 2010.  Tombucto Hotel, Tinehir. Distance driven 5km around town.
 
It blew a gale all night, with sand and rain and we were very glad not to have been in the tent. This morning it was still blowing strongly and everything in our room was covered in a fine red dust.  I delivered the Land Rover to Mustapha at 0800 and was rather daunted when he again looked into the engine and noticed the AC compressor on top of the injection pump and commented "beaucoup de travail".  At that point we resigned ourselves to another night in Tinehir but the weather outside was so awful that we didn't really feel like going into the desert anyway.
 
However, much to my surprise,  the chief of police showed up at 1130 to say that the car was ready!  Mustapha had found a way of getting the injection pump out without dismantling the whole AC system and had found the leak to be coming from a gasket in the body of the pump. He had replaced all the seals and gaskets in the pump body and charged 730 Dirhams or about £58 which I thought very reasonable. I took it for a test drive and a wash and everything seems to be working well with no leak.
 
By that time the weather was really foul and we committed to another night in the hotel.  Jenny worked in the room while I had an extended internet session before going out for a prowl around the souk in the mud.  Tinehir is a really friendly place and almost free from hustlers and touts and I really enjoyed myself exploring the town.  I got a Moroccan haircut for Dh 15 (£1.30) - especially good value when you consider that there's nothing left! After that I bought a thick woolen Berber cloak, which so impressed Jenny that I had to go back and buy her one as well! Mine is sleeveless and hoodless while Jenny's has both a hood and sleeves. They are certainly keeping us warm tonight.
 
I guess we will go to Rissani tomorrow, whatever the weather but we won't be camping unless things improve dramatically.