Although our traveller is already on his way home, the words he sent us last Wednesday convey so much emotion that they are worth sharing.
Submitted by: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 18:53
Subject: RE: Everything is going very well in Egypt
With this positive message from Egypt, we started a new space of Viajes Tuareg Blog where we will share the impressions of travellers who would like to tell us all about their adventure. The opinions from people who have travelled with Viajes Tuareg, in other words your feedback, help us keep growing and improving our services every day.
We will also share unusual facts about destinations, useful information for travellers and great photos from every corner of the world.
Now that a few days have passed and I have caught up on some sleep and regained some energy, I can look back on some wonderful memories of MDS 2011.
Tuesday, 12 April.
I had intended to go to work today and try to get back to normal life, but it has not been possible. The sores, lifted toenails and other wounds on my feet have caused an infection. My feet and legs have swollen so much that no shoes can accommodate them.
We're finally back home.
Yesterday was a day of homecoming, farewells and reunions. Hugs all round, exchanging email addresses and phone numbers, and promises to meet again to remember these past few days. Arrival at the airport and welcome signs from loved ones. More hugs and tears as reality sinks in.
Oh, my God. I can’t imagine what achieving a goal like this must feel like. Exhaustion and physical pain meant Pere was unable to write to me until last night, but we have been able to follow his progress over the last two stages. And Joan Bartomeu has achieved the impossible: capturing the exact moment Pere crossed the finish line! Here it is:
After two long days of restlessness, we finally received news from the front. And what news! Pere's face speaks for itself.
He set off at 9h 14min 46s and reached the finish line at 21h 42min 11s. Don’t take my word for it, as I’m more of a humanities person, but I make that a total of 12 hours, 27 minutes and 45 seconds. Exactly. That is how long the unstoppable Pere took to cover 82 km of desert.
After the first stages, the runners would casually mention a sore foot, a painful knee or a blister... Yesterday the pain had spread throughout their bodies, making it easier to ask: “Where doesn't it hurt?”
Pere battles his way through hot, dry, sand-laden winds of 30 km/h. Although the organisers described yesterday’s stage as easy, they had not accounted for the wild, changeable desert winds, which turned the journée facile in a real nightmare.
It must stop you in your tracks (or finish frying your brain) to be running through the desert when Berber nomads suddenly appear and say, “Very happy tomorrow!”.
Apparently, this is the main topic of conversation among the 849 participants of the 26th MDS.
The runners from the Iberian Peninsula left on Saturday on the Madrid–Errachidia flight. Buses then took them from oasis to oasis to Erfoud and on to Rissani, 15 km from the Dar Kaoua dunes, where the race would start. Honestly, I do not even know how Pere manages to remember all these names.
It sounds like the start of a joke, but it is absolutely true. I'm Victor. Less than two months ago, I started working at Tuareg, and I never imagined that five weeks later I would be reporting on an event as amazing as the 26th Marathon des Sables.
At the Barcelona office they wanted to say goodbye and I took advantage of it to show them the equipment and luggage.
Joan B. couldn’t resist trying on the glasses, cap, backpack and drinks harness. Now we can imagine what the inhabitants of the Moroccan Sahara must think when they come across four hundred people dressed like this, running through the desert.
At the Barcelona office they wanted to say goodbye and I took advantage of it to show them the equipment and luggage.
Joan B. couldn’t resist trying on the glasses, cap, backpack and drinks harness. Now we can imagine what the inhabitants of the Moroccan Sahara must think when they come across four hundred people dressed like this, running through the desert.