Marathon Des Sables 2021 - Desert Dad Diary Day 5
Stage 3
A very poor nights sleep and I am feeling very tired and reflective. I walk into camp for my morning tour of the English Bivouacs. Trying to keep up the moral in this intense situation is hard, people are dropping like flies. Breakfast this morning was laden with competitors who had either been disqualified or medically removed. The numbers are increasing dramatically after yesterdays tragic news. I counted around 60 that were being distributed into waiting 4x4’s to be shipped back to the hotel, Berbere Palace. From there it is down to the competitors to pay their own way or get a flight home at their own expense.
So breakfast completed, I feel my stomach is shrinking because food is no longer a necessity. It’s all about hydration. We meet our driver at the start and take a trip about 2km out and achieve my first goal which is to see my friends on course, Vickie and Simon. Faces looking tired but still vaguely managing a smile, Vickie informs me she is ok, Simon on the other hand is realising that The Porsche Experience prior to leaving the UK, was money well spent. They were right after all! Vickie was the Queen of The Desert!
The stark realisation of having to enter the first set of dunes, begins to play havoc with the minds of these two intrepid explorers. I leave them feeling mildly guilty but heartened that they are both healthy.
I am then driven deeper into the desert to some beautiful places that are a joy to shoot.
We move rapidly on, tracking a number of competitors. Soon we have enough shots to fill many albums and decide to go to a local shop, which was an eye opener I can assure you. I have been in some ‘local shops’ but this was in a class of its own, opposite a Post Office that opened less often than a pub in lockdown! Purchases are made and a cold Coke is greeted with relish.
On we go taking photos of camels and motorbikes. I am reliably informed that they are out here practicing for the Dakar Rally. We reach CP3 and take more photos. Then off for a surprise stop at a small hotel in the middle of nowhere, where another cold Coke is consumed and I have a carbonated apple juice.
A short time later we are once again on the move, this time back to our camp to drop off our kit, do some work and then hopefully a shower before too long. The long day (Stage 4) is looming, and this year it is a ‘Mystery Stage’. The Competitors will be briefed later this evening as to what they can expect but it will involve being out overnight in order to complete. I am feeling concerned for the wellbeing of my friends, checking at each point if they have come through.
I have returned to the camp and found out sadly that they have retired but can be incredibly proud of what they have achieved. I know they are gutted and I personally had tears in the Media Tent before I went to meet them at the Medical Centre. It is brutal here as well over 130 have found out so far, in three days alone.
My friends retire to their camel skinned Bivouac to reflect on an amazing adventure that tragically came to an end earlier than anticipated. I get to meet up with them later at Supper to understand what happened and to discuss if they could have done any more. The short answer is no, they were amazing.
Disappointed for them, I leave them to try and have a restful night and disappear into the darkness of camp. What lay in store in the next 24 hours was truly eye-opening.
