12/04/2023 Bikepacking Morocco Day 118 : Change your LAttitude

Remember those Corona Beer commercials from the 90s with the tagline “change your latitude?” I actually reference that commercial in my mind most days so I can remember which one is latitude and which one is longitude. Corona beer is South of US (Mexico) so change your Latitude is North-South. I use this “mnemonic” a lot with my work in GPS file repair. Today, I made a significant change in latitude: I crossed the Tropic of Cancer. Bonus tip: the way I remember the difference between the Tropic of Cancer / Capricorn is by thinking: there are more people on the Northern Hemisphere with cancer (more people in general), so the Tropic of Cancer is in the North. You might think this is is macabre, but you’re going to thank me next time you get a blue card in Trivial Pursuit.

I’ve been changing latitude quickly. Latitude lines are only 69 miles apart, while longitude lines depend where you are on the planet. If you were at the North Pole, you could run through all 360 longitude lines in a second by doing a little circle. That wouldn’t be so easy at the equator. Conversely, if I ride 138 miles due South, I can cross two full lines of latitude in a day like yesterday. If there were a flat paved road from the North Pole to the Equator, you could knock off a hemisphere in 45 days at that rate. Makes it seem like it’s a small world after all, huh?

In that sense, it is a small world… one with limited resources. I look around me in Western Sahara, and it doesn’t always look like there are many resources to go around. Water has to be trucked in. Outside of towns, electricity is generally off during the day. My 120 miles today were quieter than ever, making for superb cycling, but limited commerce, as it was a 1.4 degree of latitude jump (100 miles) between resupply. In spite of the limited resources, Moroccans have been munificent, giving of the things they do have in abundance: Smiles, tea, man-hugs, and patience.

Tomorrow, I am leaving Western Sahara (Morocco if you prefer) just in time for my SIM card to expire. I am patting myself on back for the exquisite timing.

Speaking of patting yourself on the back, you should be doing this too if you were one of the people who simply THOUGHT helping with the puppies. It means you are a kind and thoughtful person who is willing to give what you have to help. So how can I give back to Morocco? I think about this a lot during my rides, and I know I’ve mentioned this before in Latin America with coffee and bananas, but by buying Moroccan olives, and olive oil, Moroccan dates, and (if in Europe) Moroccan fruits and veggies, it’s possible to give to some of the people. Admittedly not everyone. And yeah, the money might go to go to kids wielding big sticks… but it’s going to be the ones using them to whack olives and dates out of the trees. Not the kids using sticks and shrubberies to block the road and demand a cadeaux 🎁.

Maybe it seems like buying these foodstuffs is a drop in the bucket?

I equate it to voting.

Transoceanic shipping pollution?

As people have better financial situations, they gain the latitude to have smaller families.. decreasing the population burden (and thus pollution) on our little planet.

Ok, enough soapbox. 🧼

Speaking of soap, I washed my clothes last night at my dry camp in the desert. “How is this possible?” You might wonder. It turns out that one can reliably find water in the desert alongside the road. I’d estimate that I could find about 1 liter every two miles. The majority of littered water bottles I found along the side of the road still had quite a bit of water remaining. Of course, there is selection bias, as the lightweight empty ones blow away into the vast Sahara. Pro Tip: That is not liquid laundry detergent in the yellow ones.

I gathered a couple of bottles right before heading to camp, poured them into my dry-bag, and threw in my cycling kit for a wash. Even had enough water for a rinse.

Tomorrow I cross into Mauritania. As my latitude changes, so must my attitude. Sticky skin, sand in zippers, flies for company… but in spite of that, tonight I got a golden nugget: It was the first time on a week I’ve sat on a toilet seat. 🚽 Luxury!