Desert and oasis

We are heading further east, crunching along the Algerian border.

Our goal was the oasis with the town of Figuig, because there is a campsite at the hotel there.

The route was partly on red national roads, partly on a yellow road, the latter being almost 200km without a gas station, cafe or other amenities that we have come to really appreciate so far. We were all alone on the road until just before the intersection at Tendara, it was a drive through the desert, we got to know new road signs with dromedaries and goats, we already know the sheep on the sign from Scotland and Ireland, cattle from home.

It was gigantic, because desert is not just sandy desert and dunes after dunes, but rocky desert, light, dark, red, almost greenish and hardly any vegetation, then again funny little bushes and many herds of goats, herds of cattle and actually several dromedaries. There were also bizarre rock formations, mountains and some bushes and probably argan trees, I once again underestimated how diverse this can be! We are currently at almost 1000m, in the distance the Atlas beckons again, which we left behind on the gentle side four days ago.

We took a little trip with our team into the desert and went for a walk. It was fun, surprisingly windy and relatively cold, it is January after all! All in all, it was a dusty affair; I also left a trail of dust behind the trailer on the road, some of which found its way into the caravan! I had a reddish layer of dust everywhere, which annoyed me a little because I had actually cleaned everything the day before, but with sand drifts and the like, I should have just thought logically and held off the cleaning obsession until the next stage.

The police stopped us several times on the way, the last stop with the officers directly in front of the oasis town was funny because the nice policeman not only looked at our passport and scanned it, had a nice chat with us and asked where we were going, but then also said that Hotel Figuig is closed but the campsite should be open. At first our hearts really sank, because after 500km of driving you obviously want to know that you can get there.

Unfortunately the campsite was closed and the owner couldn't be reached on the number, so we had to drive the 100km back to Bouafra so that we could get a parking space for the night. When we got back to the checkpoint, the officers wanted to help us immediately, but standing free on a busy main street wasn't our thing, even if the offer was really nice.

After we drove the 100km back to the northwest, the hotel courtyard was opened especially for us. This was the most expensive place so far, because 100 MAD for the place without a bathroom or electricity was a bit much, ON THE OTHER hand, we were able to sleep undisturbed and, above all, peacefully in the middle of the city. We only stayed there for one night because we wanted to move on to the next oasis.

We immediately implemented this, again with a stop for desert driving in the dromedary zone. The dogs couldn't do anything with the funny tracks at first, I wonder what Loki will do if he really meets a dromedary? Nerone squeaks out of the way, I think.

Then we arrived in Boudnib to the most beautiful campsite of our trip so far. It's located on a river oasis, it's green, there's a place to go, and of course you can eat and be looked after wonderfully here. There are two dogs at the campsite, but both are sweet and get along well with our black dogs.

I'm already looking forward to the oasis itself, which I've only seen a glimpse of so far!