Imechapishwa: 16.02.2020
No internet last night. The starry sky the night before last: amazing, it felt like there were only stars in the sky. In the morning, we set off on our planned tour. No vehicles on the road, only a nomad settlement in the distance. We pass the first military checkpoint. Two friendly soldiers want to see our passports and the form with personal information (including where we come from and where we want to go) 😂, called Fiche. They communicate through radio to inform the next station that 2 Germans are on the way. Okay, let's continue. We feel completely alone, not a single soul, only camels crossing from time to time. We're on the former route of the Dakar Rally. However, it's been many years since the rally went through here. The next military checkpoint is on a hill. There are only 2 empty houses below. We drive past them, following the road. Suddenly, a pickup truck in military green with 2 soldiers honks at us. They explain to us in English that we're not allowed to continue here. They invite us to follow them. They lead us onto the road towards Erg Chegagga. Internally, I had to smile 😁, we followed the pickup truck like on a safari.
The guys said goodbye very kindly. We thanked them. Morocco takes good care of its tourists. Apparently, we were too close to the Algerian border, which is heavily mined. We weren't really on the road anymore. Then, one last military checkpoint for today. The guys are always happy when a car passes by. Burki finds a Mercedes keychain to give away. They thank us very much. After a while, we found our overnight spot. Off the road, between the small dune fields. Burki collects wood, we sit by the fire for a while before having a completely peaceful night.