Day 45: Between Dunes – Ben Amira

In the morning after breakfast there is a small test and practice lap: driving up and down the dune. Then we continue east.

Desert. We break the 42 degree mark. We drink like camels. Nothing works without sunglasses. And you have to wear your hat outside. Like yesterday, we see the train every few hours.

The landscape changes marginally. Sometimes a bit of grass, sometimes a few bushes, sometimes a few rocks and otherwise sand. Sometimes flat, sometimes a bit hilly, sometimes with real dunes. Breathtaking and inhumane.

Overall, we make slower progress than expected and head to a truly monolithic rock called Ben Amira as our overnight base.

But before we can spend the night there, we have to get the blessing of the community boss and the police officer in a tiny village. Because the mountain is north of the railway and therefore close to the border with Western Sahara.

The mountain is incredible to look at, like one huge stone. Great to be here. We are tired and satisfied.