Day 46: Ben Amira – Atar, Camping Bab Sahara

Ian climbs Ben Amira early in the morning and we have breakfast.

The night wasn't quite as tranquil, the wind died down late and then became gusty again around five o'clock.

The driving day begins with a small challenge, a really long piece of really nasty sand. We let some air out of the tires again and realize that we should have done this earlier. With only around 1.5-1.7 bar (instead of the 3-3.5 for asphalt and yesterday's 1.7-2.0 bar) the ride is quieter and probably more fuel efficient in the long run.

The landscape changes: There are slightly green passages, more trees, it becomes rockier, sometimes we drive longer stretches on black pebbles or gravel (but be careful, the sand keeps coming through) and mountain ranges appear on the horizon.

At one point two storks fly up in front of us. It's great that they made it here, but what do they want in the desert? We drive past a mother camel with a newborn. The goat herds are getting bigger.

Every now and then we lose the track – the wind is so strong that old tracks are quickly blown away again. Thanks to our navigation systems, we find our way easily.

Our paths separate around 80 km before Atar. Catherine and Ian want to go to Choum and from there take the bush taxi to Zouérat and then take the Iron Ore Train back to Choum. We continue on to Atar, where we want to meet again the day after tomorrow (or Wednesday).

We're on asphalt. Suddenly very strange. And it turns green, incredibly beneficial. We pass two mountain ranges with real serpentines. What a change of scenery.

Villages with mud-brick buildings and large courtyards stretch out far from Atar. Atar itself is more of a small town and much quieter and more organized than Noaudhibou with its chaotic traffic. We see a lot of Hiluxes as work vehicles and a lot less of the junk cars that make you wonder what holds the Mercedes together after it served as a taxi for decades, first in Germany and then in Morocco.

We will explore the city tomorrow and first drive to Camping Bab Sahara. Even a trickle shower is a shower and better than none!

One of the huts is occupied by a German-Filipino couple with a small child and it is a decidedly win-win situation: They have prepared food that is enough for four, we have dishes and gas to warm it up.