Algeria > Last Day in the Desert

I slept very well and very deeply last night. I only wake up when the sun is already rising. I’m also starting to get the hang of packing up my sleeping gear. With a bottle of water, I wash the sleep from my face. After breakfast, I try to fold up the pop-up tent. I have to twist it once to collapse it. To my own surprise, I manage to get it back into its cover. Perhaps that’s allowed after having seen it demonstrated to me twice. I bring my luggage to the cars. The crew is already busy packing up the kitchen. When everything is loaded again, we set off. Today we drive from the easternmost point of the nature reserve back toward the eastern passage through the mountain area. This is the passage closest to Djanet. Tonight, we will sleep again at the edge of the national park. Tomorrow we return to Djanet. The scenery is beautiful again today as we drive between the rocks.

Algeria - A beautiful view between the rocks

Sometimes we race at full speed over hard ground. Then we drift through the loose sand. We are the second vehicle. Occhi, our driver, always seeks his own route through the sand. He doesn’t feel like following the car in front of him. This doesn’t seem to be just to avoid dust. We stop at a natural arch: two rocks behind each other with openings, fun to walk through. We also stop at some rock paintings. Some drawings are centuries old, others only fifteen hundred years. In a valley we stop for lunch. The table and chairs are unfolded while the cook prepares the meal. He already prepared the aubergines with mushrooms yesterday. After lunch I take a mat and lie down for a moment. I watch the flies, the large wasps, and the ants rushing in to clean up our leftovers. The fallen piece of sardine disappears within minutes. The crew is also stretched out resting. After the break, everything is loaded again and we continue driving. We stop at a few more rock paintings. I’ve seen enough of them, to be honest.

Algeria - In the Sahara there is mostly sand

At the end of a valley we stop at a narrow gorge. Ibrahim leads us through the crack. Earlier this year there was still water here, he explains as he walks deeper and deeper into the gorge. I can barely squeeze through. In the second gorge, the erosion from water is also clearly visible. On the way to the exit of the national park, we visit the last rock painting. Right after passing the park’s checkpoint, the landscape becomes flatter and the sand looser. The wheels regularly spin. On a flat stretch of sand we stop to set up camp. I place the tent with the back facing the wind. It doesn’t help much, because a little later the wind has shifted again. The sun sinks toward the horizon. Bread is baked in the campfire: the dough is placed in the sand and hot coals are piled on top. A little later, fresh bread is on the table, along with soup, pasta, and mutton. After tea, I head to my tent for the last time.