Adventure

Sahara Expedition

In late February 2020 I got to the Mauritanian border after 1000 miles (roughly!) across the Sahara on foot. I travelled with six camels and three Amazigh guides, Brahim Ahalfi, Lhou and Addi Bin Youssef. We started from Oued Chbika on Morocco's Atlantic Coast, where the Draa Expedition ended, to Guerguerat on the Mauritanian Border. It was a brutal but fantastic journey. Sometimes I felt like Mother Nature was trying to kill me. Endless days of nothingness. I had to learn patience and acceptance. Without water from the Sahrawi nomads, and later on the Moroccan military, we would have died. Sandstorms, snakes, landmines, quicksands but moments of enduring beauty and an adventure that has gladdened my soul. A central part of the trip was to see first hand what is happening as a result of desertification to the landscape and the people of this area. The Sahara is enormous, it touches 11 countries in Africa, and it has grown by 10% in the last 100 years.