Day 13 Tamanrasset and depart for Algiers

Very comfortable night in the Assakrem dorm.


Usual breakfast routine and rolling, retracing the ridiculously rough piste back to Tamanrasett. Try as we could we could not get Hassan to divulge any details for the hours before the plane leaves (sched 1;10am). Infuriating. Picked Cherry up at the 6km marker.
Rumbled on down past our campsite of two nights ago and into town. Our destination is Camping D'assine.


Excellent! rooms to change and shower with hot water. Did some laundry while Abdullah prepared the final lunch. Sardines AGAIN...


Relaxing afternoon in the rooms and then we declared a need for a plan.
Abdullah took off to see his family so we said goodbye and started handing out the tip packets.
Coffee and pastries; wifi; African market; dinner; airport.
Coffee worked


Wifi was closed of course, Friday being a religious holiday.
African market - like Djanet but 100x


Then a taxi ride across town to an Abdullah recommended venue for dinner


and back to the hotel where we hang until it's time to leave for airport some 11km out of town. Tamanrasset doesn't have much to recommend it. Absolutely zero tourists or facilities. Lots of staring, not necessarily unfriendly.

Hassan really has to go to guide school.

Finally headed to the airport at 11pm with Akmed at the wheel and Hassan playing guide. I really thought the vehicle might not make it the 11km as there was a huge increase in burning oil smell tonight. Our crew sure seemed like country boys in the big city. Before we went into town this afternoon they all put on best clean clothes and Akmed in particular was wearing his cheche very "up" - buffon style. Akmed has difficulty finding his way around town and the GPS indicates he took a very circuitous route back to the hotel after dinner.

All tip packets delivered and farewells exchanged.

Looking back there is no doubt about it Abdullah is what makes this trip work.


- from my iPad

Location:Tamanrasset

Day 12 journey up to Assakrem

Very very windy but this isn't a sandy area. Cherry is up late


Abdullah has to surround himself and the two burner stove with mattresses to keep out the wind


Locals are extremely deferential towards this guy who wad making a home in the 'new' land cruiser.




Only 60km to Assakrem, how hard could that be? Hard! Eventually stop for lunch in this mainly lunar landscape but we actually find running water although this becomes a study in algae.





After lunch we soon get far ahead of the '82 and hold up some 400m short of the Assakrem dormitories - like I said, lunar.


Keeping in mind that two (2) guide books rate this as the number 1 tourist experience in Algeria are waiting to be awed.
Meanwhile it turns out we have a dorm tonight.


At 4:30pm we start the hike up to the hermitage and prepare to watch the sunset. Nice but we probably aren't doing the hike again for sunrise. The view down to the dorms.


At the summit



Inside the hermitage





And the view


- from my iPad

Location:Assakrem

Day 11 Tamakrest waterfall

Usual wake up routine and a relatively short drive to the waterfall. Pretty amazing to see this much water just lying around.


Had a good granite scramble to the top where the vegetation defies belief.


The crew took advantage of the abundance of water and did laundry.


A long lunch with rear brake maintenance today.


Also enough time for the crew's laundry to dry.
Rambled through the 'burbs of Tamrangasset (ugly and garbage strewn) on to a camp site near the actual Mt. Hoggar.


Portraits today





and Hassan does fire duty.




While Towa (mystery 2nd driver) and Akmed go into town - fuel, bread cigarettes.

Very windy night - tent worthy, indigent indigenous are in the 'hood as well.


- from my iPad

Location:Tamransett NW outskirts

Day 10 Youfihakit desert

Earlyish start and continued to head south to some very unusual formations.









This appears to be our most southern location as we now head NW towards Tamanransett. Stop for lunch, fries


More sand bread for the locals dinner tonight. Sand bread is made from semolina flour. Couscous too?


But the main entertainment is my first shave in 40 years



After lunch we headed north across a lunar landscape


divided by recently wet oueds. We followed these looking for wells. Eventually found one in the dry river bed and filled up.








Not much further and the midst of unfamiliar civilization


we made camp. Cherry and I elected to use tents tonight.


A little easier to keep an eye on things. Interesting sunset now that we have clouds.


- from my iPad

Location:Youfihakit desert

Day 9 Tin Agoula

It's become apparent that yesterday and today are a transition phase between Tassili N'ajjer and Tassili Hoggar. In other worlds featureless desert with not much visual entertainment.
Lunch was spectacular with a green chili pepper vegetable stuff AND that cauliflower special.
After lunch crossed the Ajjer/Hoggar marker


then could see Tin Agoula off in the distance. Akmed thought we could find a better camp site. Hard to argue.
Usual sunset photo session


and another veg stew dinner with soup of course. Very tasty.

Cherry makes first cut at tip distribution:
Abdullah 100
Hassan 40
Akmed 40
Towa 20
Mohammid 20

Maybe makes a point too strongly.


- from my iPad

Location:Tin Agoula plus some

Day 8 Tadent well

Major de-sanding exercises upon wakening. The stuff bag for M. Poufay is AWOL. At b'fast Cherry points out across the desert about 400m and says there is something red out there.
stuff bag reclaimed.. Celebrate with a 'bucks.


Howard fesses up to a middle night nature break - next to the vehicle in the main thoroughfare. Protocol violation.
New driver's assistant is less hostile this morning and reveals he speaks some English.

Morning prayer.


Load vehicles and head southwest then due south across a giant expanse of nothing.
No guide so very quiet in the tourist vehicle.

Mid desert vehicle maintenance on the 'new' vehicle ('98 diesel). The older one is an '82 petrol engined Land Cruiser.


Maybe a front-end alignment at the next stop.


Long long drive today, mainly south, and slightly west for 220km with nary a road to get in the way. Mid afternoon we gave chase to a herd of gazelle.


Small goat sized beasts that are very quick. Much bouncing in the vehicle as Akmed gives chase, photographic quality suffers.

Tuareg encampment Tabort a few km before reaching the well at


Tadent. Very few people around. Talent is not the final destination but another 20km south. French military fortification evident on hill tops.


Spaghetti for dinner with veg sauce.


Makhamid, number two mechanic, is a guitarist and also neither unfriendly nor unhelpful. Fireside music perhaps? No such luck.

Excellent night's sleep, cloudless moonless night.

- from my iPad

Location:Tadent

Day 7 Erg Admer

Paul did in fact leave.
Good night feeling clean.
Breakfast at 7:15 in order to ready to leave at 10am
We were ready but where was anyone from or hired by Cheche?
At 11:15 helpful hotel manager starts phoning on our behalf. Mani is now in France! Must have left with Paul.
Cheche office in Djanet is closed.
Call Faysal in Algers. Mani is with him. Everything is fine!
Oh yeh?
About 30 mins later Hassan shows up in 'new' vehicle - very rough and very slow. New owner/driver. Not friendly or happy. That makes all of us.
Hassan is stressed as we amble the 8km into Djanet. Visit museum -ok. Visit market - barely ok. Buy mp3 CD.


Then we head to lunch and waiting at the restaurant is Abdullah, the cook. Good to see him. Abdullah and I head off for coffee and spot Akmed. The three if us head back to Hotel Tenere and wait.


Seems to me I just witnessed an extended session of Tuareg finger pointing.
Eventually, say another hour, lousy vehicle arrives with Cherry, Howard, Hassan and new driver plus equally unfriendly driver-helper.
The vehicles are loaded and we head off west to Erg Admer. Where's Sully?
Not 30km down the road we lose other vehicle and pull off the almost paved road into the sand to wait.
Eventually the other vehicle, containing the other 4 non tourists, catches up.
Camp on side of dune.


Poulet de sable au Abdullah avec pomme de terre stuffing.


Red meat drying on the roof rack - what's that about?

Hit the sack and the wind picks up. Sand everywhere. Worrying about empty stuff bags blowing away.

Restless night.


- from my iPad

Location:Erg Admer