Anyone who needs more than one suitcase is a tourist, not a traveler. - Ira Levin

2 March 2020, Chami to Tasiast Mine intersection, 30km
Room to let (unnamed) UM300 (R120)

Today was a tuck-your-chin-in-and-ENDURE sort of day. The wind blew from the east-northeast all day, malevolent in its intensity. It blew our eyes red and dry and sore, it made our noses run, it coated our teeth with grit, it made us work for every metre.
Before departing Chami, an unattractive town strung long along the N2, we shared a vanilla Atlantic yoghurt drink, as delicious as the banana and strawberry we have also sampled. And bought bread and apples for the road. The bread sold here is about 20 to 30cm in length, and denser and perhaps tastier than a baguette. As is usually the case in Africa, fresh bread, whether sold from a shop or roadside stall, lies uncovered, open to the elements. This morning’s fare was warm still to the touch, and fairly popular with the ever-present flies. It had probably also been handled by several people… But we took two loaves to eat with the butter and honey we bought for lunch yesterday. In the end, we ate one loaf for lunch today, and one for dinner, topping up with apples and biscuits. We did not cook an evening meal, worrying that our limited fuel might be needed on the 70km stretch to Bon Lanuar, which we are unlikely to make in a day.
We were bemused to see that Chami’s solar-powered street lights are placed unusually close together, a veritable forest of lights. The lights ran out before we hit the section of road onto which sand dunes have spilled, a section we cycled in the shadow of low dunes. Speaking of shadows… In the very early mornings, with the sun rising on our right, our shadows are cast cycling on the verge across the road from us, our tyres so magnified they fill the entire road. Beyond the dunes, on the edge of town, was a police barracks encased in a low wall, breached almost in places by dunes. It is a thankless task trying to hold back the desert. (Forgot to mention we met a couple of men studying dune movement in Africa - Libya, Mauritania, Namibia.)
Previous travellers had mentioned an auberge at the KM270 distance marker for which we had been aiming yesterday, so we knew we had a short ride today - just as well given the wind. At a gendarme stop we did not associate with KM270, there being no distance markers today, we asked for a “boutique” and were gestured to a shop in a raised container. It was only when trying to make conversation with the proprietor, that we discovered we were at the auberge village. The shopkeeper also said the auberge was “fini” (closed / finished), but said he could arrange a room for us. He took me across the road to meet a woman lolling in a carpeted room in conversation with two men, and she opened a door to a sizeable, stand-alone room. It had a couple of mattresses and cushions, and a reed mat on a cement floor. We knew we could not do another 50km to the next auberge, so agreed to take the room, negotiating the price down from 500 to 300. Easy to do once I had asked about a toilet and been shown the desert with a wide-sweeping arm.
The village comprised scattered homes of modest size spread across flat sand. Not one thing growing between the homes, a harsh environment. I wondered if there was some system regarding toileting in the sand. Women to one side, men to the other? Holes dug, or excrement left to dry on the sand? If the former, a stick poked upright to indicate a spot already used? Could not figure out how privacy could be ensured, or how one would manage to stay fresh in a strong wind, which has all sorts of nasty implications. A mystery. I peed in the afternoon in a partially constructed loo, no hole, just sand. And in the evening before bed beside the hut, Charl hiding me from prying eyes with a sarong.
Enjoyed a hand-drawn sign outside a square tent today advertising camel milk for sale. The board depicted a camel, a baby camel suckling, and a bowl of milk. We have often seen female camels with a sort of udder shield tied to prevent youngsters accessing milk - or so we assume.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…