Dakhla to Bou Lanouar

Since we dropped the camp site in Dakhla, we went the previous night into the city to get a Hotel. No international brands were represented, so we took the best we one available, called Saharah Regency. Not any anyway very fancy and we could see that someone had slept in these beds already before us. The border to Mauritania was far away and we started very early and started the car 04:45 to be at the border at 09:00. The advice was to fill up all the Diesel (Gasoil) we could carry, since there was not going to be any filling station for the next 1000 km.

As we drove throught the darkness in the morning it was not much to see outside. Dawn came closer to 07:30, and the sun was touching the horizon around 07:47. As we arrived at the border passing an hour later, it was already a long line to trucks and trailes, not very organized. This is the thing you must anderstand. There is nothing that really is coordinated or planned. So here is the receipy:

Get hold of a white exit Fiche from one of the police officers
Get back into the car and fill it in
Be lucky enough that you are in the right line picked by a official
Drive through the gate, and they will check your passport and that you have the Fiche willed out
Park the car in the middle of the street
Take your passport and Fiche with you, and go to a building to the left with a long line
Deliver your passport and filled out Fiche, and wait for your name to be called
Answer a few questions, and get back into your car
Drive 10-50 meters to the Customs, and show your green pass you got when you entered Morocco
Get a stamp, and maybe a dog will search your car for drugs
Drive 100 meters
Go into a white small booth the get your licenses number registered
Drive 5 meters
Show all your papers and passport to the Military Official

Once you are out, you are basically in no mans land. This is the offical DMZ (demilitary zone) of Western Sahara. Here there are no laws, no regulation, no help. Some people are wondering around trying the exchange money, sell mobile subscriptins or other goods. There is also a huge scapyard here as there is illegal to import old cars to both neighbouring countries. They do need spareparts though, so this is a huge stockpile.

Going through on the Mauritanian side was a breeze. The Rally already had a representative waiting at the border and just routed us through for going straight to the Bivouac (camp). Here the government had given us VIP service, and we had our own border control station.

Also we put up camp, in a hot, windy and isolated place. We soon had sand everywhere. And our moist tents from the beach camping previously acted like a dust magnet.

We settled the night with the rest of the rally with armed guards on all sides by the Mauritanian army.

You may see one of their cars on the top. A Toyota pickup.