Western Sahara city of Laayoune ------------

October 12, 2019

El Marsa for LAAYOUNE, Western Sahara

Arrive:   8:00 AM

Sunrise: 7:50 AM

Temp.  84F

 Laayoune, Western Sahara lies in a sparsely populated area of desert on the
 northwest coast of Africa.

 A former Spanish colony established in the 1930's it was annexed by Morocco in 1975. 

Since then it has been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between

 Morocco and its indigenous Saharawi people.

After decades of upheaval, peace has returned to the city with UN Peacekeeping

 Forces situated there. Now the city is cleaner, commerce is expanding, and 

restaurants, street cafes, financial institutions, souvenir and handicraft shops are

 tailored to take care of everyone's needs, and tourism is growing.

On the road to Laayoune -

By 8:30 AM, following clearance procedure for the ship, a forty-five minute drive
 by bus took us from the port along the desert roads and through dunes to the city. 

First stop was the Animal Market, quite impressive, with a blend of old and new

buildings and outdoor pens full of camels, goats and sheep, all looked well cared for thankfully!

After driving past the huge salmon pink Grand Mosque - no entry to
 non-Muslims - we stopped at the Parador Hotel for refreshments. 
 I absolutely loved the tiled courtyard and spent most of my time walking
 about taking photos of the ground!

'Spanish Town' with Rounded Houses.

Our group, Paula, Bob, Rob and Kim enjoying ice cream late afternoon on

 the Lido Deck prior to the 'sail away' for Dakhla, Western Sahara that evening. . . . . 

. . . . . . a distance of 275 nautical miles.

Sahara Desert wanderings -

The part of the Sahara Desert we visited was quite surprising. 

It made me think of visiting Antarctica where one is 'there' but rarely gets to visit 

the actual South Pole. The Sahara is the largest hot desert, and third largest

 desert in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic. Covering 9,200,000 square

 kilometres it is comparable to the area of China or the United States.

The Sahara comprises much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region

 of the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Magreb, and

 the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan. 

From the port of Dakhla, our fleet of twenty seven 4X4 vehicles, without

 air conditioning, drove us through the city to the Lagoon area and into the

 desert for the visit to the Sahraoui Camp - a rather long, very bumpy, uncomfortable

 drive to say the least! Accompanied by serious looking armed Police in cars, 

vans and on motor cycles, we felt somewhat over-protected.

We were there in the desert but despite the sand it didn't really feel like we had

reached the true desert. It was so vast and I wished we could go further with no

 views of water and kite-surfers in the distance! 

Me with our guide Rashid.

Dancing and afternoon tea. . . . . . . .Sahara Desert style.

Tasting Saharawi Tea.

"Do not regret the passing of the camel and the caravan. 
The Sahara has changed, but it remains a desert without compromise, the world in its extreme. 
There is no place as dry and hot and hostile."

William Langewiesche - Sahara Unveiled: A Journey Across the Desert.