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Two moths ago my vague idea of Western Sahara was that there is some kind of war and that it is definitely not a good tourist destination. Then I learned that the war is long over, Morocco mostly won and, apart from the world's largest minefield left over from the war, the area under Moroccan control is pretty safe and in some places even a little bit touristy - namely on the coast, where people surf. But our destination was different: the Aousserd road - a 250-kilometer stretch of inexplicable tarmac leading to the heart of nowhere that has in the last five years grown into a kind of a mythical destination for birding.
The Aousserd road isn't really your typical holiday destination yet. It's not just only not crowded, but in fact we haven't seen a single visitor during the two and a half days we spent around the road. The amount of bird species to see isn't staggering, but some of them do not occur anywhere in the so-called Western Palearctic, the bio-geographic area of Europe and surrounding lands which largely shares the same fauna. And the amount of individual birds is quite surprising for a place that is supposed to be in the heart of Sahara.
But let's let the pictures do the talking! Most of those were taken by my wife, because I was mostly preoccupied with photographing the actual birds.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/EMXuE0v.jpg)
After 1500 kilometers of driving through a sandy and stony desert from Morocco proper, the first hundred of kilometers of the Aousserd road doesn't show much promise of the landscape any greener.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/sePNosc.jpg)
At least there are some truly wonderful desert vistas to be had along the road.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/9edq76w.jpg)
Further inland the road gets even sandier, with a sandstorm blowing over the road, adding to the already intense adventure.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Sy23RYh.jpg)
And then the landscape changes. At first it's just some grass in the desert ... and then you arrive at Oued Jenna.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/8iydl5q.jpg)
Oued Jenna is a huge stretch of tall grass and acacia trees. It is clearly visible on satelite maps, forming a huge river-like system, but without any surface water.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/mLDAP03.jpg)
This is how I always dreamed up Africa - only the big animals are missing, the largest things we saw were hares and maybe a fennec fox in the night. The lack of wildlife kills the African mood a little, but makes it really safe to just walk around and camp here (as long as you stick to areas that have human tracks and thus aren't probably mined).
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/3JsYTj1.jpg)
All this greenery is here at the same latitude as the most hardcore deserts of Sahara. A true miracle. It is worth noting that although our pictures saw a wild landscape, there are camel and goat shepherds living in the area.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/VGlwE0c.jpg)
The flat wadis are surrounded by lovely rocky mountains that beg to be explored. However word is that those aren't safe from landmines, so we have only some very distant shots of them.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/l9oS2hA.jpg)
Just go ahead and tell me this isn't somewhere in the Rift valley.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1QdfzAg.jpg)
Finally we come to the birds. Cricket Longtail, a sub-Saharan species, wasn't even known in Western Palearctic ten years ago. Now it breeds in Oued Jenna and some more acacia tree areas around the road, making it very easy to spot.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/frp8mwf.jpg)
The Black-crowned Sparrow-lark on the other hand used to be common in southern Morocco decades ago. Now it thrives only in the depths of Western Sahara.
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I really enjoy your blogs (mostly for the high quality pictures but also because you can learn some interesting stuff). Has to be awesome to see this much of the world.
I don't recall if you ever mentioned this, but have you ever been in actual danger during one of your travels?
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On January 15 2017 22:02 Elentos wrote:
I really enjoy your blogs (mostly for the high quality pictures). Has to be awesome to see this much of the world.
I really enjoy having at least one happy reader  I have long recognized that the photo posts get the best reception, but they are also the hardest to make. Pressing the shutter is easy, but choosing photos is just hard work! I have an endless bowl to pick more pictures from, I hope to be able to get around to posting some at least once in a while.
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On January 15 2017 22:05 opisska wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2017 22:02 Elentos wrote:
I really enjoy your blogs (mostly for the high quality pictures). Has to be awesome to see this much of the world. I really enjoy having at least one happy reader I have long recognized that the photo posts get the best reception, but they are also the hardest to make. Pressing the shutter is easy, but choosing photos is just hard work! I have an endless bowl to pick more pictures from, I hope to be able to get around to posting some at least once in a while.
Sweet! What's been your favorite place you've visited so far? Was it hanging out with Cascade in Australia? 
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On January 15 2017 22:08 Elentos wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2017 22:05 opisska wrote:On January 15 2017 22:02 Elentos wrote:
I really enjoy your blogs (mostly for the high quality pictures). Has to be awesome to see this much of the world. I really enjoy having at least one happy reader I have long recognized that the photo posts get the best reception, but they are also the hardest to make. Pressing the shutter is easy, but choosing photos is just hard work! I have an endless bowl to pick more pictures from, I hope to be able to get around to posting some at least once in a while. Sweet! What's been your favorite place you've visited so far? Was it hanging out with Cascade in Australia?
That is something we have really discussed with my wife a lot and we find it harder and harder to pick, because we have simply been to so many amazing places. The actual pick would probably depend on the definition of "place" though.
Mu favorite country is probably Argentina, but that is influenced by the number of times I have been there and the ease of access for me. Also it's sheer size means that there is so much interesting stuff - from sub-arctic Tierra del Fuego to the colourful rainforests around Iguazu, all available in a very safe, stable and easily traveled country. It is also the place when I made the trip I consider the most interesting, which was the climb of a 6000-er mountain. Even if the landscapes on Cerro Bonete proper aren't actually that spectacular by themselves, the whole Andean plateau is absolutely breathtaking.
But there are many other place I think very highly about:
- Wadi Rum in Jordan, the most beautiful desert landscape imaginable
- Sahara al-Beda in Egypt as a very close second in the same category
- definitely Iceland as a whole, not a single place, but not too large, and completely otherworldly
- Parque National Yanachaga-Chemillen in Peru: not a major sight, but I had a very strong, say even spiritual, experience from just hanging out in the jungle (and one of the few places I am sure I have to come back to)
- central Asia mountains (Pamirs and Tian Shan) are fantastic as a whole, but the Zarojkul lake in the Pamirs is the greatest mountain location I know of
But are so many other places a deeply enjoyed. My taste has actually shifted a lot during the years. First, I was really after mountains and craggy landscapes, so I really loved Norway and have been there several times. Then we had the desert period, which to some extend still continues, but lately, I got really fascinated by the jungles of all sorts, even though I haven't seen that many yet.
(This is of course not to downplay meeting Cascade, it was one of the nicest experiences in human interaction I ever got while travelling )
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I really enjoy reading your journals, even if I dont comment/post at all. My real question in all adventures: Are you not afraid to be lost? I guess you have a GPS tracker so you are always be safe everywhere?!
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On January 15 2017 22:30 Dingodile wrote:
I really enjoy reading your journals, even if I dont comment/post at all. My real question in all adventures: Are you not afraid to be lost? I guess you have a GPS tracker so you are always be safe everywhere?!
Getting lost is very deep down on the list of actual dangers at most trips. It is really only relevant in places where there aren't easy trails to follow, risk of reduced visibility exists and veering of course could be fatal - the prime example is snowy mountains in winter. I have actually started using GPS somewhat regularly only recently - I do not even own a standalone GPS unit and my smartphone is crap, battery doesn't last long and whatever ... but once we have the car, it's easy to just plug it in and know where you are. What I do have now, since the Cerro Bonete stunt, is a satellite messenger (DeLorme inReach) - it is amazing how much peace of mind you get from being able to call for help anywhere in the world.
This is related to a question I have overlooked before:
On January 15 2017 22:02 Elentos wrote:
I don't recall if you ever mentioned this, but have you ever been in actual danger during one of your travels?
My wife says correctly that the biggest risk by far is the insane amount of kilometers we have traveled by road, first as hitchhikers or public transport customers and now increasingly with me behind the wheel, often in countries with very poor road safety records (even though, ironically, the worst thing any of my friends ever experience in this regard was a fatal crash on Iceland, statistically a very safe country for driving).
Once in Iran, we were stopped from going in a certain direction by people vigorously gesturing death, but due to language barrier, I do now know what the issue was - but I am guessing a minefield and thus a rather real danger actually. Once I was descending mount Etna in winter and noticed quite an unstable snow layer, but it held - and honestly given the number of times I walked in winter mountains, it is pretty likely that an avalanche has been a real danger to me at some point in the past. I have forded some pretty strong rivers in Sweden, if the current had overpowered me, I could have been in danger because of my bad swimming. Tripping hazard is an obvious danger in any rocky area.
Other than that, if you avoid some obviously dangerous areas, I believe that travel can be pretty safe, if you plan ahead and do not show up at extreme natural conditions unprepared.
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Now then I have one last question before I'll leave you alone until your next blog (or you know, until we meet in one of the other threads  ) - What's the next place you're planning to go to?
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Nice! The pictures remind me of Far Cry 2 haha
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On January 15 2017 23:02 Elentos wrote:Now then I have one last question before I'll leave you alone until your next blog (or you know, until we meet in one of the other threads ) - What's the next place you're planning to go to?
Currently I have three concrete plans for this year in various stages of planning. In June I might go to Albania to mountains and in July to Korea for a conference. Most advance is my August plan to go to the US to see the total solar eclipse - I am working on having a conference there as well for a free plane ticket and I have already booked a camp in Yellowstone, they sell out amazingly fast.
Other possibilities include going to La Palma and Chile to install our telescopes and I hope to have time to travel more around Poland in spring, when it is really nice with birds, flowers and water.
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Great pictures, such a beautiful landscape.
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This is gorgeous, thank you
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I don't know why, but I find the pictures really relaxing.
Thanks for the share!
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EPT
