Nata is writing about Western Sahara
LAAYOUNE
At what time leave the bus to Dakhla?
At 20.30.
But on the timetable it’s written 20.00 …
"Here it’s the same" – answered the man smiling
This is the kind of conversation we had after having stepped out of the night bus coming to Laayoune at 8 am. I slept very well in the bus. From the beginning of the trip I can sleep everywhere and in every position, this is the ability you learn while traveling fast and intensively.
On the street two locals greet us with a cheerful "welcome to Sahara". The air is dry and it’s becoming very hot rapidly. Laayoune looks like a military base. The city is located in the middle of desert on the border of a dried out river. We have no doubt we are on Sahara. We pass by the Ministry of Potable Water and kindergarden walls covered with kids-made drawing representing smiling water drops. No trees, no plants.
The light-rose center is fulfilled with cafes with french-styled round table. In Maroko, the café au lait is different than in Europe but extremely tasteful. Finally we eat the melon which traveled with us from Agadir. We never had enough time to eat it.
Suddenly we see two big men in civil clothes heading to us and asking for our passports. They are policemen and had observed us for a while. They want to know why I have hidden so quickly my camera after having made a picture a few minutes ago. I explain them that I don’t want to be a paparazzi and I am used to be discrete with my pictures. Finally they let us free.
Trying to avoid heat we stay in a small café. Streets are completely empty. I stink but I feel happy. Tomorrow, we’ll be somewhere else and it makes me miss Laayoune already.
DAHKLA
We arrive in Dahkla at 5 am. There is only one shop opened and one faint light in it. A packet of Nescafe disappears in hot milk. We eat Madelaine, bread hasn’t come yet, it’s too early. We speak with a military. He came to West Sahara for a few days only, he is happy he won’t stay here any longer.
We move to the police checkpoint. From here leave buses to Mauretania. But when? Here start the old story of collecting passengers, packing and so on. Finally after 7 hours of waiting, we leave. But we have to hurry up because the border closes at 7 pmJ