We were up at 6:00 AM, before the sun came up. We started to pack up our stuff and tent at 6:30 and had breakfast at 7:00 AM as the sun came up over the hills. We packed up the truck and the camp site and were away by 7:55 AM for another long drive.
Today we have lots of police check points to clear as we get closer to and enter the Western Sahara. They get a copy of the passenger list and then let us go on our way. No problem, just slows us down. The country side is wonderful today and varies throughout the day We first start in the hills, then head down towards the coast. When we get to the coast, it starts off as beach, then turns into tall cliff faces. It is, in many ways, more beautiful then the great ocean road in Victoria, Australia. It goes on for a long distance, there are very few people and there are no man-made structures or barriers - nature in the raw. We stop for lunch at 12:55 PM along the cliff face overlooking the ocean. A great spot for lunch.
We head off at 1:30 PM after a short lunch. We continue our drive along the coast, with the cliff face being interrupted every once in a while by a deep, dry river bed, often with tidal ponds with birds. The cliff faces then gave way to beach, where we traveled through some major cities and a phosphate export terminal. After this, we headed further away from the coast line, only to return to it later. It is a wonderful drive (other then being long) - the country side is harsh and dry, but beautiful. We stop for the day just before sun sets at 5:55 PM, pulling off the main road a few hundred meters. The ocean is only a couple hundred meters away and we can hear the waves crashing into the cliffs. This time, the camp site is not too rocky and it is easier to set up our tent. The sunset lights up the camp site in a warm, red glow.
We have a wonderful dinner around the camp fire and enjoy the evening, which is not as cold as last night. The moon once again comes up after dark, providing us with a nice night light (but it does make it harder to see the stars, which were so clear before the moon came up).