Another day of driving to reach the border, 400 kilometers south.
Really large trails, very fast also. Around 60 mph on the sand
crossing a bigger dune here and there.
Then the first nigerien village stands as the border check. Welcome
to Assamaka!
The place is very lively. An old tape-player, probably bargained
to some tourists, screams at the back of the room where sit the
dozen of police officers, custom agents and other change guys.
The same dance starts again: police, army, customs, insurance,
change...
We're informed the village is running out of beer and that the
delivery is expected some time tonight. I was dreaming of an ice
cold beer but still more to wait.
We pick up Joseph who was hitchhiking there. He wants
to go to Agadez 400 kilometers away, at the southern limit
of the Sahara desert. Some more GPS navigation to reach
Arlit where a real road starts again. Two days later,
we enter Agadez and the desert is already behind.
Agadez Mosque
Some days in Agadez to rest of all the stressful driving in
the dunes before we start again towards Niamey (1000 km). We're
supposed to stay at François's place for a couple of weeks
time to shoot some interviews.
Niamey is a mix of a big urban area and a desert
town covered by sand. The traditional market, the Niger river
and the surroundings of Niamey are those places where we spend
the two weeks before heading south to Benin.
