#2: [29-Jun-08]

08-May-2005 -- Brigitte and I failed to visit this confluence point in October 2003. So this time we tried again together with our friends. All went very fine until we were only 9 km away from the CP. The first time that we had come to hunt this Confluence Point we had made the mistake to leave the track and drive the last 10 km in a straight line to the confluence point. In this area there are big stones all over the place and many oueds (dry rivers) dividing the area. Driving a straight line is therefore not advisable.

But when we were that close now, I suddenly forgot all the pain we had last time and took a straight line again for the last 9 km. Just 450 meters away from the confluence point there was a oued with huge stones to be crossed. Since I planned to visit the confluence point by car, I tried to cross it. We managed it – but the costs were a leaking shock absorber and a smashed exhaust pipe. I gave in and started to walk the last 300 meters (after heavy objection from Brigitte driving the last meters). By the time we arrived at the confluence point, Eugen and Silvio were there already. They had approached the CP a little more from the West.

On the way back, we took the track that we saw earlier on the way to the confluence point. It took only a couple of minutes to reach Fezzou. After having visited the confluence point we drove to Tazzarine to fix the shock absorber. After that we went south to Zagora and drove through the Sahara to Merzouga. This trip is said to be very nice. We were just unlucky that by the time we got into the Sahara a sandstorm blew for 5 days and the visibility was between 50 to 200 meters only.