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Michael Spies
Michael Spies

Michael Spies

📍 Senegal Read more🇩🇪Icking
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  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    One last look back
    And one last look forwardAs we head south the landscape slowly changes into Sahel savannaGrass at last, even if dryAs we reach "la route d'espoir" in the south of Mauritania, markets, vegetables and goods reappearWe enter the Delta of the Senegal river with it's incredible birdlifeFish being driedPelikanA warthog familyPapa wharthogFlamingosWetlandsA greeting smileFinally we have arrived at Zebra Bar south of Saint Louis, SenegalWe have arrived!Now, several days to breathe out and do nothing1Round view from a tower at Zebra bar

    We race to Senegal

    December 31, 2025 in Senegal ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    One last look back at the sand and we race off south. After a few km a huge dune tries to stop us as it crosses the road. But no chance! We are off!
    The landscape changes into Sahel Savannah and then after 1000 gruelli g km we reach the Delta of the Senegal river and cross over into Senegal heading straight to the Zebra bar south of Saint Louis. Tropical birds are flying around, the Atlantic thunders in the distance and we are so incredibly happy "to do nothing"Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Terjit Palm oasis
    Our beautiful flower has been flowering again and again since 8 weeksWe arrive at the steep incline.Oh shit! We have to drive up theresteep sand hill with Elfi as driver. Two trucks decided not to try and drive a 3 day deviationTommy climbs slowly up the slope. Mastery in drivingMorning lightA "nursery school for baby dunes!Fata morghanaRoland has dug his truck in so deep that both axles were deep in the sandAnother beautiful sun setSand sand sandMorning on the dunesFarewell to Frank and ChristinaFarewell to RolandLast camp fire togetherOur last eveningOff we go alone. Three hours to the next roadDunes encroaching the banks of the ouedIf your vehicle breaks down in this desert there is no possible help. You abandon the vehicle.Dunes dunes dunes

    One last trip into the sand

    December 25, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We have decided to do one more trip into the sand of the Erg Amatlich desert and then leave the group for Senegal.
    It is an exhilarating trip through deep sand along river beds and up a steep sandy dune with beautiful evenings, starry nights and a moving last evening around a fire with part of the group.
    It is really difficult to leave, but we know that we need to do just that.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Christian and his wife Gerti fill us in on Senegal tips. They have been driving this old BMW for yea
    Our little flower, collected in Marrakesh mid November, has been flowering ever since. A new flower♥

    Our spirits collapse! We are exhausted!

    December 25, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Despite all the Adventure, Mauritania is an incredibly tough country:
    The roads, when there are some, are better described as "holes with some tar around them", forcing us to drive very slowly to not destroy our car.
    We are surrounded mistreated animals and by extreme poverty and frequently by a desperateness and begging that completely eats us up.
    Driving in the Sand requires a degree of concentration that exhausts us, and food availability is reduced to a few tins and and some bread with jam. Very little is available.
    We have been keeping our spirits up with all our force so far, but both of us are showing "ware and tare" and have bad colds for days now.
    We are exhausted!
    And then on the way from Chenguetti back to ATAR we discover that we have been driving on a corrugated dust road for hours with the back window open creating a vacuum into the car!
    The whole bed, kitchen, equipment, books and food are covered with 5mm of fine dust!
    Our resistance collapses and we give up,
    Drive back to ATAR, clean the car for three days and decide to discontinue the trip and head to Senegal and relax at the sea.
    Our plan is to drive one more dessert round and then leave the group. We inform MANTOCO.
    Promptly we meet Christian and his Gerti on an ancient BMW motorcycle. Both are specialists on Senegal and fill us up with valuable tips supporting our endeavour.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Saif Al Islam a collector of old scripts reads us old Arab love poems.
    Our most exhilarating desert sand drive so far. Alone and lost!Deep in the dune field, an oasis with date palmsChenguetti citizensO. The way homeOur place for the nightIn the back ground the dunes are advancing mm by mmThe old mosheeThe library run by Saif Al IslamDoor to the library, like all doors here 1,50m highSaif reads us a love poem, we sing "blowing in the wind" fo him.Artworks from the 10th century, stored in old rusty cupboardsOn the left: Small love poems sent to your loved oneAstronomy from the 11th century while Europe still lived in mud huts.

    Chenguetti

    December 21, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Cenguetti is another of the seven holy cities of Islam and at a crossroads of various Caravan routes from Mali, Senegal and the Maghreb. It was from here that thousands of pilgrims over the centuries started their Hadsch to Mecca. In the 10th century It was a center of scholars in religion, medicine, astronomy and Technology.
    Then came the all consuming sand dunes, burying the city again and again. Because Cenguetti is home to numerous libraries with scripts from this age, it was put on the UNESCO heritage list and received funds to remove 3 meters of sand from the old town. Today 15years later the sand is back again. 11 private libraries exist still. I'll

    Driving to chenguetti was our most exciting desert drive so far. We drove ahead of the group and came many Kms off track. It took us hours working ourselves back 500m by 500m, walking ahead to find a route through dunes and large grass bushels and then back to the car to drive. It was both exhilarating but also frightening and a wake up call for how easy it is to loose orientation when everything looks the same and you distance yourself from the car looking for a route and suddenly discover that the wind has covered up your footprints.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Nomad families at night. Mats on the ground, children in the lap, food cooking on the gas stoveElfies Friends while we stayed in OuadaneWas this festival about patrimony or about the presidentElfi on the search for foot cremeAhmed Moctar, our hostTea in the tent of Ahmed's familyCamel meat in various forms, eaten with rice rolled up in the right handSmall groups around a large tray per groupAhmed in the middle, Ahmed Baba Hamboub his nephew next to me.Next to Elfi Mohammed Cheik HamboubWe missed the camel race but saw them galloping back to town1Moustapha our guide

    A Mauritanian family, camel races

    December 18, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    While all this craziness takes place we get into a conversation with Ahmed Moctar, a man in front of whose house we had parked. It turns out his family left Oadane for Noukchott, the capital, many years ago to become one of the richest families in the country.
    They keep this house solely to be able to network with ministers during this festival once every 4 years!
    We are invited into a huge tent for tea. Lying on the floor like Romans with cushions for support, we are introduced to his brother's, cousins, and nephews as well as grand son. Huge bronze trays of dates are served.
    As we leave, we are invited to lunch the next day.
    This time the tent is full (40 persons) in small groups of 8. Everyone sitting or lying on the huge carpet.
    First come various dates eaten with creme fraiche, then mutton meat, cooked or roasted which you have to rip off, one handed with the right hand (no left hand allowed!)
    And then as a next course, huge quantities of camel meat with couscous or rice which you rip off (right handed) wrap it in rice and sauce and then somehow maneuver it into your 👄 mouth.
    What a challenge!
    What an experience!

    In the process our guide Moustapha gives me a turban as a gift and shows me how to tie it.
    We leave with a huge invitation to visit the family when we reach Noukchott.

    What a visit!!!!!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Traditional riders greet us as we enter the town.
    Proud arabic stallionsRiders awaiting the president, like all powerful people 90min late!!!The old and the new!Camel riders lined upAnd the autocade arrives, and simply doesn't endTotal traffic chaos in this otherwise quiet villageA plastic camel to decorate the stand advertising the Mauritanian passport (no nomad has a passport)Everyone is excited and dressed at their bestNomads from all around the country have pitched tentMoustapha teaching me how to tie the turban he has just given meNow I am a real nomad, not only in our car!Each notable visitor has donated a camel or sheep to the festivities. This one is awaiting its fate.Walking his camel into town1Mr Turban, my new dressCamping nomadsWe visit the historical old town and are suddenly moved over for the president, who also wants to viEntrance to the old mosqueIs this the man?Who wouldn't move aside for the Queen!!!!View over the palm groves. The whole town is in music1Suddenly two women start to clap, after two minutes 20 are drumming and clapping

    Ouedane, "Festival du Patrimoine"

    December 18, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We arrive in Ouadane, one of the seven holy cities in the Islamic world and dating back to the 12th century, and are amazed by a bristeling excitement in the air.
    I open the window and ask a bystander
    "what is going on?"
    "The president is coming tonight to open a one week " Festival du Patrimoine" which happens once in 4 years.
    My god are we lucky!
    Promptly nomads on beautiful stallions ride through the main street to line up on the dust track leading into the 500 person town which now swells to 3000 overnight.
    Every home has set up a tent in their courtyard to rent out to the people staying over, and as with every good president, he comes with entourage of hundreds of ministers, ambulances, media. In the early evening a never ending autocade enters the tiny town causing total chaos!
    And then something happens that I simply cannot understand, for the evening and day that the president is here no one except his entourage and the media are allowed to participate. Everyone else is locked out by hundreds of soldiers and police.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    The structe de Richat
    Our incredible night spotView from the edgeElfi and Joe (Unimog) at sunriseThe next day. Discussing how we are going to get into the structure.We decide to drive DOWN this steep slope into the structure.Tommy drives first to build up our courageAcross the plain and then an incredible sand storm beginsAcross the plain and then an incredible sand storm beginsTomm has got stuck. All men to the rescue with shovels and sand railsPelting sand! Artificial intelligence has improved the bad visibility!Sand storm getting stronger and strongerTommy has dug-in again! All shovels to the rescue!Shovel team returning to our vehicles.We lower our tire pressure from 5 bars to 1 bar to be able to cross this soft sandOh No! Tommy is stuck a third time. Nerves are blank. The wind and sand are pelting in the stormSand pelting along

    Structure de Richat, "eye of the Sahara"

    December 15, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The Richat structure, also "eye of the Sahara", is a 50km wide structure and no one knows what it is,
    A volcano?
    A huge big bubble during when the world was created?
    Hundreds of geologists since the 60ies, when it was discovered from outer space have not got anywhere closer to a solution.
    Today we speeded ahead through the sand an had the night for us alone on the edge of this incredible space in the desert.

    The next morning a sand storm hits us. While the others continue in to the center of the structure, Elfi and I decide to head to Ouadane    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    A dream spot on top of the pass, all alone
    Endless beautiful sand dunesWhat elegance!Greeting you all who are watching this blogFlat desert with data morfanaGrass bushels starting the next dunesThe deserted "foreign legion" fortSandy track leading into the canyonProbably a lion on the back of an antilopeCould those be wild dogs hunting an antilopeOstrichesGiraffeElephantOstrich

    On to incredible rock etchings

    December 13, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After spending the night at a deserted French fort, we head into a beautiful but very sandy canyon lined along the sides with rock etchings dating back 4000-6000 years. By hitting the rock surfaces with a hard stone small holes add up to pictures showing antilopes, giraffes and elephants, once the natural fauna of a Sahara consisting of savannah.Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Lidya cooking tea for us.
    Camp fire on the wayToday Elfi is the captainLihdya's little tent camp in the middle of the desertThe fatherThis is where the whole family livesElfi has a new friendThis bread is baked in amber's buried in the sand. When ready, the sand is brushed off. Delicious!Prehistoric ostrich eggs. Ostriches lived in this region between 4 and 6 thousand years agoAxes, arrow heads and other prehistoric findsA piece of a meteorite. Incredibly hard and lightBefore arrows were invented, these balls were used for throwing at antilopes during hunting.Arrow headsStone bowlLihdia with childTortoise rockOne of the other trucks crawling up the pass.Elfi after having mastered the steepest and most difficult pass road I have ever seen. What a hero!Our place for the night after the pass

    El Bayed, a Neolythical museum.

    December 12, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    150km into the desert we cross El Bayed, a village with 50 inhabitants that impressed us deeply. Instead of begging, which is normal in this country, Lydia and Dija, two sisters have created a small tent camp where they rent out tents, cook food for their guests, and their father has collected Neolithic artefacts he has found in the desert in a small museum.
    It is touching with what love they do this.
    We support them graciously, drinking tea, buying a fresh bread baked in amber's buried in the sand, and visit the tiny museum. It was a very moving afternoon!

    After leaving El Bayed, Elfi drives up an incredibly steep pass with rock steps and tight bends feared by off-roaders. We crawl up with all differentials locked. I am deeply impressed, and once again we see what incredible performance "Sprinti" is able to deliver.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Living in a tent and straw hut with an old Mercedes at the front door
    Many Bedouins still prefer Living in tents on the floorWASTAGE! When we arrived at this water tower a huge pipe was leaking 1000 of liters of desert "Gold"The wind generator breaks and is not repaired. A terrible problem hereEndless plainsAnd then suddenly a small oasisStraw house with flaps in front of the door to keep wind and sand outThe highly poisonous "Sodom's apple", grows in the driest places with antibacterial effect.The perfect way to handle rotting teeth due to excessive sugar consumption.Driving the salt panEndless flat plain leading into the salt panSalt pan round viewAs far as the eye reachesDesert princessTomorrow we head into this dune band1Our beloved dependable "Sprinti"Our place for the night1Joy that just has to get out♥️

    "Sebkehet Chemcham" salt pan

    December 11, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    As far as the eye reaches was salt, flat and hard. 70km further once again the dunes and one of the most beautiful night spots we have experienced so far. No one around, a view into eternity, total silence and a heaven full of stars. Can life get better than this?Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Windows are very low because people sit/ lie on the floor.One room for a familyAn Atar side-roadCamels in the center of townThe main road of AtarA few tins with vegetables in a small shelf and 5 persons sitting on the floor chatting"Camping Bab Sahara": Two days amid the chaos of Atar in a small Oasis"Breathe out" after 7 days in the desertToday, in 2017 Elfi's husband Charly died. We lit a candle for him today.,♥️Breakfast under trees, while all around the craziness of Atar is taking placeLeoni ran "Bab Sahara" in this crazy environment together with her husband. He died last year.

    How people live. Atar

    December 10, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Atar is a dust bowl in a state of chaos. Tiny houses, families living on the floor with goats running in between the rubbish piles, Tiny stalls all selling the same few goods. 50year old Mercedes Benz, held together with tape, transporting at least 7 persons. Without lights or indicators, frequently without windows.. Donkeys and camels standing around waiting for their next task.
    Meat and fish stalls consisting of a table standing in the sun, where various pieces of meat, covered by flies, lie waiting all day.
    Women sitting on the sandy pavement, holding their baby and selling fresh bread.
    In between, the constant calling to prayer of the Muezzins already starting at 4 in the morning.
    Oh my god!
    What a tsunami of impressions,
    all making me shudder.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Sunset at Ben Amira
    Ben Amira, the second largest Monolith in the worldBedouin campInvitation to teaMorning coffee, ans suddenly a flock of goats comes byHow we all end upCamel scratching himselfArt carved into the rocks of Aicha in the name of peaceRound view from the top of AischaAnd now you know why she is called Aisha!

    Ben Amira and Aischa

    December 7, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Our route follows the train line through the dunes to the two world leading Monoliths Ben Amira and Aicha.

    Legend tells, many years ago Ben Amira married his beloved Aischa and they received two sons. They lived happily in paradise together with their maid.
    Drought came and Amira left for the capital Nouakchott where he stayed many years.
    And you guess the rest of the story,
    Aicha found herself a lover., Veleklek.

     When Amira returned, he was so furious that he hit Veleklek so hard with his head that the latter flew 50km to the north and Amira ended up with a huge dent in his head.
    Amira was so sad that he took his two sons and moved 7km away.
    Aischa kept her maid. And so the two live on, both wearing their black grief robes.

    Mind you, Amira is the second largest monolith in the world!
    So, in the year 2000 a group of Stone masons from around the globe assembled around Aischa to create art for peace.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    The thundering dragon is so loud, you hear it 30 minutes away
    Bull dozers clearing the first 10 km before the off road track of 800km beginsSmall village at the end of the road"the normal" rubbish everywhereLooking fo a hotel for the night? You sleep on a mat on the floorThe dune track beginsStraight rails fo 100kmsThundering dragon amidst clouds of diesel smokeThe one Passenger car2kms of iron ore trainIn the middle of nowhere a shepherd with his 6 goatsPretty hot hereA small village at half wayThis land rover didn't have one flat tire but three, and no pump. We pumped him upA derailed oron ore waggon1

    Thundering Dragon! The Iron ore train.

    December 3, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    About 50% of Mauritania's GDP stems from one Iron ore mine in the Sahara in Zouerat. An infamous 2km long train transports the ore through the desert to Nouadibou for shipment. Dunes block the tracks, trains have derailed and the train is the life line of huge desert regions not connected by roads. If you can't afford to travel in the one Passenger waggon you sit on top of the iron ore together with the live sheep you are bringing to the market.
    This train is legend.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    1Proud father
    Nursery school, Mother camels with their babiesThe west Sahara, a straight road for a 1000 kmsElfi, doing her best to keep a straight head1We cross the border and the first impression is rubbishNouadibou Rubbish service, by the look of things, they come once per monthAn every day shopping streetIt doesn't get better than thisThe carpet shop. Carpets on the pavementDonkey waiting for his next transport jobClothing boutiqueMidday prayer, those that didn't make it into the MosheeThe owner of the cosmetic shop.They had everything here, the most expensive cosmetics, at 10% of normal cost.And then we left town for the coast, no dirt, no noiseWorkers driving home from Nouadibou harbour where Iron ore is loaded on ships

    Mauritania, This is where Africa begins.

    November 30, 2025 in Mauritania ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    At last tha long drive through the west Sahara is behind us, and we spend our last night on a parking spot directly at the border. It is also time to get rid of all drugs and alcohol, unless we feel like 10 years in prison. So we get really drunk and finally smoke the Weed that we have been carrying all through Marocco.
    The Border crossing took 8 hours! No surprise when you have experienced Irak and Iran.
    But entering Nouadibou on the other side was a culture shock. With a bang! If Marocco was a rubbish dump then I have no words for Mauritania. Statistically it is the poorest country on earth, and you feel it.
    And yet it knocks me over, the people go about living, loving, and dying like everywhere else, however on a level we cannot imagine. Our Sprinti is like an oasis in the midst of chaos and Armageddon.    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    1What a wonderful dinnerFyad from Liberia looked after our every needPascal the hotel catThe last morningLoic, owner of "Oasis". Thank you for three beautiful day's ♥️

    An "OASIS" in Daklah

    November 25, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Daklah is the southern most town of Marocco before the Mauritanian border and known for it's incredible Kite surfing winds in summer.
    It is being developed at hair-raising speed by the Maroccan Government to bring wealth to this desert region. Among other, by 2029 north Africa's largest fishing and container harbour will be completed.
    We decide to spoil ourselves for three days before we head into the desert for 2 months and ended up in the cutest boutique hotel imaginable., the "OASIS". And by God was is an oasis! Three wonderful days of relaxing, reading, phoning with family and good food.
    After two months of travelling this was like a breath of fresh air.
    It is with bleeding hearts that we now leave the "OASIS" and head into the real Sahara of Mauritania.❤️    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Tan-Tan
    Normal transportSalt eats everythingHaoui en Naam CascadesLots of dead wild donkeys here, water too salty?Paving the way with stones for our crossing tomorrowWild donkeys comming to the few sweet water water sourcesMANTOCO breaks down two huge bolts holding the springs have simply sheered-offThis 100km road repeatedly blocked by wandering dunes. Turn off and weave your way throughAgain a duneAnd another!Fishers near DaklahBoat full of fishThe other type of fishingFishers live in tents on the beach

    On to Daklah

    November 20, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Today we head to the Houi en Naam 100km off the road to Daklah.
    The water flowing here is absolutely salty and undrinkable, but there are wild donkeys here that seem to survive.
    The return trip takes most of a day as dunes have crossed the road everywhere requiring us to turn off and weave our way through.
    Suddenly MANTOCO is standing by the road, two huge bolts holding the suspension have simply sheared off. Thank god they have extra bolts with them.
    I ask myself what on earth I will do if something lake that happens to us. We have very few spare parts with us.
    I decide to trust in Allah like the Tuaregs and Berbers. "INSCHALLAH"!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Sand track into the dunes
    Today Elfi is captainSand sand sandIn the middle of endless sand, suddenly waterAn old Fort, remnant of the former colony West SaharaBerber tent1Our place for the nightSprinti perched on the cliffsThe track drops off. Do I drive down this slope or look for a path through the maize of dunesThen "Mocca" the truck from Frank and Christina comes by and we scout a path togetherCrawling up a sand slope. It took three tries!A old Spanish fort eroding away through salt and sand1Ksar Tafnidit a beautiful castle in the desertKsar Tafnidit a beautiful cc astle in the desertMagdalie le Hérissé, a previous rally driver built the Ksar with her husband who died last yearMagdali's trusted aid running the place together with her since the death of her husbandThe air rally, Toulouse-Tarfaya comes by here every second yearBeautifully decorated towers

    Our first dune experience

    November 19, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today we had our first "dune" experience.
    While following a track for about 100km things got sandier and sandier, until We found ourselves more and more confronted with dunes blocking our path. Suddenly we found ourselves standing on a small dune looking at a steep drop-off., with the decision to either take the risk to drive down this drop or to spend hours searching for a way to pass through the dune field. That was when "Mocca" the truck of Frank and Christina suddenly arrived. Looking for the way through dunes is always better when you have several heads working..Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    This tiny village at 2000m is at the end of a frightening road winding up into the mountains.Amazing buildings in this tiny villageNo where to park, so we reversed into the river bed

    Climbing the Jebel l'Kest

    November 12, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    In the Anti atlas near Tafraoute lies the Aammeln Valley. In the years of draught in the 70ties, most families sent at least one child to France. Money which came back led to most families building really fancy homes, which relative to the rest of Marocco is really striking.
    We drove up an incredibly steep multi-hairpin road to 2000 meters into a tiny village without a name to hike up the Jebel L Jest.
    This country simply doesn't stop surprising me!    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Agadir Tasguent made of stamped clay perches on a hill
    Door leading into courtyard of the castleSecond door leading into the interiorA contract written on a piece of wood.Local authorities dad an inventory stamping everything in the AgadirA Berber lock. Pins fall from above into the lock blocking it. A key of bronze lifts these pinsThe keyholeMore contractsUtensils and jugs for oilCorridor leading to the heart of the buildingSlabs protruding from the wall are used to climb to the various "safe rooms"Entrance to a "safe" roomJug for storing valuable Argan oilDried carrotsStairs leading up to the captain's quartersThe door to the captain's quartersDrawing water from the well in the interior.Signs of gun fightDate 1969, list of goods deposited by the familiesA ledger of what the families have paid to the captainEntrance to a "safe" roomDown below the soldiers had their living quartersThe kitchen of the soldiers

    Agadir Tasguent, the bank of the Berber

    November 11, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Around 1000AD the Berber kingdom spanned the whole of north western Africa, and was led by a wise, warrior Queen, around whom whole legends are woven. These Berbers already had a system of banks, called "AGADIR" for the storage and protection of their valuables.
    About 12 villages shared one AGADIR, a type of fortress on a hill managed by a captain, a person of trust with a team of guards. In the AGADIR we're tiny rooms, each rented to one family where they could store their "Riches". Berber gold and jewellery was buried in covered holes in the walls or floor. To remember where the holes were, they would code the number of handwidths from a certain point in the room. Furthermore they stored their contracts here. Due to the lack of paper, these were written on a piece of wood and signed by both parties under whitness. Other treasures were garments, argan oil, grain and even dried vegetables.
    The AGADIR Tasguent, which had 360 compartments, is world heritage but has been closed to visits due to danger of collapse. A local villager who had access, gave us an exclusive tour spiked by many stories.
    In 1969 several years after maroccan indépendance, the captain of this AGADIR robbed what valuables he could find by breaking into the various compartments and disappeared to Paris.
    Now, does that remind us of the banks we have today??????    Read more

  • Michael SpiesEagles fly, deserts call!Michael Spies
    Flower of the day
    So? Where do I drive today?The most exciting track I have ever experienced1A video tells more than 100 fotos1The track is hardly wider than 2m and this van suddenly appears. He backs up to the next curve!The road is so narrow that we have to fold in our mirrors to get through this village1And then the unbelievable! A motorcade of 20 SUV'S followed by an ambulance and a tank vehicle.Police and military accompaniment1An endless motorcade followed by ambulance and tank vehicleThe tank vehicle following the ambulancePlease bord, departure in 5.minutesAnd off we go, through the mountains and villages, holding on for our livesOne lone teapot, looking for it's lid

    The king of Marocco comes by

    November 8, 2025 in Morocco ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    What an exciting day today, and an exercise in total trust!
    Elfi drove one of the most beautiful mountain tracks I have ever encountered today. Hardly more than 2 meters wide, Vertical drop offs and frightening hair-pin bends on a washed-out path.
    And once arrived in "commune Al Tifnoute" the army suddenly blocked off the village, full in the middle of its weekly market, for a motorcade of 20 SUV vehicles with black windows followed by an ambulance and a small tanker vehicle.
    The last time I heard of this sort of treatment it concerned the "Sultan of Oman".
    When I asked a bystander who is driving by, the answer was:"the king". This was followed by a shrug of the shoulders,😁
    As soon as they disappeared the market and village continued as if nothing had ever happened.    Read more

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