Africa

[Visited: November 2016]

On the first day of our two-week adventure trip through Chad, we embark on a ride from N'Djamena towards the east. We quickly leave behind the capital city, drive through dusty towns on the surprisingly good asphalt road, until we reach a spot where we have a tasty salad lunch. It turns out we will have those delicious salads every single day on our entire trip. After lunch, we continue driving east, and the landscape seems endless, and far from the beautiful views we had anticipated. Rather dull, flat plains, covered with dry bushes: Swahilian landscape. One reason we are still glued to the windows of our Landcruisers is that there is the occasional nomad family dragging their belongings through the landscape on their camels and donkeys, often very colourful affairs.
The sun is already well on its way down when we suddenly see steep peaks appearing at the horizon. At first, the view is rather fuzzy, but as we get closer, the mountains take a firmer shape, and seem higher than they looked from a distance. When we drive next to the peaks, we just shoot pictures, trying not to lose this opportunity, but soon realize that we will actually set up camp right at the foot of one of the most spectacular peaks, dubbed Ab Touyour, and also known as the Mountain of the Vultures. The sun is already low, so we head out immediately, climb one of the lower rocky outcrops for better views, and enjoy the warm sunlight on the granite peaks around us. Some have huge boulders on their peaks. Unfortunately, we do not have the time to climb them now. We are just in time to set up our tents before darkness envelopes us.
That same night, some of us walk towards an open space between the peaks to see the full moon rise in the east. It is a so-called supermoon today, and indeed, the rise is spectacular and completely clear. Back at camp, we see the moon rise again, this time over the ridge of the mountain. The night is restless because a strong wind is relentlessly blowing against our tents. The next morning, I walk to the foot of one of the highest peaks, and when I hear kids voices, I notice a bunch of Chadian kids high up on the slopes. Again, there is no time to join them. After breakfast, we walk towards the foot of the mountain again, and our guide points out the regular holes we had noticed the day before. Probably, in ancient times, people living in the area used the hard stone to grind grains. When we drive away, we pass a small lake from which a herd of cows emerges, with the granite peaks as a backdrop. Time to head further east.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

inspiring you to travel

Ab Touyour (Chad)

Ab Touyour > Chad > Africa

[Visited: November 2016]

Around the World in 80 Clicks