Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, Morocco - Polarsteps

Before I walked into Western Sahara, I contacted Bas Idsinga. (I found him through this app, check out „World trip by bicycle“). He cycled across the Sahara and I was curious what he thought about walking it. He said it should be fine and mentioned that there are military posts along the coast where you can camp and refill water. I haven’t really noticed them up until today. This morning, at a police checkpoint, they wrote down my telephone number and made sure I could be contacted via WhatsApp. The officer said he’ll contact me today to make sure I’m fine. He also said, he‘ll tell a patrolling car to look out for me. As much as I appreciate their efforts to keep me save, I didn’t really like to be under the police radar. That’s why tonight, I wanted to make sure I’ll camp somewhere „official“. I remembered Bas telling me about the military stations and have read in his steps on this app that he had great success camping there. I noticed some small buildings next to a cell phone tower that looked like they were from the military. There were three soldiers stationed. When I asked if I can camp here, they said they have to radio their boss, as this is a „difficult“ station. Luckily I was allowed. There are long stretches coming up with nothing but desert, so it’s good to know that these military posts are an option.