It may have been an outskirt of Boumalne that we circled back to, or more likely, it was another, smaller town we came to. Wherever it was, our guide Hicham made his way to a street where the paved surface disappeared.

We followed this, er, street? path? track? out into the wilderness.

We were keeping our eyes peeled for some Bedouin, whom Hicham assured us often came to this area. Sure enough, we did see their encampment, but the Bedouin themselves were not there. Probably tending their goats our somewhere…greener.

We took this stop as a chance to get out of the car, stretch our legs, and recover a bit from all the jouncing about.

Then it was back into the car, and more stunning desert scenery.

At last the outskirts of Bou Tgharar (also sometimes spelled as Boutharar) came into view. Time for lunch!