December in the Sahara: Agadez and Beyond

Sandy pants, mirages, wild gazelles, Tuareg tunes, and fried goat cheese were just some of the highlights of my trip to the Tenere Desert and Air Massif of Niger last December. Our group of 10 adventurous adults and 5 children traveled to Agadez and beyond the week before Christmas. After a 2500 CFA (West African Franc) toll equivalent to approximately $5.00 and a 12-hour drive from Niamey to Agadez, we reached the launching point for our trip.

Some of us stopped overnight at Le Motel in Birni n'Konni en route, where we dined at the indoor restaurant. The last hour of driving past In Gall was especially challenging since there is no road!

Accommodations at the Hotel de la Paix or the Auberge d'Azel across the street awaited us. The children ran and played on the rooftop as we unloaded and sipped a conjoncture - local slang for local beer. Finches swarmed among the bougainvillea in the hotel courtyard as we discussed the recent robbery of a tourist group in Gugaram. After increased police coverage was arranged in the area, we decided to carry on as planned.

Early on Saturday found us packed into five Toyota Landcruisers owned by Agadez Expeditions. Each vehicle was named for a different constellation in the Tamasheq language. We headed north to Iferoune accompanied by our drivers - one of whom, Agak, doubled as our guide - and two cooks. Six hour later we reached the "Oasis Campground".

The tour company crew made a campfire, set up tents, and cooked us a spaghetti supper while some brave souls took a freezing shower. Dinner was accompanied by our choice of wine, grenadine or menthe syrup, or Pastis.

On Sunday morning we went for a stroll in the village and admired some of the last remaining West African ostriches. We also took in the museum and artisans' shop. Back in the vehicles we headed northeast to reach the giant sand dunes of Adrar Chiriet. All of us made the strenuous climb to the top. Nightfall brought zillions of stars and freezing temperatures.

The following day vendors appeared from seemingly nowhere. After shopping we took off for the marble cliffs of Illekane, stopping on the way to view petroglyphs and search for fossils in the sand before continuing to Kogo, where we set up camp.

After driving through a wasteland of volcanic rock all day on Tuesday, the village of Timia appeared like paradise. Date palms, pomegranate, orange, and grapefruit trees abounded in the garden where we camped. We visited the famous waterfall and admired scenery that looked as though it were lifted from one of "The Land Before Time" videos.

During our return to Agadez we passed a caravan of 120 camels laden with salt from Bilma. The childrent counted a grand total of 688 camels during our excursion plus one desert monkey. After recuperating overnight at the Auberge on Wednesday, we headed back to Niamey.

The final highlight of the trip was a lunch of fried egg sandwiches at "Restaurant La Fleuer" in Konni. The camels, the shepherds, the twinkling stars......it all made a nice prelude to Christmas in Africa.