It's raining again...

Half way through our trip... only two more days to go!

It’s raining again – we happily sang along to the words of Supertramp at a concert 3 days after arriving in the UK for a British summer. As weather forecasts it was a bit wide of the mark, the driest summer in England since we were 15 years old, scarcely a drop of rain. What’s more it was pleasantly warm, with temperatures in the low 30’s.

It was only two months later as we flew into Chad that we encountered rain. It was not unexpected in Ndjamena as it is wet season in the Sahel, the life-giving annual rains that enable the millet to grow. As we flew in we saw that the usually flat brown landscape was green with large areas of flooding. Soon we would be travelling North across the Sahara  to Bardai and we wondered if Ruth and Rebecca who were travelling with us, might even experience a rare shower in the desert, just enough to to wash the dust of the windscreen.  

Setting off from N'djamena

At 6 am 6 days later we set off in a loaded pickup with our 2 Teda guides to cross the desert. All went well until we reached the end of the tarmac road at Massakory 3 hours north of Ndjamena. The sky was black and when the storm came it was impossible to see so we stopped the truck.  As the rain abated the road ahead resembled a huge lake and it was clear we couldn’t go on. A rapid decision was made to turn round, retrace our steps on the tarmac road  for an hour and go a little further north east and find a longer but drier route to head onwards to the desert and Moussouro. We all agreed we didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the mud.

Not at Massakore

The rain pounded down and it seemed like we had made a good decision to have turned around. After a couple of hours it was again time to leave the tarmac, we were in the right village Angora, but  had no idea where the other road /track was. It was only after a few false turns and some helpful Chadians that we wound our way amongst the houses and eventually on to the track to Moussouro. This was Chad as we had never seen  it before, green and lush and abounding in animals, herds of goats ,cows, sheep and camels all around.

A green and pleasant land

Not leaving Moussouro

With the delay we had thought we might need to spend the night at Mossouro and we had telephoned ahead to some missionary friends who live there. In the end we made good time but all the same took them up on an offer of coffee and cake and then drove on.Yet again the road had vanished what was normally a straightforward track towards the desert was invisible under the pools and even lakes of water.  We were getting seriously lost when we encountered a friendly local ambulance driver who offered to show us the way, taking us back to Mossouro and then going out of his way to make sure we were on the right route. 

Setting off in the middle of the night

When we stopped for the night it was late and it seemed it might rain again so a meal of bread and tuna fish was in order and then we camped out under the -no not stars this time but flashes of sheet lightening as the rain threatened again. By 3 am it came again and a rapid dash was made for the car and we drove on. We were entering the desert in driving rain splashing through pools of water until one was one too many and we were stuck in a mixture of mud and sand.

Stuck!

Thankfully by then it was only raining lightly again as all our bags were unloaded and digging started . After 3 hours and a lot of hard work we were out. The rain had stopped so we drove on a little then had a break for a meal (tuna again this time with pasta) and a well earned rest. We were now in the sandy desert amongst the dunes but even here there were pools of water.

Picnic after being stuck

Stuck again!

 After lunch as we drove on we came across other vehicles stuck in the sand, and we too were stuck again briefly. The rest of the day went well, including a stop at a well and a ‘service station’  for a coca cola and this time the rain stayed away and we arrived in the dry desert near to Faya camping just outside.

A well - good chance to fill up water bottles

Service Station

A tasty meal of tuna and pasta was good before falling asleep this time under the stars and staying in bed until 6 am luxury indeed.

Outside Faya

No shade..

We drove through Faya and felt we were heading for the real desert experience this time. The sky was blue and cloudless, the sun beat down and the sand dunes on the horizon were floating in the mirage. When we stopped to eat (tuna and spaghetti) our Teda guides even made a shelter for us with a tarpaulin as there were only a few tiny trees around.

We were close to the Tibesti mountains now and as we skirted around them it was no longer a mirage but even real desert rain and the Wadis were full of water after the rain on the mountains. The first looked like a large ford and we crossed without a problem .The next caused us to wonder if we were going to make it that day ,a car and a lorry were completely  stuck with a narrow gap between. Helpfully someone called us forward and whoosh we were through just enough space to spare and we didn’t slip!!

Squeezing through

Wading the Wadi

However there was still more to go and to our right was a huge storm cloud over the mountains which we seemed to be racing. The Wadi ahead looked shallow but to be sure our driver tested the depth and we crossed without a problem only to be completely blacked out by a dust storm which had caught us up. We had to struggle to find the higher ground and not stay in the dangerous Wadi bottom. As the rain came it washed away the dust and we could see our way at last. 

On towards Zoar K where the sight of cars half buried in sand just outside town showed us what force the Wadi can have when full. The cars were wrecked, hopefully everyone got out alright. Here at last was a respite from tuna and pasta and we had fried chicken, bread and a cold coke for tea at a local market restaurant, a very welcome change and then a nights sleep on the edge of town thankfully without rain.

Chicken not chuna

Our last day was up in the mountains without a drop of rain but the plants growing on the side of the road showed that even here it had rained.

Water in the mountains

Wadi at Bardai

Later that afternoon we drove into Bardai along the path of the Wadi which had also been full a few days before. We were on time just as expected despite all the rain and adventures. Four days and three nights under the stars, quite an experience which make us appreciate even more the alternative which we often use, a MAF flight.The six hour flight in a small plane albeit rather bumpy over the mountains that was scheduled for the return of Ruth and Rebecca in a months time, suddenly seemed very attractive to them.

...and a much quicker trip back

A month later...

The next afternoon as we were settling in what a surprise, It was raining again- this time a light shower leaving drops on the sand and a confusion as to where exactly we were, the fertile land of England or the barren and dry Sahara.