27 Jul En route to the bowels of the Akakus

That day we had been lurching for many kilometres under the relentless sun, and hunger had begun to twist my insides, which were rattling all the time. We came across a group of camels that were heading like us towards the shade of a solitary acacia tree in the distance.

When we arrived, the giant Yussuf Adwol, without stopping to smile, put down his kalashnikov and grabbed one of the camels from behind, as if with the intention of raping her, milked her and we were able to quench our thirst by sharing a bowl of milk. As I swallowed, I could feel a strange stumbling sound going down my throat...

Meanwhile another group of Tuareg were dispatching an old lamb that we had been able to buy in Uweinat before heading into the desert.

We set up a small camp there to protect ourselves from the relentless Ghibli, which seemed to be blowing hotter than ever that day. Attracted by the smell of the barbecue, several Tuareg appeared out of nowhere and we invited them to sit at our table while he brought us news of the fighting with the Tubus in the Murzuq region on the other side of the mysterious mountains that rose not far from where we were, to the south.

I remember with great nostalgia those times of close camaraderie, times of exploring and discovering, times of living intensely...