Western Sahara

Dragon Island

Sunset at Sahara Sailing
We stayed overnight at Sahara Sailing overlooking the lagoon
Boating

The high spot of our stay in Dakhla was a morning’s sail on a 35 foot catamaran run by Sahara Sailing, owned by an English couple, Jackie and Neil.  The previous night we had stayed at their premises overlooking the lagoon and in the morning we were tendered out to the boat anchored in the bay.  We were warmly greeted by Neil and, with the help of his crew, Joseph and Hamza, we were soon under way.

Captain Neil gave us a safety talk and we were offered snacks of fresh fruit and cakes

We sailed around the lagoon anchoring off Dragon Island, a tiny uninhabited island, shaped like a dragon.  Joseph dropped us off at the beach in the dinghy, saying he would return in an hour.  We had plenty of time for a couple of swims in the warm, clear water before we returned to the boat.   It was a fabulous trip which we especially enjoyed due to the warmth and humour of our hosts.  We could have stayed chatting longer but Captain Neil had another group booked for an afternoon’s sail.  It would be a 12 hour working day for him.

Abandoned on a deserted beach by Joseph!
Dragon Island – the shallow water over warm sand meant the water was 20°
Dragon Island was uninhabited but hordes of tourists could appear at any time
We were fortunate and had the place to ourselves