Last Friday, May 1, 2020, we were called by journalist Stella Marijnissen from BNDeStem and AD. We had a nice conversation with her via WhatsApp video calling and this is what she wrote:
This is a link to the article:
- BN DeStem: Gestrand op een camping in de woestijn. Maar: hoe erg is dat eigenlijk?
- AD: Gestrand op een camping in de woestijn. Maar: hoe erg is dat eigenlijk?
And this is a translation of the article in English:
© Gert Jan ter Haar and Sonja van den Berge
Stranded at a campsite in the desert.. But: how bad is that?
ETTEN-LEUR/MOROCCO – Because of the corona crisis, they are stuck in Morocco: world travellers Gert Jan ter Haar and Sonja van den Berge. For more than six weeks this Etten-Leurse couple has been bivouacing at a campsite in the middle of the desert.. They can’t go home because of the lockdown. But: do they really mind?
Stella Marijnissen 05-05-20, 19:06 Source: BN DeStem
They stopped working, bought a Land Rover and converted it into a mini camper that they named ‘Milady Landy’. In October 2019 Sonja van den Berge and Gert Jan ter Haar set off on their world tour..
The plan? Via Western Europe to Morocco for a tour and then heading north, to make the crossing to Italy.. But the coronavirus put a stop to that.. Italy was locked, Spain followed and on March 19, Morocco also closed its borders..
On the road with mouth masks
Milady Landy was sent to the coast, but it got too busy there. The same was true for the
campsite in the Atlas Mountains. Its owners set sail for Merzouga, a village on the edge of the Desert Dune area of Erg Chebbi, and camping Haven la Chance in the nearby town of Hassi Labied.
And there they are now, since March 19 – and Ter Haar expects it to last another two months.
“At least until May 20th,” he says via the excellent Wi-Fi connection. “Then we’ll hear if we can leave.”
The campsite has good amenities say both Etten-Leurians, there is a restaurant and we can buy anything. Either here at the campsite, or in the village. “We’ll have to wear a mouth mask when we leave. In the pool we can cool off and there is plenty of shade.”
Netflix and Wi-Fi
They don’t get bored. “We walk, have e-readers, Netflix, Wifi and 4G. It’s quiet here and the people are very friendly. The sick are not in the area.”
Currently it is around forty degrees, but if the lockdown is lifted they are not yet going to go home. First a little wandering through Morocco and then preferably to the coast or the Atlas Mountains where it is a bit cooler. “We wait to visit the Netherlands until it is a bit more pleasant in Europe and then move on!”
