It may well be that things have changed by Feb. I have a strong feeling that the refusal to let me in without a private convoy was a personal decision of the chief of customs (or whatever he was chief of). The guys on the Algerian side have never heard of such thing as private convoy; the consul in Tam said the road is clear.
One thing is definite: there are not many tourists who go this route now. I asked at the Algerian side - they mentioned a couple of groups which crossed in the past month. Not much, and it would be really difficult to find others to split the costs. Besides, the figure given me was totally arbitrary, and could increase if a bunch of westerners turn up at the same time.
I am coming back up this time, won't be trying Mali or anything else. Besides, the vehicle needs some attention, so I rather not take extra risks.
Peter
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