30-Oct-2007 -- Continued from 25N 29E.

It was Tuesday, 29 October when we arrived at the 'Cave of the Swimmers' in Wādiy Ṣūra. We were in two vehicles driven by Nāṣir Sulaymān and Muḥammad Zayn al-`Ābidīn and accompanied by Capt Sa`īd Šapāna from the Egyptian army. The famous 'swimmers'! There were more swimmers than we expected but it was surprising how small they were and how the rock face around them was flaking away. Onwards after lunch to the Foggini Cave where the rock art was magnificent. That night we camped by a mushroom rock just away from the smugglers' tracks.

To reach the confluence Ašraf determined the best route would be to cross into Libya and approach from the West. Just after crossing the border we were spotted by an armed Libyan border patrol. After a chat and glasses of tea we went on our way.

The route was picturesque and very testing. Orange, red, and white sand, hidden dead-end gulleys, and rocky ground. After surprisingly few detours we arrived at our destination. It was, however, a bit disappointing to find that the border had been marked, not far away, with a post set in concrete stating (in Arabic) Libya on one side and Egypt on the other. We were very lucky to find the Confluence on flat ground as there was much more difficult terrain all around.

Having recorded the Confluence, we turned back into Libya and took the circuitous route on to Wādiy Mālik in Egypt.

Coordinator's Note: According to the GPS picture, the visitors were at a point about 1.4 km north of the Confluence.

The borderline between Libya and Egypt is running N-S exactly through the Confluence.