Michael Palin travels Gibraltar; Morocco; Algeria/Western Sahara; then Mauritania: Gibraltar; Tangier (Euro-Arabic city), Fez (perfect Islamic City, 1200 yr old garment/skin dye industry), Marrakech, Aran (Berber village in Atlas Mts.), Ait Benhaddou (Town as movie set); Smara refugee camp in Tindouf; Zouerat (iron ore mining), Chinguetti (French Legion fort).

Michael Palin crosses the Sénégal River from Rosso, Mauritania to Saint-Louis "French port", Gorée Island "Slavery port", to Dakar "capital" in Senegal. He takes the Bamako Express train to Bamako "capital", then along Niger River to Tirelli "Bandiagara Escarpment for Dogons", Djenne, Mopti, to Timbuktu.

Michael Palin continues in Mali to Timbuktu visiting the ancient Mosque of mud. He follows a camel caravan of Wodaabe nomads to Ingal in Niger for the annual Sahara Cure Salée festival, to an oasis at Tabelot, then across the Tenere Desert to the border of Algeria.

He travels Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, coastal Algeria, Morocco, then Gibraltar: In-Guezzam (border) and Hassi Messauoud (Oil town) in Algeria; Tobruk, Benghazi, and the ruins of Apollonia (Greek) and Leptis Magna (Roman) in Libya; Djerba island, Caves at El Haddej, Sousse, Tunis (Carthage) in Tunisia; along Algeria-Morocco coast to Algiers, Oran, Ceuta; then Gibraltar.