Writing about this trip once it's over and I've returned to civilization is difficult to do. Perhaps some of you can take a look at my photos, come up with some adjectives, send them to me and I can pick the ones that best sum up how I feel. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done, but that seems childish to say. Just check it out and enjoy the journey!
DAY 1 IN THE SAHARA
One thing you will notice : the sand changes color every second, depending on the angle and strength of the sun. We arrived in the desert as it was overcast and in the midst of a windstorm.
Our driver, Fatah, wearing nomad clothing (the Blue Men of the desert). He's not originally from the Sahara but man, did this guy know his way around! Our lives were 100% in his hands, but he picked his path around the thousand tracks laid out haphazardly in the Sahara sand. He blasted some great music over the next few days, too. We had fun with him.
Sometimes there are tracks like this, sometimes there are none, sometimes there are dozens criss-crossing one another. It was impressive how people could get around and knew exactly where they were at all times.
Our Sahara tent room, decorated in glammed-up Berber style. It was paradise.
Our bath buckets. You sit on the stool or stand up and pour water all over yourself with the little bowl. Obviously, baths or showers are unsustainable in the Sahara. This worked as well as you could hope. I loved it.
The brush-your-teeth and wash-your-hands station. Super cool.
The toilet facilities smelled great and were infinitely better than many of my options in Greece. Take note, Grecian designers : the Sahara's got one up on ya....
The fun tent, where unlimited drinks and board games awaited us galore. There were also sandsurfing boards but alas, I never took advantage of them....
It doesn't show from the pictures, but it was really windy. In about 15 minutes, I understood the reason for the sand turbans that the nomads wear, despite the oppressive heat. Due to the high winds, they couldn't set up our supper tables in the courtyard as usual, so this was our supper tent on the first night. It was lit only by candlelight and it was VERY pleasant.
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DAY 2
We had an opulent breakfast of eggs, crepes, bread, date and orange jams, yogurt, muesli and coffee to begin the day! I felt like a Queen! It was still really windy, so we opted out of a dromedary ride and decided to drive around the desert with Fatah to check things out. So much fun!
A group of dromedaries, none of which are wild. All dromedaries in the Sahara are tagged and belong to someone, but they do seem to roam around as they wish.
A hotel set up in the middle of the desert for those brave adventurers who come out here with their truck and their GPS... FYI, Fatah's cell phone was going off every few minutes over the 2 days we spent with him. When I asked him if he ever got lost in the desert, he said, ''Yes, but it's not a problem, cuz I got my mobile!'' You can't get reception between Banff and Lake Louise, but you can chat to your heart's content in the Sahara.
A group of nomads at one of the sparsely-situated wells in the desert.
A local school where we stopped in to say hello. The teachers spoke Arab, French and English.
The local village where the children who attend this school live.
Since it was still morning, there was only a grade 1 class (pictured) and a kindergarten class. The older kids come to school in the afternoon, and French is taught as of grade 2. Not sure if English is taught at all, I forgot to ask.... When I entered the school, the little boy was sitting between the two girls in the front row (you can't see the girl in the pink, because she is picking up her pencil). The male teacher asked the little boy to sit away from the girls for my photo. I guess he wasn't supposed to be sitting with girls ???
The flat sands of former Iriqui Lake, which was a salt-water lake up until 40 years ago when the King dammed it.
Fatah let us take a turn at the wheel on the flat sands.... I did it, just to say I did it.
Getting a fire going for our awesome chicken kabobs : a desert picnic!
Time for our dromedary ride!
It was fun, but it was seriously one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever parked my backside on. The flies were bad and were driving the dromedaries nuts, but we had a good time. We were supposed to catch a sunset while riding, but it was overcast, so it didn't happen.
As close to seeing the setting sun as we got...
Our camel driver, Saïd
When we returned to the camp and had washed up (dromedaries stink!!!), we stepped outside our tent to find this beautiful sight.
No wonder they had apologized to us about having to eat our supper in the tent last night ; we didn't know what we were missing!
We had some Berber musicians playing for us as well, which only added to the ambiance.
Once they got going, they played some upbeat tunes and danced with us in front of the fire; kinda like a little desert rave party...
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DAY 3
We have to leave, mwah!!!!! Breakfast is served outside this morning, nice!
More dromedaries....
We have to leave around 9:00am, so we don't get to hang out very long after breakfast. What an amazing two days! Definately recommended to anyone who wants to check out the Sahara...
For the next 5 days or so, Chris and I are planning on simply driving around in the Atlas Mountains, seeing some countryside, small villages, gorges and canyons.... Will keep you posted. Stay safe, everyone.
