The next day we woke up early and had our coffee and bread in the courtyard. It was cold, but the sun was shining so I perched myself in a place directly int the sun and followed it around until we left. Camels and their trekkers were striding by occasionally. The dunes behind them. It was all very surreal to be witnessing.
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Omar had us in the car shortly there after, checking out the Erg Chebbi (the largest dune in the area) and then on our way to listen to some authentic african music. Played just for us. It was my favorite Italian’s birthday, and we convinced them to sing to her. We all danced together and laughed and jumped around. Played the instruments. Omar did the swing with me, which was quite surprising! You could tell he truly loved the music. It was fun to watch and it made a very memorable beginning to the day. We headed to the market then, ordered our “pizza” for lunch and then looked around the town for a bit while it cooked. We also stopped along side the road to try some camel’s milk. It’s not terrible. Can’t say I would have it in my morning coffee though.
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The desert, I would have to say, is exactly as you would picture it in a painting, but more breath taking in person. Camels stride slowly. Palm trees disappear behind you. The sun shines differently there. The shadows seem more prominent and sense of direction seems to be lost with time. The dunes are like mountains that can move with the breeze. When night falls, and the darker it becomes, the heavens shine unlike anywhere on earth. The stars are uncountable there.
Our new guide, who’s name I never got, had our camels ready to go. (Omar didn’t go to the desert with us.)We put our large packs in a room and took what we needed for the night. We got to pick out our camels. I of course picked the big white one. We named them all. Mine was Clyde. My husband’s Jezebel. My friend..Doozer and her husband Betsy. We hopped right on and away we went through the dunes to our camp. Again, surreal is the only way I know how to explain it. Watching our shadows pass through the dunes. Watching the camels as they were guided through the sand, careful not to go up or down the steep hills they would not be able to maneuver. Honestly one of the most awesome things ever to get to experience . The sun set as we were riding. It got very very cold and by the time we rounded our last dune, into a camp with tents made of bamboo and blankets, I was shivering and frozen. They served us mint tea and off they went to put supper on, which of course was soup and tajine. We slept on a couple mats on the sand, covered in 6 wool blankets. I fell asleep with a candle burning next to me for light, dreaming of all the stars looking over me.
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