Sahara
We were warned that nights are cold in the Sahara. Everyone brought warm clothes and we were given sleeping bags fit for winter. Five of us women lay down side by side in one big tent.
The night was hot. We left the tent windows open so we could breathe and got out of our sleeping bags. Although we slept little the night before because of the delayed flight, it was difficult to fall asleep in such conditions. When conversations subsided and we started drifting off to sleep, the wind picked up. The tent poles swayed and creaked, the wind blew sand into the tent through the open windows. We voted to close the windows. Somehow sand found its way inside the tent anyway. Soon, a thin layer of sand covered us, it got into our eyes, nose, and mouth. I had to get into the sleeping bag again and wrapped my head with a scarf.
I woke up at 6.30 a.m. after a fitful sleep and got out of the tent. The men were breaking camp, Kassym was making tea. Our vehicles sank in the sand and had to be dug out after the night sandstorm. I do not know how much sleep our support team got as they slept outside on the rugs but they behaved as everything was all right.
Soon, the other women were up. One of them was unwell, she had nausea, perhaps from eating fruit. One driver took her and another woman back to the hotel. The remaining 3 women soldered on.
The desert was beautiful. I wished we could spend more time in it. The sandstorm of course was not part of the program but it left long-lasting memories. The fine sand of Sahara was everywhere in my belongings. I would get rid of it completely only when I returned home and washed everything.
We did more riding over sand dunes, then drove to the highway and entered the desert on the other side of it. The cars stopped in a small oasis where everyone rested under the trees while Kassym made more tea with dates. It looked like there was nothing much to do and we were simply killing time. The men played dominoes on a small portable table. The three of us rested and waited.
A mother of one of the men cooked traditional couscous for the entire company. It was delivered to us on a bike. Once we finished eating there was really nothing else left. We stopped on the way back at a hot water spring, rather unusual sight for the desert. The locals use it for bathing and doing their laundry.
