The Dunes in the Desert

So I decided to go on a trip into the desert by safari Jeep.  I didn’t want to go by camel because I’ve ridden a camel before (most recently in Dubai).  It’s hot here in the desert, and I have no desire to travel in a ridiculously slow manner with a rather smelly animal radiating extra heat from below me.  I’d rather go in a vehicle that moves much faster, may (if I turn out to be lucky) have air conditioning and where I will at least be able to lower the windows and get a breeze.  Also, it will shorten the amount of travel time needed to get out to the dunes.

So the plan was to leave in the afternoon and have a driver to take me out to the Erg de Chegaga Dunes, in the Sahara desert, near at the border of Algeria (but not too near, as the countries don’t really get along, to put it mildly).  Apparently the dunes are quite gorgeous and Hassan (the owner of the resort I’m staying at) also has a camp out near the dunes where I’ll stay the night in a tent before retuning in the morning.  Omar (the guy who works here at the camp) will come too.  He is nice, and says it’s partly to help translate, because the driver, Muhamed doesn’t speak much English, and partly to give me company.  Also, I think he has to run some errand or take care of some business out at the camp for Hassan.  So it works out for everyone.

 

***later***

 

We left as planned in the afternoon and headed out towards the desert.  Since M’Hamid is literally on the “shores of the desert”, it wasn’t too long before we were tooling along in the desert.  I was surprised because it wasn’t all sand, as I had imagined.  In fact, there were many bushes and plants scattered about.  Also , there were rocks, not continuous, undulating dunes as I’d expected.  Clearly, not all deserts are the same!

Along the way, there were quite a few things that were interesting, and Omar acted as my guide, telling me all sorts of fascinating facts and pointing stuff out.  I was able to see a mirage (where it looks like there’s water, but isn’t) and some whirlwinds, where there are swirling tornadoes of wind going across the desert.  Those were super-cool and I tried to catch them on video, but don’t think I had so much luck.

There were some plants Omar pointed out that have poisonous liquid in them if you touch it, but which is helpful for other medicinal usess, and fossils in rocks.  He knew the names of most of the plants.   All in all, it was a cool trip into the desert.  I was only a little bummed that we weren’t really able to “dune bash” as I had done in Dubai, where you go up and down the dunes as hard and fast as possible, sliding up and down the sand, as though your car is some sort of sled or ski.  But I could see how difficult it was to drive in this desert, and how easily one could get the car stuck and not get out for quite some time.  We weren’t traveling in a caravan like we had in Dubai, either.  I was impressed at how Mohammed handled the car and DIDN’T get us stuck, although there was a moment where I could see how easily one could end up that way and it would be quite a hot, dry walk before help would be reached!

At one point, as we approached a small well in the middle of nowhere, we saw that there were three wild donkeys standing near it.  Suddenly, Mohammed pulled over, and he and Omar got out of the car.   They told me that the donkeys were waiting by the well for some people to come by and give them water.  Apparently, wild donkeys come to the wells in the desert when they are thirsty and if there isn’t any water in the trenches there, they’ll hang out until some kind person comes by and draws up some water for them.  And according to the guys, it is just the common custom for people to do this!  Fascinating.  The donkeys were hilarious too, eager for the water, but slightly sktittish around the people.  I loved watching the scene play out – check it out.  We also would randomly see wild camels walking around, as well as “free range” ones, who would go out during the day and back to their oasis homes at night.

On the way to the dunes, we stopped at the camp where we’d be spending the night and picked up a bunch of empty water jugs.  Then we went to the nearby oasis to fill up all the water containers. There’s a young guy who lives at the camp all the time as caretaker and chef for the clients who come, and he needed supplies replenished, as well as the water brought.   While we were at the oasis, Omar bade me wash my face and drink from the oasis well, saying it was good luck.  There were some women at the well, filling their water jugs while we were there.  It was neat to see.

Then we continued on to the dunes, stopping at a small house in the desert on the way for some ubiquitous tea beforehand.  We arrived at the big dunes of Chegaga in time to hike up a bit to watch the sunset from the top of a dune.  It was spectacular!   We could see forever, it seemed.  All the way to Algeria, actually, Omar said.  We saw some camels returning to their camps for dinner and bed.  Sounded like a good plan, so…

We returned to our camp, where the resident guy had cooked us a delicious dinner.  Omar joined me and we ate under the stars.  Then we watched the sky for a while.  Because there was so little light pollution, the sky was brilliant with stars.  I literally saw more than a dozen shooting stars before I stopped counting.  It was incredible.

In the morning, they served me another delicious Moroccan breakfast before driving back to the camp.  I chilled out in my room for most of the day after that.  I am tired and it is hot here!  But I definitely enjoyed my desert expedition!