Given the negative experience we had with the agent we worked with, we arrived to the desert deservedly skeptical. It was already dark when we arrived to find an ouberge (desert hotel) devoid of customers. At this point I was in the throws of "traveler's indigestion" so after 8 long hours in the car, I was just glad to have somewhere to stop. They brought us into the main hall of the ouberge and I was immediately put at ease. It was lovely, decorated with the traditional rugs covering nearly all surfaces (except the ceiling), huge pillows, and a ring of drums ready for a night's celebration.
As we were the only guests that night, we enjoyed the company of the staff who spoke at least some English, talking about life in the Sahara and what was to come in the next few days. We capped off the night with a short walk out into the dunes to see the stars. They were so spectacular. I can't remember ever seeing so many in my life. The relief was even more pronounced when they showed us to our room, which sported a huge canopied bed and a private bathroom and shower. We went to be exhausted, but pleased with our luck.
DAY ONE
I could hardly sleep that night, which I credit equally to my stomach problems as well as the anticipation of seeing in the daylight what we saw as mere shadows the night before. Let me say that I was not disappointed. In fact, I dare say that the view was even more spectacular than I had imagined. See for yourself.
Honestly this is where I was living for 4 days. Too bad I was feeling really shitty (oh wow, really, no pun was intended there). The ouberge was right at the base of the sand dunes and this small lake. I was entranced. This is when I started falling in love with the Sahara. I mean, who wouldn't!? Look at it! I spent the entire next day sitting on the roof of the hotel, just watching the light change on the dunes, listening to the quiet, letting my thoughts wander, chatting with the staff, and bonding with Mimi.
DAY TWO
The next day I was feeling a bit better, so we decided to endeavor out into the dunes themselves. It was an arduous walk, but we were helped by the fact that it had rained the night before our arrival, so the sand was firm underfoot. It is during this exploration that I began to notice the small details that make the dunes so fascinating.
I loved how the camel blankets looked laying out to dry in the sun.....
how different animals all made their own unique tracks... none of which I could recognize...
how one kind of clay seemed to form small waves that stuck out of the loose sand...
the dry plates formed by drying mud...
and the reflections of sky in sand in the lakes.
It was also then that I decided to try sandboarding.... with hesitation, of course, given my knee's condition. But I was careful and wrapped my knee well. It was much harder than I expected. Snow is faster, and much more fun. I'll try it again some day with real equipment and two healthy knees.
DAY THREE
It was on our third day in the Sahara that we ventured out on camel back. Before I recount this part of the tale, I must explain something first. I have always been somewhat of a softie for animals. I always cringe at any mistreatment and am overprotective of their health and well-being. As such, I planned to walk when we did our camel trek. I couldn't stand the thought of some creature baring my weight. But then a day into my trip, I met Jimmi. He changed my mind about everything. He was standing having a snack behind the ouberge when he caught my eye. I made my way over and just stood watching him for a while. He looked at me quizzically, but unperturbed. He was just so cute, I couldn't resist. So I returned and visited Jimmi a few times a day for 20 or 30 minutes. He grew accustomed to me and dare I say, even a bit friendly. Let me introduce you to Jimmi.
Isn't he fantastic? Perhaps it's just one of those things that gets lost in a photo, but he is really special. We spent a lot of time together during my stay in the Sahara. I began to learn his likes and dislikes: don't bother him while he is eating, move slowly with your hands near his face because he is a bit jumpy, he loves to be scratched behind the ears when he trusts you, if he wants to stop and eat you can do nothing to stop him, he makes the sweetest pained noise when they pull his ring, so I did everything in my power to keep him from getting pulled. Later on this even meant getting off and feeding him while we walked--what a crazy white girl--but I digress.
I realize this course of events is illogical. Usually if you bond with an animal, it serves to dissuade you from using them, not make you want to jump on their back. In fact, that is exactly what was happening. The more I hung out with my new friend, the more I felt pain for his circumstances. My sympathy for his pain became unbearable. Until one cold morning, when I came out for our morning visit wrapped in my sleeping bag. Jimmi greeted me with his quiet grunt and allowed me to pet his nose gently (which, by the way is just as soft as a horse's). He was interested in my bag through, and kept pushing his head under it. To my surprise, he seemed to want me to put it on him so we could ride. Call me crazy, and perhaps I am personifying too much, but for the first time in my life I found that I believed that perhaps this captive animal might actually like having a rider! I changed my mind in that moment, and decided to try the camel trek, but only if I could ride Jimmi. Thus it was settled.
The camel trek was divided over two days. The first day was broken in two parts--3 hours each and ending at our tents in the middle of the sand dunes, and the second day just a few hours to return to the ouberge. It was harder than I expected. You lurch back a forth quite a bit, and with all the sand dunes you are constantly inclining and declining. I was saddle sore for a few days afterwards. But the view was spectacular and it left me lots of time for contemplation which was only broken up by my occasional encouraging remarks to Jimmi.
Here is our guide, M'Bareck--a really nice young guy with broken english.
And here are our camels. Jimmi Hendrix, Bob Marley and Chris Brown (honestly, those were their names--only the last one was added by my travel companions).
During our first day, as I mentioned earlier, my belief in Jimmi's enjoyment of carrying my lazy behind wavered. I sensed his exhaustion (real or imagined) and indignation at wanting to eat (definitely real). In fact, he reminded me of me quite a bit--always hungry, pensive, and extremely stubborn. He found a bush of a juniper-like plant that he must really like, because he bent his head and refused to move. So, to relieve my conscience, off I hopped. But even with his burden lifted, Jimmi was insistant. So of course, the only logical thing for me to do is to bribe him. I grabbed as much of this plant as I could rip off, and got him to his feet and following the others. In this way I ran after my caravan, continuously bringing fresh greens to my beloved camel. M'Bareck couldn't help but laugh. It was the first time anyone had ever dismounted, he said. Crazy western white girl.
DAY FOUR
Having woken up early to see the sun rise, closed up camp and made our way back to the ouberge, our time in the Sahara was coming to a close. With a tearful goodbye to Jimmi, I asked M'Bareck to be sure to watch over him for me, to which he laughingly agreed. As the 4x4 wheeled off, I took one last longful look at the camp, and the sun casting dark shadows on the dunes. I was sad to say goodbye, but I hoped that n'shala, I would be back soon. I shall look back on it very fondly. I miss the quiet, the way the list is so dramatic on the sand, and of course, Jimmi. If you see him, give him a squeeze for me, would you?
No comments:
Post a Comment