Dune 45
Nambe Desert
Namibia
Sunday, July 8, 2000
It is 6:30 AM and cold and we’re off to the desert to watch
the sun rise over the dunes. We are
headed to Dune 45, the most photographed dune in the world. The Nambe Desert is
the oldest desert in the world and many of the dunes are 300 m high. Dune 45 is 275 m high, at a steep 45° angle.
Once we are off the bus, the others race each other to the
top. I attempted to join them but the climb is just too difficult for me. I
begin to panic about the height. I feel a little vertigo. I find myself swaying
as I climb higher and higher. The path seems to get more and more narrow. The
steepness makes it difficult to walk. I lift my feet laboriously through the
sand that just seems to swallow up my shoes. After ten minutes, I walked down
in defeat but I’m not sure was defeat. This must be the decision some climbers
face at the end of their climb on Everest. Do they risk their safety or quit
while they are ahead? I quit while I am ahead. I realized I had come to the
desert to contemplate it, not to conquer it.
So I stumble down and find the spot where I can just sit and
take it all in. The desert is beautiful. I don’t know how to describe my mood
or feelings at this time. But I feel as if time at this moment has stopped for
me. I feel a serenity come over me as if it is a blanket that is covering me,
protecting me from the elements. And I wish I could call my mother. She
would’ve been pleased that I am here. And
in a strange way, I feel her presence, the first time I have this sensation
since her death.
The dunes are calming, quiet and sobering. I sit and think
and look at the landscape. The view reminds me of a giant kaleidoscope. Every
scene is different and captures my attention. When I look back on the previous
scene, it’s different again. Once the sun comes up the dunes lose some of their
dark, rich red coloring. But they still maintain their majestic presence. I am
in ewe of this desert.
