Leaving the Sahara Desert

Leaving the Sahara DesertMorocco

July 9, 2008

After our afternoon journey on a camel, I am now in the Sahara Desert, on a dirty blanket, sleeping under the stars.  It’s hard to top this one. I toss and turn and cannot find a comfortable spot. I can’t fall sleep which leads me to worry about being so tired in the morning that I will fall off my smelly camel. Something nibbles at my foot and I squatted away. I hear something crawling around. I must fall to sleep now or I will drive myself crazy.

Suddenly I feel a tap on my foot. Someone tells me it is time to get up. I panic because it feels as if I have just fallen asleep. I set up and find that Pia, Alex and I are awake. Pia woke us to tell us that it was raining and we should go inside the tent. I pulled a blanket up over me and over my camera and suggested that she do the same if she worries about getting wet. She seems to think this is a genius idea and is relieved that she could stay outside.

The dawn is upon us. The stars are covered with clouds. And it is beginning to thunder and lightning. I am in this desert for one day in my lifetime and I pick the day of a lightning storm.

But I just couldn’t rally to get up and move to the tent and then I remembered that it is my birthday. What irony to die on my birthday. So I decide to ignore the lightning and let fate be my master. If today is my last day, my day to die, so be it.  What away to go!

The storm passes. A cool breeze picks up and I slowly begin to get up and get moving. Within the hour we are back on the camels. I pay more attention to how I sit on my camel and I feel a bit more comfortable than yesterday. But I think I was not meant to ride on beast of burdens. I do not connect with them.  I don’t like the smell of them.  I am not comfortable with them. Actually, I am afraid of them.

 We head back to the lodge. We watch the sunrise and I want to take a photo but I can’t get to my camera. I decide to stay in the moment and just enjoy the beauty. We are traveling in a line, all of the camels tied to the camel in front of it.   My camel is tied up to Roberto’s camel and all of a sudden Roberto seems so far away from me. I notice that my camel has come to a complete stop. He is now untied from the other camel. I panic and call for one of the Mohammeds.  Both of them come to the rescue. My camel is reconnected and off we go. When this happened a second time, I don’t panic. I just calmly call for Mohammad. And when it happens the third time, I just asked Roberto to turn around and tightened the rope.

We arrived back at the Lodge after two hours of trekking up and down sandy dunes. My camel is resistant in letting me down.  He comes down on his first set a front knees but just stays there. Or at least he stays there long enough to send me in to a complete panic. Mohammed kicks him a few times. Finally, he sits completely down. I slide off and feel a little vertigo.  I walk away and think to myself “this is my last camel ride” and I am okay with that thought.

I have always thought it would be great fun to ride 10 days on a camel through the Sahara. Now I am content with my experience of the last two days. I don’t need another eight days of this. I know what what it would feel like: hot, sweaty, smelly, dangerous, dull and uncomfortable. This idea gets scratched off my “to do” list when I get home.


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