Thanksgiving weekend for teachers and students at CISE is
actually a 4 day break. October 6th, known as Armed Forces Day, is a
holiday here in Egypt and Oct 8th is the Canadian thanksgiving.
(CISE gets Military holidays, Muslim holidays and Canadian holidays) Having 4 days in a row off, we decided
to take Becca camping in the desert. We
booked our trip with Ali at Sonata Travel. We had 8 people and the cost was
$170 US per person plus a tip for the driver (there and back $20 US) and a tip
for our two guides ($50 US). Our grand total for the trip was $540.00 USD.
Osama (not bin Laden) picked us up in a van for 10 at
exactly 7am on Friday morning. We weren't exactly sure how long this journey was going to take but were told it
could be between 4 and 6 hours. I was
slightly nervous when Osama was driving slowly past a few gas stations looking
for gas and Friday happened to be a morning when all the gas stations in Cairo
were dry. This happens from time to
time, but not to worry – Osama knew what to do.
We stopped at a truck stop 2 hours down the road where he found a big
tanker truck selling gas. He sent us into the truck stop to use the “WC” if we
needed to. Oh my …. the washroom was really awful. I mean REALLY AWFUL. There
were three stalls – the first one just had a hole in the floor, the second one
had a toilet that didn't flush and the third one had a hole in the floor and a
cockroach crawling around it. No toilet paper, paper towel or napkins anywhere
in sight. Not sure if this was our last opportunity to pee or not so Amanda and
I held our breath and went for stall number 2. Outside, Osama was successful at
getting some gas and we were off. About 5 minutes down the road he stopped
again. This time it was his turn for a break – a sheesha break. About an hour later Osama, who’s been driving
like a regular Egyptian (in the middle of the road, passing everything in
sight, going 100 – 140, you know, like a maniac) starts to slow down … and then
pulls over. The check engine light has come on. The engine appears to be
overheating. He put water in the radiator. The light went off and away we went again for another 10 minutes or so until the light came back on. We needed more
water. We sit on the side of the road for only 2 minutes before a truck comes
along and offers to help. They go speeding off and return about 15 minutes
later with enough water to get us to our destination.
We met up with another group of 12 campers and arrived at the Old
Oasis Hotel in Baharyia around 12:00 where we were fed a delicious lunch before heading out to
the desert with our guides Ayman, Moehe, Sammy “the boss” and two others in 4 wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps.
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| Ayman and Moehe - our guides. |
Ayman’s jeep dash had some fancy decorations. We've noticed this in taxis too. They decorate their dashboards with some sort
of fur or animal hide. After looking at nothing but sand for 5 hours in the
van, the green Baharyia Oasis was pretty neat.
Our first real desert stop – Black Mountain in the Black
Desert section of the Sahara. We climbed
to the top in sandals and without any safety equipment or instruction of
any kind. We were joking about how this climb in Canada would probably require
a safety waiver to be signed, a helmet and running shoes and we’d probably be
attached to a rope.
Next we stopped at a little oasis with a natural spring
water pool. We sat around the edge with our feet in the water. It felt very
refreshing. We discovered that our guides like to have fun when they started
splashing us and tried to push Becca into the pool. They don’t really speak
English so it was nice to see a bit of their personalities here.
Back in the jeeps for a fairly long drive which took us from
the black desert to the white desert.
Our first stop here, Crystal
Mountain. At this point, the sun was getting pretty low in the sky.
Back in the
jeeps for another 40 minute trek – this time mostly off road. Becca really
liked the off road driving. We discovered the value of the “holy shit” handle.
Mike was wondering why we kept going. Why not just stop and camp. The sun was
setting and we were missing it. Then Ayman drove up a bank and stopped. This was what we saw:
It was stunning. Totally worth missing the sun
set for. This is where we were going to camp for the night.
Our first night in the desert was so neat. Our guides set up
the camp – a Bedouin camp. They park the jeeps in an L shape and put up a wall of
material screens along the sides. The sand is covered with carpets and then a
thin mat is put down for each camper. In the middle is a table about 6 inches
off the ground. Becca and I are ok to sit cross legged but Mike has a hard time
– he’s just not that flexible. If we ever go again, he needs a stool or beach
chair or something. While supper was cooking Ayman taught us a card game to
play. It was similar to pass the ace but with a king. (Note to self: along with
the beach chair or stool, bring something to do while waiting. Cards or a book
with a book light or maybe a Kobo. Something that you don’t mind getting sand
in. Becca could have been drawing and I could have been writing notes for this
blog.) The desert foxes could smell supper cooking and we noticed a few of them
hanging around watching and waiting for their turn to eat. They were totally
harmless. They just wanted food. Our supper was finally ready around 8:30pm. It
was worth the wait. Chicken, rice, potatoes with tomato and zucchini and bread.
After supper the guides fed some of the
left overs to the foxes. They grabbed their food and quickly scooted away.
Their legs move so quickly, it’s funny to watch. A camp fire was started. The
guides brought a drum and sang traditional Bedouin songs which included making
up words for their own songs – there was a drinking song and a song about
Canadians at the Canadian school and a crazy song about potatoes and chocolate.
Sammy, the head guide, likes to dance around the fire – he has got the moves
too. It was pretty funny.
During the campfire I was drawing in the sand and Ayman came and sat down beside me and started to draw with me but it was kinda awkward because he didn't speak much English. But when we were drawing he wrote his name then he asked me how to spell "loves" so I wrote it for him then he told me to write my name so I did and it said "Ayman loves Becca". I erased it and started to draw again hahaha. He is 19 and I think he had a wedding ring on. Some people called him my boyfriend. It was a good thing he was cute! haha (he's cuter without the scarf on his head) - Becca
By 10pm we
were ready for bed. Ayman tossed us down some super heavy wool blankets and
turned off the light.
The most amazing part of the entire trip – lying on the sand
looking up at a black sky filled with stars. At 10pm, the moon was not yet out
but the stars were. It was fantastic. We quickly fell asleep but not for long.
The sand was so hard and uncomfortable that parts of my body would go numb.
Mike and I were awake most of the night. The moon was very bright in the sky
and it was so peaceful. We laid there and talked and dozed. It got cold enough that
we were thankful for the heavy wool blankets and even needed to put on a
sweater. I was pretty excited to take photos of the sunrise – and I was awake anyway so I
got up.
I haven’t mentioned the outhouse. There isn't one. The
process – walk as far away from sight as you can, dig a hole in the sand and
squat. It was a lot more pleasant than the truck stop, that’s for sure.
After breakfast the camp was packed up and we were off to
see some more sights in the white desert.
We saw a canyon and tree that flowers but mostly we were in awe at how the white desert resembles the
moon. (at least what we imagine the moon to look like)
We stopped at a little desert oasis for lunch. It turned out
to be a 5 hour stop. It was a long wait. This is another spot where something
to do and something to sit on would have been nice. The sand was so hot that shoes were necessary.
We did explore a bit and found a cave.
But mostly we just hung out and relaxed. Lunch was pasta and bread with cheese
and cucumbers and tomatoes.
Finally at 4pm the sun was low enough to move
along.
We stopped at a few more sites –
the mushroom and the duck and the rabbit. The camping spot for this
second night was a popular one. Every direction we looked, we could see another camp set up in the distance. The guides set up our camp and we took photos of
the sunset.
The second night went very similar to the first but no desert fox.
(no photo, I was too lazy to get the camera the first night. I was ready the
second night and the foxes were hiding) I guess there were enough camps around that
they didn't need to come to ours. Having not slept very well the first night, I
slept much better the second night. The ground felt a little softer. Becca didn't sleep as well the second night –
she developed a cold and was having a hard time breathing and couldn't get warm
enough to fall into that deep sleep that I was able to find. (Note: pack fleece
pants, a warm sweater and socks for bedtime in the desert.)
I was once again awake for the beautiful sunrise . . . as
was Sammy who came to wake us up with a song and dance. Breakfast was early
this second morning because we wanted to try sandboarding. We had to get to the
dunes before it got too hot.
Becca was a natural at sandboarding. I tried but ended up on
my face at the bottom of the hill. Going down on my bum was the safest for me.
We started on a smaller dune to get the hang of it. We moved to a bigger
section after a bit. The bigger dune was more of a challenge for Becca and she
still managed to get to the bottom on her feet. Because of all the sand flying around, the
camera got put away and my little camera (which I bought for just such an
occasion) had a dead battery. We only have a few photos but we had a lot of
fun. In the end, we were covered in sand. By 10:30 it was too hot to keep playing and time to head
back to the Old Oasis Hotel where we were going to have a shower before heading
back home.
Osama was there, waiting to take us home.
I’m very thankful this thanksgiving weekend to have been
able to spend some time camping in the desert with Mike, Becca and a group of
friends that have become family. There was nothing to do but relax and enjoy thanks to our guides who did all the work. We were spoiled and it was fantastic. If you ever get a chance to go - DO IT! (Remember to pack some ice in a cooler if you want something cold to drink) I’m
also thankful that Osama managed to get us home without even a scratch on the
van.
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| Any Gary Larson fans out there? |
p.s. the photos in this blog are small but if you click on them, you can enlarge them.
