Dunetrekking with dromedar

If you know true silence, you know how valuable it is.

In the Sahara, where Sand has been laying for decades without a foot touching the fine lines of the dune - only the wind and the sun forming it's shape - that's where I find peace.
My feet rooted, my heart wide open. Thoughts come and go - there is no need for anything else than existing.

Arrival

I find myself in a small village at the entrance to the desert. The streets were busy, sandy and traffic-rich. So I'm happy to sit in a beautiful garden with a Bungalow for my own. Birds singing, Flowers and Palmtrees for date production are in and around our little paradise. A green, fertile valley to start and end my travel. The gentile breeze touches the light and long-sleeved clothes I'm wearing. I breathe in and out and already feel timeless.
I'm traveling in March which means it's hot at noon and nice cool at night. Truly a 1001 Night.

What brought me here?

Desert

After a short ride with the car, we reach the dromedar. For now, I travel with guide and a local berber to look after the animals. It starts with rocky desert, but after a day we reach the sand dunes.

The Desert is for everyone says Said, one of the berber. But I can see in his eyes how little he fancies the Ralley driver drifting in the sand leaving nothing but marks of ego and fast pleasure. Said was born in the desert and knows the harshness of the sand and merciless sun just as much as he knows the dialog with the stars at night and the humble hour of sunrise and sunset.

View

The desert is completely honest - in her beauty but also in her merciless.

Waking up at night with the sky full of stars, feeling the sand underneath and the rough blanket. Then when the light starts to dawn - sending an orange shine over the landscape of the endless dunes around - there's nothing but peace. Purified peace.

I get up. The sand is cool and feels good on my naked feet. While rolling my blankets together I sometimes have to remove some sand from my nose and eyes. My hands have become rougher and dry from the sun. I'm wearing my Shesh day and night - against the sun or the cold.
One more time I internalize the scenery around me - there's nothing I can adhere to forever.
Silently I slide down the dune with free feet. They haven't seen a sneaker for a while. When I reach the tent, my companions have already brewed some tea for me before we saddle the dromedary and move on. Move on ... maybe for long, maybe another time. Time does not exist here. Only the sun tells us what to do.

Adieu

It passed fast and yet there was so much space.

After reaching a certain point we drove back to the green valley and the garden, where I stayed another night. A night to say goodbye to a life that has already become a part of me - or I have already become part of the desert.

...

Traveling sola

When consindering some universal precaution, traveling as a sola female is possilbe and I would do it again.

Some things about a sola female traveler: Before going to decide about my trip I was hesitant if I even want to travel sola. I was concerned about the safety, about the reactions dominantly amongst the male population and since I was using public transportation about their accuracy as well.

Fortunately however I didn't have any safety issue, I didn't get harrassed by anyone altough I could feel the interest and it was - sometimes more obvious than other times - that I (or my passport) could help them settle down in europe where they believe life is more easy and greener.
(It's understandeable as our currency has a lot more value there and it seems like we are all super rich...)
In the end I didn't end up with a new 'boyfriend' and I also didn't use public transportation as the bus I wanted to take had already left and I couldn't wait for the next one running in 7 hours.. Taxi is quite expensive it's easy to pay more for the Taxi to the city than for the flight itself.

Dunetrekking with dromedar

Arrival

Desert

Adieu

Traveling sola

Hiking Himalaya

Floating Amazonas

Camino