Started the morning out by catching a bus to Baharia Oasis where I start my trip into the White Desert. It was 5-hour bus ride right through the desert. Once we left the city, it was nothing but brown desert with one rest house about half way there. As I zoned out the window, I noticed that there were little piles of sand everywhere and they all were in a form of a pyramid. And even piles of rock by the roadside that were dumped were in a pyramid shape. Things just must naturally be done in pyramid style here! Once we arrived, we were treated to a nice lunch of pita and fixings. And then we divided up into our groups, and headed even further into the desert. I was with a group of five, a couple from New Zealand, a girl from Japan, and a guy from Korea. We drove about another 2 hours stopping along the way in the Black Desert to take pictures and climb a nice size mountain. It was a great view from the top! Then we headed off-road. It was like being in an Arabian movie, driving thru the desert with all the sand dunes towards the sunset, with the appropriate Arabian music playing in the background, and the Bedouin driver wearing his headdress (a cloth that sits like a hat on his head and then comes down and wraps around like a scarf on his neck). One time the driver was having some fun and was fish-tailing the truck from side-to-side and all of a sudden a huge gust of wind sent sand flying into the backseat and covered us. As we were driving towards camp, the sun was setting and it seemed like the horizon was flat- even with the road. So it looked like the huge ball of sun was just sitting on the road. And then all of sudden it was gone. It was quite amazing. I have never seen a sunset like that before. So now it’s dusk, and we are entering the White Desert, which, of course, has white sand, but the uniqueness is all the white stone formations that have been formed from the wind and the sand. The stone was like chalk. It was neat to see at dusk. It is now dark and we don’t think he is ever going to stop to camp. And all of a sudden, he pulls up to a spot by some of the big formations and stops. “We camp here”. He knows very little English but we managed to communicate. He proceeded to set-up camp, which consisted of a huge cloth on sticks that he hooked to one-side of the truck. It formed a wall and a half, a barrier from the wind. He made us a very nice supper and we sat by the fire. It was very cold and windy. The smoke from the fire kept blowing in our eyes. The sky became magical as the stars became alive. There were so many and they were so bright. I felt like I could just reach out and grab one. The moon did not come out to way late. I finally saw it at 1:30 am when I was, yes, still trying to go to sleep. I thought we were tent camping but the wall that was made was considered our tent. So I got to sleep outside for the first time directly under the stars. It was quite amazing to lie there and look at the sky until you can’t keep your eyes open. Luckily, we had a sleeping bag and many, many covers piled over the top of us. We had cushions and all slept right next to each other. The blankets were so heavy, I could hardly move. The wind actually died down but man was it cold. It was the first time I wished I had a stocking hat. But, I just pulled the covers over my head and kept warm and tried not to think about how many people slept under these same blankets that just keep being reused. It doesn’t really matter when it’s that cold! So, needless, to say, without being able to move much and no pillow, I didn’t get much sleep. We woke up right before sunset amongst all the rock formations and watched as the sun came alive. We then headed back to catch the 10:00 am bus back to Cairo. I am now relaxing at a hotel before I catch my 9:00 pm overnight train to Aswan. I think it is about 11 hours. I have a seat in the sitting train, so I am hoping it is a good chair that I will be able to sleep in, especially since I didn’t get much sleep last night. As I was unpacking and repacking, I realized I can’t find my camera. AHHH! I think I must have had it on my lap in the desert truck and with all my other things in my hands it must have fell to the floor. I have been trying to be sooo careful, but I guess with lack of sleep I wasn’t paying close enough attention. We have called the Desert tour company and they are going to look for it. So I am hoping they will find it and my tour company can get it for me. Fingers-crossed! I am trying not to give myself a hard time about it, but there is a little voice in my head that I keep telling to be quiet. At least, I am healthy and safe. That’s what matters the most. A camera is a camera. I am hoping I can just find some disposable cameras to get me through the rest of Egypt and then when I am in Vietnam I can buy a new one if mine doesn’t show up. So after calming myself down about that, I decided to wash the dirt & sand off from the desert. And it was the best shower I have had since I left home. It was just the right temperature and pressure! Usually one or the other is not quite right or both. So I took one long hot shower and felt a lot more relaxed.
eHere is a link to see some pictures of the White Desert: http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=&q=white+desert+egypt+picture&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=NbtBTZPLJKOShAfu2sTDAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CB8QsAQwAA&biw=1280&bih=702
Since I don’t have any to show you.
