Tag: desert

Sahara Diaries, Part 6: The Lows and the Highs

May 16, 2010 — 7:30 pm

Forget everything I said before. This place is not romantic. It’s deadly, unfor­giv­ing, and miser­able. Full of pain and agony.
Okay, maybe not that bad, but right now Laura and I are in low spirits. We’re tired. We ran out of mineral water, and can’t help but remem­ber how Rashid care­lessly drank [...]

Sahara Diaries, Part 5: Night of the Thousand Stars, Snakes, and other Deadly Encounters

May 16, 2010 — Midday
The nights out here have been won­der­ful. Not only do we get to rest while things cool off con­sid­er­ably and Rashid sets to work on the evening meal, but we also get to enjoy the type of clear, starry sky you can only find in a dry envir­on­ment far from city [...]

Sahara Diaries, Part 4: Rashid, Pain, and More Pain

May 16, 2010 — Midday
No entry for yes­ter­day. Just too damned hot. Figured I’d make the effort today, despite my fatigue, before time and dis­tance dis­sip­ate my memor­ies like a camel fart in the desert.
I’m not a reli­gious man, but “prayer” is the closest thing to what was going through my mind as we struggled [...]

Sahara Diaries, Part 3: Camel Trekking and Arabic Lessons

May 14, 2010
There is only an hour or two between the pre­vi­ous entry and this one. Since I wrote the last bit, we have eaten the day’s lunch. Rashid pre­pared and served us what he called “Berber Omelette,” an egg and tomato dish with peppers, onions and the usual spices that was remark­ably like Turkish menemen. [...]

Sahara Diaries, Part 2: Berber Food and Folk Music

May 14, 2010
The dusty streets of Zagora feel very far away and very long ago. It’s hard to believe it was only yes­ter­day. The con­trast between the desert and even a small town like Zagora couldn’t be more pro­nounced. When the wind dies down out here, it is per­fectly still. Perfectly quiet.
We are about six to [...]