The day after we got back from Spain, Wendy found a overnight camping trip in the White Desert. I wanted to see the white desert, I just wasn't sure about the camping aspect of it. But when push came to shove, I decided it was better for me to go than to not. So a group of us got picked up at 7am, not really knowing what happens next. We got into a mini-bus and asked how long it would take to get to our first stop.
"Four hours" was the driver's reply.
Everybody settled in for the long drive, a bit uncomfortably. There wasn't much room to stretch out, and the driver took the bumpiest roads possible. It was a bit hard to sleep, and four hours felt like forever. You think driving through cornfields can be boring, try driving through sand.
After the trip finally was over, we got out at a motel in the middle of a tiny town. As soon as we got there, they asked for our passports, which we all handed over. As soon as we did, we began to joke about this seemed like a horror films that begin with tourists being dropped off in the middle of nowhere. The passport situation ended up being something that involved leaving the motel, so Lisa, my roommate, went with the guys to safeguard them. When she didn't come back for almost an hour, our horror story began to feel a little more real. Fortunately, she came back with the passports and we got on the road soon enough. we took a truck that had five seats in the back of it, and accompanying us was not just the driver and our tour guide, but also a police escort. Apparently all American and British tourist - no matter how large the group- need a police escort in the desert. We found this odd, but we went on our way.
The first stop was in the Black Desert, which is filled with bits of black rock. I think they are black onyx but I'm not completely sure. Our driver had a good time off roading, which threw us around a bit in the back. Egyptians aren't so big on the whole seatbelt issue, so through out the day we were flying around our seats a bit. It only made the trip more exciting though. After getting out and taking a few pictures, we headed over to the Crystal Cavern, which wasn't nearly as impressive as we thought it was going to be. It was basically just a small crevice that sparkled a bit. We got back into the car and finally headed over to the White Desert. The White desert is pretty intriguing. It isn't the normal sand dunes - or well, it begins that way. They're really cool looking :
But the rest of the day was spend setting up camp. We didn't have to do anything, which was nice. Set up and tear down were all done by our three escorts, while we sat around. Our food was delicious and cooked all over the fire. There was chicken, rice and a goulash of some sort. We brought our own beverages, and they provided some water as well. While we ate we threw our bones to some desert foxes. They moved wicked fast and the guide warned us not to leave our shoes out because the foxes will steal them. After dinner, we all sat around the fire and some of the other camps that were nearby had their escorts come over as well. They had some drums and broke out singing a bit as well. It was a good time. The night got really cold though as soon as you got away from the fire. We had blankets as well as sleeping bags and you were still freezing. I was not sold on this part. This morning was relatively boring, packing up and spending the day driving back.
The whole experiance was good, but I still prefer my bed and indoor plumbing. Ha. Nothing has changed.
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