Sahara

Wednesday, March 29
about 6:45 pm
Ubari Camp, Ubari Sand Sea, Sahara, Libya

We've arrived at the first of our desert camps, and oh what a ride it was getting here. Another one of those jaw-dropping, never in my life would I dream I'd be doing this moments. (I'm happy to note that despite the abundance of those moments, each is just as thrilling as the next. Not jaded, yet.) Our desert chariots greeted us at the door to our hotel, which I was elated to be leaving. We reached the edge of the desert in about ten minutes, and from there it was a rollercoaster of undulating sand dunes. Seriously. The Jeeps roared up and over the hills, sometimes at 50, 60 degree angles. Butterflies in the tummy, cool breeze blowing through the windows, racing through the sands, bump bump bump. Unfrickinreal. The landscape is two colors: sand and sky. Nothing else, anywhere, in any direction. I'm hurdling mountains of sand in the Sahara in a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by a Libyan named Abrahem who doesn't speak English. WTF, is this my life?



Oh yeah, and then around noon there was a little astronomical occurrence that was garnering a bit of fuss -- a total solar eclipse. Some groups came to Libya to specifically witness those four minutes, but it was just a pretty nice side benefit for our trip. Our location was about 150 miles from the total path, so we saw about 85/90% eclipse. Still pretty cool. The sky turned an eeerie shade of blue/gray and Abrahem had the special glasses you need to look straight at it.



After our impromptu science lesson in the sand, more dune-buggy antics ensued. One of the 4x4s got a flat, and I wish I timed them because I've never seen a tire changed so fast in my life, in the desert sand no less. like to see the NASCAR chumps do that.



We stopped at the four main Ubari lakes, sprawling oases rising out of the sand. They are stunning! Palm fringed and completely calm and still (except for the unabashed Germans swimming in their skivvies), with amazing relections of the surrounding trees and towering dunes. They're as salty as the Dead Sea. Postcard material, no doubt. The weather has yet again been amazing, not too hot and downright cool at first, very little wind.



Our convoy of six 4x4s (plus the grub truck) works really well together, each of them looking out for the others. It's enthralling to watch the other cars up ahead scale a steep wall of sand only to find yourself doing the same ten seconds later. The drivers are fantastic, brothers and cousins and friends all of them. At our frequent stops, they goof and pal around like ten year-old boys, and that spirit extends to the sands. No doubt they'd be going at double speed over these hills if they weren't toting a bunch of old folks (+ me) around the desert. They've all already learned my name (thanks to Salem, I'm sure). Wish I spoke Arabic! The chef at our camp is Moroccan, and speaks French, so I can parler avec him a bit.

Camp. WAY exceeds expectations. I have my own tent, and when I say tent think mini-circus big top. Two centered poles anchor the enclosure, and the circus-hued cloth drapes down about ten feet to the ground around the perimeter. Two twin beds, at least twelve feet apart, center table (with bowl of almonds and raisins and a banana), two side tables, armoire-ish thing, overhead light, POWER OUTLET, lantern, and two sitting chairs and a table outside. Facilities are way above average, too. Flushing toilets! Haven't seen the showers yet, but I hear there's hot water and good pressure. There's a 24-hour bathroom attendant, too.

All in all, this is just amazing. Reflecting on the past two or three days, the things I've seen and experienced and the people I've met -- I'm pretty effin lucky.

Sun is about to set. Can't miss this!


Saharan sands surrounding our camp, at sunset