For those of you who are waiting anxiously for the second post recounting my trip to Siwa, you might need to find something more productive to do with your time… Just kidding. But seriously, here is a recap of the rest of my Oasis adventure.
Saturday morning (16.10), we grouped off in fours, placing our lives in the hands of Siwan hired drivers and their faithful(ish) 4x4 jeeps and headed out for a long day in the Sahara desert. I think it is worth a few words to note how organized, punctual, and well-thought-out (thus, quite un-Egyptian) our entire trip was; the Fulbright Commission thought of everything from boxed breakfasts for the bus ride to water and snacks to tour guides to Bedouin entertainment. Moreover, they provided detailed itineraries for us so that we knew exactly where we were going and what we were looking at (sometimes sand just looks like sand…). We were completely taken care of and experienced this oasis in a most luxurious manner, which not only proved comfortable, but enabled the adventure to be a relaxing break from the chaos and dysfunction of teaching.
Back to the safari day, our first stop in the desert was a site with 2 million year old fossilized footprints, or at least that is what we were told. The estimation has a negligible confidence interval of give or take 1.5 million years error. Nonetheless, the view from this site was rather breath-taking.
Up until this point, our driver was maneuvering his jeep in a rather lame manor, at least for my thrill-seeking preference. We were just moving along similar to the tram through the Animal Kingdom in Disney World, nothing too exiting because we would hate to upset the children. THEN, our driver hit the 4-wheel drive button and we were rockin’!!! I am talking up and down sand dunes, cruising next to camels, and getting stuck atop sandy ridges before driving straight down (much to Alex’s stomach’s discomfort). It was awesome!!!
We stopped to play in the sand dunes in our way to our lunch site, where Ella and Carl proceeded to tackle one another, sending sand everywhere. We did the standard jump-up-in-the-air group shot and then more “emo” ones of people gazing out into the great unknown of the Sahara. This stop was the most fun of the day, by far!
After shaking a kilo of sand out of my shoes and a driving further into the desert, we arrived at our lunch site which was a lake. Yes, that is what I wrote, a lake, and yes we were in the middle of the desert. I think, my friends, that is why Siwa is called an oasis town. Regardless, it was rather surreal being in the middle of the desert while having my feet in the water. I was reminded of my trip to Wadi Mujib last summer in Jordan where we hiked up a desert canyon through rushing water. Not to get all philosophical, but there is something profound about abundant life in the midst of lifelessness. I thought about wandering off to meditate more on this idea, but I thought better because I was not trying to get left in the Sahara.
For the rest of the daylight hours we wandered around the desert, stopping at random places. One notable stop was covered in shells and sand dollars. It was amazing to think that at one point in history there was a gigantic body of water where there is now nothing but sand. Well, there were some scorpions scuttling along in the sand too, but other than that, there was no sign of life.
We stopped along a high dune to watch the sunset, but once again clouds blocked our view. Unlike the day before, we welcomed the clouds because the overcast kept us from heat exhaustion and sunburn. In fact, the temperature and cloudiness was absolutely perfect. After nightfall, we headed to a camp site set up for a Bedouin style dinner followed by a musical performance by a Siwan band. At this point most of us were exhausted and in a daze from being surrounded by sand all day. I think it would be peaceful to come spend an hour every week or so just sitting in silence out in the middle of nowhere, but to live in the Sahara would drive me crazy… too much Morgan time!
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