It's 'Hump Day' in the Sahara!

Here’s my update for today from my luxurious (and I mean that sincerely) camp in the Sahara desert.

We left the hotel. We went to a fossil museum and showroom because apparently there is such an abundance of sea fossils they make tables and fountains and other smaller items out of them. Yes, you can buy limestone with fossils.

Then we went to a town market where everything from dates to fabric to materials to camel meat was for sale. How do I know it was camel meat? From the severed head hanging at the butcher shop.

Then we drove closer to the Sahara and had lunch at a cool restaurant: veggies and beef and spices and, honestly, it was pretty awesome. Then we jumped into a four-wheel truck with Saide 2, who dropped us off at the starting point for my very first camel ride in the Sahara. Our camel caravan was led by a young man who, in addition to making sure we all held on as the camel got up and was the official photographer of the camel ride, walked and led the camels along the way.

I was on the lead camel and he was super chill — far chiller than I was. Between geeking out, having sweaty palms and seeing the route we were taking and thinking, “Oh my gawd, we are all going to tip over,“ I was probably jumping in my camel saddle just a little.

I cannot properly explain what it was like to sit on top of this beautiful animal looking down at the sand dunes and seeing the other camel tracks and wondering how many tracks have been swept away over the thousands of years by travellers like us.

There’s something about this country, something about this land, these people, that brings history to life. They live in a country that’s proud of its past and excited about its future. A country that opens its arms to the tourists, not just because of the dollars they bring but because they are proud of who they are and want to share it with the world.

I was quiet on my camel ride because everything that I felt was so powerful — where I was and who I am. We arrived into camp which is, quite honestly, a full-on glamp, as you can see.

My tent has an en-suite shower and flush toilet. I’m writing this from my king-size bed piled high with the warmest blankets. I ate a feast tonight that was fit for a Sultana. I’m not roughing it. But I chose this way because it’s my first time out. If I do this again, I may chose a simpler option where I can sleep out under the stars.

For that was the perfect close to the perfect day. I laid on a sand dune and looked up at the stars. I have never seen so many. I have never seen them shine so brightly. I saw Venus and the Big Dipper and I wished on every one of them. I may come back here one day but, if I do, it will never match the power of my experience today. I got to see the world in all her beauty with all her shine. I am the luckiest woman in the world right now. Goodnight and all my love from the girl under the Sahara stars. Oh, and did I tell you I rode a camel in the Sahara desert?