egypt: western desert

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I 'planned' my trip to Egypt. Most likely I wasn't thinking too clearly. The reason I say this is because I scheduled a pick up for my second tour to be at 0700 on 1 January. I'm not a fan of partying by any definition, but that's still the one morning a year when most people sleep in. 

Being picked up at 0700 meant having breakfast and getting packed up before then. Let's just say I was tired. And sleepy. And really wishing I'd thought things out a bit better. Oh well, this next week was totally worth any inconvenience. 

The driver was waiting for me in the lobby, right on time. I found out later that when he asked the front desk if I was in the hotel they told him they didn't have anyone by my name. Hmmmm. 

I was so tired that I slept for most of the four hour drive. The seat pretty much laid flat, I was out like a light. I've always been known for heavy sleeping, and sleeping in cars, but I was dead to the world for those hours. 

I woke up just a few minutes before arriving at a town in the western desert of Egypt. I didn't really know where I was, but I figured it was the right place, since the company had arranged my ride. It was, my guide came up to meet me straightaway. It turned out he had just come back from the desert that morning. 

I was sent inside the building to have lunch. I wasn't hungry, (since all I'd done was sleep since breakfast,) but the food was good. I ate everything. There were several dishes, traditional Bedouin food. There was also a plate with a local type of bread, the best comparison I can make is to pita. 

After eating I was happy to go outside to have tea, another Bedouin tradition. Since it was winter, I was cold inside, the sun felt great. 

Not long after tea my guide picked me up and we drove around town, running errands for the tour. He needed to clean his 4x4 vehicle, get more petrol, pick up food, etc... I found the petrol 'station' to be the most interesting part of everything. It definitely was not like a station we think of with pumps outside. This was a small room filled with a couple large tanks filled with I'm not sure what. There were also plastic jugs filled with petrol.

My guide said he wanted two or three of those, so the employee came out with a funnel. He tucked the funnel into the opening of the petrol tank, and slowly poured in the petrol. I could see all kinds of safety issues, but the system works. 

Eventually we returned to pick up my bag, then drove to an area on the outskirts of town. There was a hot spring there, built by the government. Awesome. 

Basically a giant rectangle box made of cement, with sand on the bottom. Hot water came out of a pipe into the tank, and the excess came out a notch cut in the other side. The water was clean as far as I could see. 

I went behind a building (not sure what was inside, it was padlocked closed,) and changed into swimwear. It felt great to be in the warm water. It wasn't hot, but it was warm. 

After hanging out in the water for a little bit, I changed back, and we drove a little further. Not too much later, my guide stopped the truck, and said I should walk around and enjoy the scenery. It was just a peek of what I would get to see over the next week or so.

It was a mountain they called pyramid mountain, and not too far away was what looked like an extinct volcano. Gorgeous. I walked for a while, it would've been easy to go for hours. 

My guide honked the horn, and we went back toward the main road. We picked up another guy from one of the local houses; this turned out to be his assistant Samoca. Somewhere along the main we picked up a British couple, Gill (pronounced Jill) and Chris. They'd signed up for four nights of camping. 

All five of us stayed in the car as Hamada drive into the mountains just outside town. Nothing dramatic, but still awesome. 

I didn't really have any idea what I'd signed myself up for (going with the whole 'hey, I'm going into the western desert and don't know what I will do there mentality) so I was up for anything. 

Gill, Chris, and I walked around while Hamada and Samoca set up camp. We watched sunset, which was pretty. It was right then that I realized we could see a whole lot of stars. Beautiful. It was also a moment when I realized yet again that I should probably buy proper camera equipment (a tripod in this case so I could be sure the camera was standing still.) 

We all sat in the camping area, with a few big and heavy blankets, chatting until dinner was served. By then it was very dark, so I was thankful for the single lightbulb our guide lit using the truck battery. 

Dinner was good (rice and chicken and salad,) and the setup for sleeping came soon after. We didn't go to sleep straightaway, but we were happy to know how it would work. 

There were five mini mattresses laid out, then covered with a heavy blanket. Then five sleeping bags laid out, and each sleeping bag covered with two more blankets. We were all cold, it was nice to slide into the sleeping bags and feel the weight of the blankets. 

It was also really neat to open my eyes and be able to see so many stars without moving my head! I had also pulled my hoodie over my head, when kept my ears warm. 

The next morning I woke up before everyone else. It was not long before dawn, so I decided to go for a walk. It was really nice to climb up a ridge and scramble along. I got to see the sun rise, and see the light creep across the land. 

I came back to camp in time for breakfast. This was the meal I liked least each day, because it involved sooooo much sugar. I love sugar, but even I want something not made of sugar. 

After a while everything was packed up, tied down to the top of the truck, or put in the back.

Meanwhile Chris and Gill and I brushed our teeth and figured out what we would need to have with us for the morning. We got it all sorted, then Hamada told us the plan. We would follow Samoca down the hills and walk across the land until we reached a salt lake. The salt lake exists only in winter, in summer it is a salt flat. 

We started walking, and kept walking. Samoca knew exactly where he was at all times, and wound his way through the area. 

We got to see palm trees growing, green beans growing, and sun flowers growing. We got to see a donkey and week old puppies. We got to see how irrigation works in the area. Basically, it was awesome. I don't remember how long the walk was, but I remember thinking it takes longer to walk across land than you think it will when looked at from our morning camp. 

Hamada picked us up at the salt lake, and we drove to the canteen where I'd eaten lunch the day before. I was more than happy to eat there again, as I'd liked the food. For Gill and Chris it was a first time. 

We all sorted our things, and left our extra packs there, taking with us only the basics for the next week. I had a camel pak, which is one of the best things I've ever bought. I was able to take a couple t shirts, change of undies, hat, scarf, etc... It made it really easy to go walking every day, with plenty of water. 

We drove for a little while, about 40km I think. At least that is what I remember being told. 

Our first stop was in an area known as the Black desert. Volcanic rock and mountains is everywhere, covered with sand. Beautiful. We were able to walk and climb around for a little while, and enjoy the landscape. It made me think of what I think the moon looks like. 

We hopped back in the truck and drove a bit longer down the road, this time stopping at a place called Crystal Mountain. I have no idea if this name is official, or if it applies to one specific hill or the general area. As soon as we climbed out we could see crystal. Not the clean, clear, Swarovski kind, but rather the kind that has just come out of the ground. You could see how each bit had formed and grown. Beautiful. More climbing and walking around for all of us. 

We all got back in the truck, driving further down the road. 

Sometime during this part of the drive I noticed as we passed the signs saying we were entering White Desert National Park. Everything we could see was gorgeous. Our guide, Hamada, explained to us that what we could see on one side of the truck was currently forbidden area, for political reasons. Since Libya is currently unstable, and there is smuggling (of people and items,) over this border, the Egyptian government is trying to keep people safe. We were sad to learn this, as what we could say was absolutely lovely. 

We hopped out of the truck at what seemed like a random place to me, but obviously wasn't to my guides. 

Hamada told us we would follow Samoca on our walk, he would bring us to our campsite for the night. All three of us were eager for the walk, as we could see a stunning landscape ahead of us. 

I'm not sure, but I think the walk was around two hours. We walked through an incredible area of the world, with all kinds of unique bits (and towers) or rock coming out of the land. We all took heaps and heaps of photos. Not only was the landscape really eye catching, but we got great lighting. The so-called golden light, as well as sunset. AMAZING. 

The sunset was incredible, both in the west and the east. Beautiful colours and layers. Another realization that I need a better camera!

We arrived at our campsite when it was almost completely dark, the timing couldn't have been any better. 

There was another group there as well, with a campsite around 20 meters from ours. It was a group of 6 Indians. They were in Egypt for 10 days, and had decided to come out to the desert for a single night. That means they were in a car for 6-7 hours each way, two days in a row. Not my idea of fun, but also not my trip. Anywho. 

We all sat around a fire together, there was some talk of politics (yes, the rest of the world is VERY aware of the coming presidential transition in the US) and some singing. We ate dinner together as well, which was fun. More good conversation. 

My group went to sleep a lot earlier and faster than the Indian group. I found out the next day that they were up until 2 in the morning! 

The next morning I was up again before everyone else. I went for another walk, taking in the sunrise as I walked. Beautiful, and relaxing. 

Breakfast was again full of sugar. Not awful, not fantastic. 

My toes felt a bit off, so I took off my socks and took a look. I was right, my toes didn't look right. Samoca saw my feet (and recognized what he saw,) and called Hamada over to see. Hamada told me my feet were irritated with all the sand.

He gave me some cream to use a couple times a day, and also had some open toed shoes for me to use. I felt like an old man wearing socks with sandals, but oh well. 

We packed everything up again, and I loaded my camelbak with 3L of water. We said goodbye to the Indian group, and started walking. It was another walk where the three of us followed Samoca. Nearly four hours later we arrived at lunch. We were tired by the time we arrived, in a good way. Chris had a watch that measured altitude and temperature, it was interesting to keep track of those as we walked. 

Again, the landscapes we saw were stunning. Again, we all took heaps of photos. It's a good thing the memory card in my camera has a lot of memory. 

Lunch was good, I have no idea why I didn't take any photos of our lunches and dinners during this week. I put more cream on my feet, they were already feeling heaps better. 

While we were sitting around afterward, I figured out how to keep a scarf over my neck while a hat covered my head. The morning walk was amazing, but I'd forgotten suncream, and could feel the results of that mistake. My face was on the shady side the whole time, but it got burnt too. 

Our afternoon walk was a bit shorter, only 75 mins or so. We arrived in another lovely campsite, in time for another fantastic sunset. Being out in the desert really showed me what photographers mean when they refer to late afternoon as having 'golden light.' Awesome. 

With the landscape being what it was, some of the rocks and outcroppings almost looked as if they were on fire with the late afternoon light. 

Dinner that night was good, as were all the dinners we had. 

The routine each day was essentially the same. I woke up before the others and went for a walk just because I could. We would have breakfast and get ready for the day. A three or four hour walk brought us to lunch, after which we would relax for about 30 minutes. 

Another walk of 90-120 minutes in the afternoon usually had us arriving at a new campsite just before a gorgeous sunset. 

I was out in the desert for seven nights. Every day was full of wonderful walking and views and landscapes. It got up to 30C/86F in the sunlight during the day (while only 15C/59F in the shade,) and down to 0C/32F at night. I never really felt hot. I imagine I would've felt baked during the summer.

No, I did not shower, and wore essentially the same clothes the whole time. When I go back, I'll bring a couple more items, just to feel cleaner even though I won't look any better.

I learned a lot about the Bedouin culture, and loved the food. I got to hear Samoca singing traditional songs both as we walked and at our campsites. I was completely disconnected from the rest of the world, which was unnerving and good at the same time. 

On the eighth day we drove back to the oasis town of Bahariya. We had another lunch in the garden of a friend of my guide. It was super windy, so I'm glad we were in a shelter of sorts. If we had been in the desert with all that wind, I would've been crunching a lot of sand while eating.  

After lunch Hamada took us to another local hot spring. This one was hotter than the one we had visited before a week in the desert. It felt really good to be in hot water, wash my hair, and clean off all the grime of a week. My face and hands were sunburnt/irritated by sand, so they burned a bit when in the water. 

We stayed that night in the unfinished hotel owned by Hamada. It felt a little strange to sleep in a bed, and have a western style toilet in the fully sunctuoning bathroom! I did something I rarely do when traveling: I packed everything more than an hour before leaving for the airport. I had to put all the dirty desert clothes in a bag. I fit everything in my bag after organizing everything, which wasn't fast. I was proud of being proactive, because I'm usually a last minute packer. 

We had dinner that night in one of the rooms of the hotel. It was the same type of food I'd been eating the whole time, and since I liked it so much I ate plenty. 

Since I had electricity in my room I ended up going to sleep a few hours later than the entire previous week. I used the light to get caught up on the travel journal I carry with me, it was good to know I wouldn't forget anything. 

The next morning we had the same old sugary breakfast, and I had a few last hours to wander around the property. Around 1130 Hamada drove me out to the main road, where a driver was waiting for me. This new guy drove me all the way to the airport in Cairo. He dropped me off at the wrong terminal, but the terminal I needed was easy to walk to, so it didn't matter. Since I was there four hours ahead of my flight, I got to sit around and wait. And wait. And wait and wait and wait. There was free wifi, which worked intermittently. 

The first flight was fine, then I had hours to kill in the Amman airport in Jordan. When I checked in for the second flight, and was asked whether I wanted an aisle of window, I said whateva was closest to the front. Somehow, that was totally lost in translation, because I got stuck in the middle seat of the last row. To make it worse, one lady tried to put her carryon under the seat in front of my feet. Um, no. Then, the flight attendant said I had to check my bag because it didn't have a cabin baggage tag. Never mind that it wasn't my fault at all. Argh. 

Thank goodness I was able to get off the plane to terminal bus in Kyiv generally in front of the crowd, get through passport control quickly, grab my bag from baggage claim, and hop straight into a taxi to work. 

I will go back to Egypt, and I will go back to the Western Desert. AMAZING.