12th and 13th March
Two days spent on just being here beside and in the dunes. Very warm yesterday, so we made the most of it by doing a bit of sunbathing, reading, washing and van maintenance. Has to be done.
Went for a long walk out into the dunes to watch the sunset from the top of the highest dune. We were not alone and it took a while to blank out the motorbikes and quads which zoom about the dunes a bit like jet-ski’s do in mumbles. Everyone here is enjoying the same thing in their own way. It's very beautiful and from the top of the dune the view is spectacular. On the horizon, dust devils swirl on the mud flats we visited yesterday as the heat whips up a mini storm. Looking east towards Algeria, we can see the mountains that take over from the dunes. At their widest, Erg Chebbi are about 7 miles across and 27 miles long. Still just a pond of dunes in comparison to the vast expanse of sahara that start in Algeria and goes on until Egypt, I think? They are big enough for us to wander through with no chance of getting lost! Famous last words, what if a sandstorm blew up like yesterday, dummy?!
Today was windy and warm, so apart from a trip into Merzouga for supplies, we were again based around the van. The shopping is always interesting. Shopkeepers, salts of the earth, all seem to take great delight in educating us in language and culture. Today's lessons included when to eat dates and how many Rials there are in a Dirham. Dates, I tell him, I can eat from morning til night. Oh no, our prophet only ate them after sunset so, so do we! Mmm I'm not Muslim fortunately so I'll carry on with my regime. And Rials is what all these Moroccans count in, add up our shopping in and occasionally tell us the price in, hoping we won't notice that you divide the figure by 20 to get Dirhams!! That is unusual it has to be said, carpet sellers have been known to try it on but certainly not shopkeepers and ordinary folk.
As the sun sinks lower in the sky our solitary existence here is broken by the arrival of 4 french motorhomes and an English van! The solitude was lovely but couldn't last. No matter, it's a big desert, plenty of room for all. Sharing what you have is part of life so I'll share this photo with you of Krysia on top of the desert world.
So we wish you all well and say goodnight as our bedtime here seems to be about 9 pm. Yawn.
Love Ted and Krysia
No comments:
Post a Comment