Desert Trekking & Hot Nights - Thursday continues

Putting the miles behind them!

After our stargazing last night we all went off to our beds (mats and sleeping bags!) at 9.30pm as we were exhausted.

Helen and Charity were the only ones who chose to sleep out under the stars, and Charity woke this morning to the vision of Helen curled up in her sleeping bag with 5 camels sitting behind her! The rest of the team all slept in 2 man tents.

It was a fairly restless night for most of us as it wasn't the most comfortable accommodation, and in fact the nights here are still very hot, contrary to what we expected. Apparently when the weather changes it happens very quickly, so they have to prepare us for that eventuality.

This morning we woke early as the sun rose, to the sound of Jacqui and Diana giggling in their tent. Jennifer won the prize for sleeping in while we dismantled tents around her. We had breakfast of pancakes and bread before setting off on today's trek.

This morning we were walking through desert with big irrigation ditches - in this area they have irrigated 70,000 hectares to water the palm trees as it is one of main products in this area and provides employment for a million people in the Sahara.

We stopped at a small village where we had a rest and cold drinks and met a lovely local boy aged 3 by the name of Ossama, meaning lion, who was thrilled with the pen we gave him. We communicated with him through our guide who found out that he only speaks Arabic at present, but will learn to speak French in 3 years time when he goes to school. Jacqui aptly described the buildings as looking like giant sandcastles.

We have now stopped for lunch and are sitting under a palm tree to escape the heat of the day. We will leave here at about 3.30pm when it cools a bit to continue to tonight's base where we will set up our tents again, and apparently we will be collecting firewood for a big camp fire and they will show us how they make bread.

Everyone is still in good spirits, though Diana and Vicky, who is from the travel company, are both fighting colds, which seems ironic in the desert. Poor Owen is still nursing his blisters from working on the project! Graham is regaling us with stories of his various adventures - he and Jennifer are the talkers of the group with Julia being the quiet one who asks the most pertinent questions.

Hot Stuff!

No doubt we will be tired again tonight after walking in this heat, but it is an amazing experience. We all send love to our families and loved ones who we talk about a lot.