Continuing on our journey through the white desert the next day, drove up and down some huge sand dunes, skidding and sliding about in a manner that seemed to be enjoyed by the driver but caused anxiety amongst some of the passengers, including both of us. 
We stopped to climb the ‘mountain of flowers’, where little black stones are formed in shapes resembling chamomile flowers.
We stopped next at the ‘crystal mountain’, which is formed from layers of quartz crystals. Some Bedouins were resting their camels, sheltering from the wind behind their offloaded packs. This desert scene was easily as fascinating as the crystals.
There had been some problems with one of the vehicles but eventually the drivers decided that it could go no further due to a bent axle. The wheel was sitting out at a skewed angle. All 14 of us plus one driver squeezed into one vehicle and continued on for at least an hour before we reached our lunch stop at a warm spring. 
The trip was squashy, but actually great fun and brought out some jokes and mucking around, all of which helped to deepen our bonds and the feeling of being a group on an adventure together.
The warm spring had a large diesel engine running a pump and there was rubbish everywhere. There was a concrete tank of warm water and a little channel running through a charming palm tree shelter. We soaked our feet in the spring water in the shelter, ate a delicious lunch of flat bread and fillings, and dozed in the sand dunes until a backup vehicle came to rescue us.
We discussed rubbish disposal in a desert and thought that there would be many problems; it is so dry that most things are preserved rather than broken down, the sand shifts, so something buried last year may be uncovered this year, and it would be up to the individual to deal with their rubbish since no rubbish collections would be viable in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless this site had potential as a charming resting spot. It was marred by incredible amounts of rubbish, which is a big issue virtually all over Egypt in these days of drink cans, plastic bottles and the ubiquitous plastic bag. 
Before we reached the oasis at Bahariya we visited the black desert – so called because it looks mostly black from a distance. It has a layer of small black stones on it – the result of volcanic action and the spread of basalt lava. There are mountains of basalt where it heaped up and some that are in cone shape.
We stopped to climb the ‘mountain of flowers’, where little black stones are formed in shapes resembling chamomile flowers.We stopped next at the ‘crystal mountain’, which is formed from layers of quartz crystals. Some Bedouins were resting their camels, sheltering from the wind behind their offloaded packs. This desert scene was easily as fascinating as the crystals.
There had been some problems with one of the vehicles but eventually the drivers decided that it could go no further due to a bent axle. The wheel was sitting out at a skewed angle. All 14 of us plus one driver squeezed into one vehicle and continued on for at least an hour before we reached our lunch stop at a warm spring. The trip was squashy, but actually great fun and brought out some jokes and mucking around, all of which helped to deepen our bonds and the feeling of being a group on an adventure together.The warm spring had a large diesel engine running a pump and there was rubbish everywhere. There was a concrete tank of warm water and a little channel running through a charming palm tree shelter. We soaked our feet in the spring water in the shelter, ate a delicious lunch of flat bread and fillings, and dozed in the sand dunes until a backup vehicle came to rescue us.
We discussed rubbish disposal in a desert and thought that there would be many problems; it is so dry that most things are preserved rather than broken down, the sand shifts, so something buried last year may be uncovered this year, and it would be up to the individual to deal with their rubbish since no rubbish collections would be viable in the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless this site had potential as a charming resting spot. It was marred by incredible amounts of rubbish, which is a big issue virtually all over Egypt in these days of drink cans, plastic bottles and the ubiquitous plastic bag. Before we reached the oasis at Bahariya we visited the black desert – so called because it looks mostly black from a distance. It has a layer of small black stones on it – the result of volcanic action and the spread of basalt lava. There are mountains of basalt where it heaped up and some that are in cone shape. It often looked like a thin layer of dark chocolate had been spread and then cracked and flaked. Some of us climbed to the top of a small mountain and felt the rush of air as the wind hit us at the summit.
Keith checks out the irrigation system that is taking water pumped from undergroung to water crops that appear to be growing in pure sand.
From a hilltop we could see doughnut and figure 8 patterns made in the sand below. Could it be that some hoons from Australia have visited Egypt driving utes?
This happy group is singing Happy Birthday to Aidan. We don't think the message got through successfully.
No comments:
Post a Comment