Day 13 - The desert! (Nov 17, Tues)

The next morning was leisurely in pace, and we had our breakfast around 11am. A freezing cold shower (no hot water) was a "refreshing" start to the day. The other 3 campers came back, then it was our turn to head into the desert. We again took a land cruiser with our driver, Ahmed (son of the camp's owner). On the way, we picked up another traveller (Singaporian Cho), and headed out for a 3 hour ride to the desert. On the way, we stopped by a little hut with a cold spring running through it (though the water was soooo temperate), had lunch, and back in the Land Cruiser.

We drove through the Black Desert (strewn with little purplish-black rocks), then on to the White Desert. We had to pay $5 entry plus 10LE camping fees a Crystal Mountain, then continued on. A bit of off-roading through the sand (and getting stuck only once) at sunset, then we headed into the New White Desert to set up camp.

Ahmed built an L-shaped tapestry wall with rugs and thin foam mattresses for us to hang out on. We taught our new card game (courtesy of David and Suzanna) to Cho, and the three of us played while Ahmed built a fire and cooked dinner. When dinner (rice, veggies in thin tomato sauce, and barbequed chicken), Ahmed was trying to eat alone, but of course we insisted he join us. Only minutes into dinner, and a small desert fox found us, and about 15 feet away, silently requested some table scraps. We threw him some chicken bones, which he would take, one at a time, and bury for later. Ahmed also gave him a cup of water, which he said all the guides do for the foxes in addition to feeding them each time they come out. I think the fox...a mix between a chihuahua and a cat with a fluffy tail and big ears...was probably the highlight of the trip for me, though it's hard to pick just one.

After dinner, the four of us played card games together for a while. Cho went to bed, as he had been up since the wee hours, and G and I sat by the fire with Ahmed and another guide. G and I played a drawing game in the sand (I draw one line, he finishes he drawing, then vice versa) for an hour or so, then we climbed into our Arctic-grade sleeping bags and mulitiple blankets as the desert gets quite cold at night. We had another visit from the fox...and this time, he got within arm's reach of G! Then we lied under the stars which can be seen so clearly out here (I saw my first shooting star! Finally!), and the yellow-orange moon came up over the horizon.