January 2-3: Erg Chebbi


The secret of desert driving (we did a lot more of that tomorrow, across much worse terrain) is to go at speeds greater than 40mph. This way one just
flies over the small ripples and the ride is quite comfortable (and a lot of fun). It's just a rental car, after all.


3pm: we made it just in time!
They needed a bit of time to 'saddle' the camels, but then off we went, just the two of us and Mustafa, the guide.












Mustafa cooked a great 'lemon chicken' for us and sat around the fire. It was VERY cold.
Although this camera picture is pitch black, the sky of stars was really amazing.
I guess you just have to go there yourself to experience it, or a planetarium.
But bring at least 7 warm wool blankets for the night!






We got up early in the moning and rode back to the oasis. Before we met a two shy kids in front of our tent, who sold us some small stuffed camels their mom had made.
Not the most sophisticated  artwork, but nevetheless charming. We also packed a bottle with Sahara sand to give them a nice home and natural habitat, in our apartment in New York..


We had a great time with Mustafa, our guide.
But an unxpected feature of our trip was yet to come, see the next page