Into the Desert
Early the next morning you meet the group in the
lobby, and you board a small bus that takes you out of town and into the
dusty plains. Near a village, the bus stops in front of a crowd of camels.
Each person is outfitted with a camel, and extra camels follow with supplies.
The caravan skirts the village at first, and then turns directly into a
hot wind. The countryside appears progressively drier, and, at about noon,
you reach a village that seems to straddle a line marking the end of the
low bushes and occasional trees. Beneath one of these trees, the group stops
for lunch, which is prepared carefully by a small army of cooks, some of
whom appear from the village.
The afternoon is hot, and the stiff wind does little to make it
seem cooler. While there were occasional goat herders visible from time
to time during the morning, the countryside that you cross in the afternoon
is completely empty of human life. Around five o'clock, the group stops
once again, and this time tents are set up. Using simple instruments, the
cooks whip up a surprisingly good vegetarian meal, which you enjoy while
watching a beautiful desert sunset.
