Great Sand Sea

  Great Sand Sea, Egypt
Monday, October 15, 2007

We woke up to the bright sunshine, and it was cooler outside than it was in our tent. After eating breakfast (typically: pita, jam, cheese, and seaseme paste, my favourite) we packed up the Jeep in order to explore the White Desert better. The limestone structures are amazing. Although, as a whole, they are as hard as rock, edges and pieces chip away with the lightest touch. We toured the most famous shapes, including the chicken, dog, camel, rabbit and mushrooms. 

Snow in the Desert?

Since we were enjoying ourselves so much, Wael suggested we alter our itinerary a little and spend another night in the desert instead of two night in Kharga. We gladdly took him up on the offer.

The remainder of the day was spent touring different parts of the desert. We drove through dunes, and off road around amazing rocks. They took us to this area where you can find fossilized coral. This part of the desert use to be under water over 20 million years ago and the evidence still exists. We wandered around for a good hour before some sand-whipping wind got the better of us.

The Queen of Vancouver

From here we drove to the edge of the Great Sand Sea for our second night. The difference in texture of the sand was noticeably harder, as it was made up of large, but more compact pieces than the dunes we saw on the way to Baharia or the White Desert.

Dinner was a fantastic pasta dish, props to the driver/chef Mohamed, and Rado had the table clear for cards the instant our plates were empty. It was a little harder to play because it was windy, but it didn't stop our determination.

The wind impacted our sleep has it rattled the tent all night long, but I don't think it was as disruptive for Ben as sleeping on a hill that sent him sliding down the hill all night.

-Ash