The Sahara Desert that is!
Talk about unexpected fun!!! Looking at the itinerary leaving Terjit this morning we had no idea what was in store. Driving through the dessert in Toyota Hilux’s just seemed like a mode of transport from point A to point B but wow were we wrong! Here’s our first few glimpses of the Sahara!
(and the obligatory handstand pic)
After a short road trip with 3-5 people packed in each truck our local driver veered off the road and into the sands! At first I rolled down my window to take in a breeze but windows down led to arms out the window, then head, then well…
Butt on the window, wind in the hair, the boys in the backset joined me and after a bit we just went ahead and got all the way in the back – for the ultimate fun time. If you are wasting time being afraid of falling out then you are missing out on most of the fun! I giggled, I oohed, I awed, soemthing about that open landscape just feels so freeing.
After having the time of our lives acting like children we of course sat down for tea, because you know… it’s the Mauritanian way!
And while the others were drinking their tea I wandered off doing cartwheels in the sand when what did I spy but a really cool rock…
Upon closer inspection I had merely picked up and examined dried up camel poop! Bah!!!
Of course after all that we needed to make a stop for… well another tea. Naturally. So we made our way to a small desert village a short distance from the oasis to a home we had been invited to. Jake said the village reminded him of the fairytale The Three Little Pigs – just without the big bad wolf coming and knocking houses down. You would see a house made out of literal straw, then some made of sticks, and some made of bricks or rock. There were a few community buildings in the village, those were all made from cinder block and had French and Arabic writing. A toilet facility (think squatty potties), and a money exchange building which just fell shady and out of place considering we were in the middle of nowhere! LOL The tea room located just a few steps from a the family hut was made from wooden poles/sticks and canvas, the walls were fabric, and the sandy floor was covered in rugs and cushions. In the West a similar structure would be one of those vendor tents that you see at pop up events and farmer’s markets only here the ceilings are low. Cool vibe for sure. I love the cushion culture that you find in many places in Africa and the Middle East. Someday in a future home I am going to have a den inspired by this tradition! I can dream! So back to this tea room, while relaxing a tray of dates, nuts and some sort of cracker were passed around. Well this Okie girl right here has never had a date before and certainly didn’t know what the seed of a date looks like. When the tray came around to me checked it out and grabbed 2 crackers and a seed I assumed was edible… in reality it was someone’s already chewed date seed! YUCK!!!
Cave Drawings
From the dunes we headed out to Amoghar Pass outside of the city Chinguetti to take a look at cave drawings over 6,000 years old!
This local man was kind enough to show us around the caves. Our guide had arranged for him to meet us, although while there I think we all questioned whether or not he lived there. Other than what we came in there was not a car or camel in sight and the desert is a tough place to decide to just walk miles and miles without animal or belongings!
This moment keeps reoccuring and remanifesting in different ways over all the countries we’ve been to. You are standing there, on an Tuesday, your friends and family are at home living life, gong to school, going to work, going out for coffee, its an ordinary day, but here I am, standing in awe, imagining life thousands of year ago, imagining humanity at its begining, the hardships we humans have endure, the growth that we have made. Its a beautiful thing to get a chance to go back into time and reflect. This was us at our most primitive. Empires have been built and fallen, monuments have been orchestrated and revered, for goodness sake you can see the Great Wall of China from space! Isn’t that just so inspiring?! To go back and try to imagine what these artists even thought themselves capable. Did they even know? My guess is not yet.
As always, thank you so much for joining along with us on our journey – and remember – stay curious, the world is big but humanity remains connected despite what governments do people love people. Don’t be afraid to step out and try something new. Who knows, maybe you are more of a dessert guy than a beach guy… you’ll never know until you try!
Krajicek’s Take The World 
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