David's Diary: Thursday, December 5, 2002
Back to El Faour, Tunisia
World's Biggest Sandbox
By cuddling together and sharing bedding last night we were all slightly warmer, but once again no one but Allen got a very good sleep. We were up around 8:00 and enjoyed the desert breakfast of freshly baked bread, butter, and jam along with really hot cups of coffee. After breakfast it was still cold enough that Allen kept on all of his wet weather gear, hat, and gloves, as he started to make a train in the sand. He spent half an hour shuffling around, over, and sometimes through sand dunes. When he was done the two of us went off together making train sounds as we followed his tracks.
Cards in the Living Room
The pace was once again fast as we made our way back to El Faour, Tunisia. Around noon we were back in the tiny Saharan village. Saïd, our guide leader, asked me what time it was. When I said it was noon he immediately lit up a cigarette and told me how glad he was that as of this moment Ramadan was over for this year.
We stopped at Saïd's house where we had lunch. All of our guides play a card game we have never seen. Allen has been keen to learn the game and after lunch he sits on the floor and plays hand after hand with Jocelyn and the guides.
Allen Surrounded by Local Kids
Because it is the end of Ramadan, today and tomorrow are holidays. All of the local children surround Saïd's house, keen to see more of Jocelyn, Kevin, Allen, and our friend Charlie. While Saïd takes many visitors to the desert we suspect that not too many visitors have young children. Allen, with his blond looks, is especially popular with the young boys hanging around.
Donkey Cart
We wait around Saïd's for our Louage to arrive. We are supposed to leave at 3:00 and by 4:00 there is still no sign of it. Saïd gets tired of waiting, so he quickly hitches up two donkey carts and loads our entire luggage on top. We all sit beside the luggage and before we know it we are having an impromptu donkey cart race through the oasis of El Faour. Saïd points out the part of the oasis that belongs to him and his family while urging the donkey to go faster so that we'll be the first to reach the highway.
After our exciting ride on the carts we arrive at the Louage station. After some discussion we finally find our ride, load up, and head off down the highway for the next village of Douz where we find a hotel and a warm bed. It was interesting to see the desert, but if I ever did it again, I would certainly like to be warmer.
These diary pages only have a few of the pictures that we took in the desert. For more pictures, view our Sahara Desert pictures Web pages, then use your brower's back button to return here.
