The Sahara (Part 2)

Turban securely fastened, we were en route to the last frontier, a hotel on the edge of the dunes where we'd lunch in the shade before boarding our camels for a three hour tour.

[A little background]
When planning the trip, we were posed with the question of whether travel to the bedouin camp by means of a 4x4, or take the more traditional camel-back ride. Besides EB's desire to certify her Cambelback® truly camel-approved, the camels sounded down-right romantic: riding an age-old animal born by the desert into (okay, well technically we were riding in the opposite direction, but you get the gist) the sunset.
[end background]

Riding camel-back is not comfortable painful. We realized this as soon as we'd started moving, hoping that perhaps the pain would subside, fade into the surreality of riding into the red dunes of the Sahara. The sunlight faded; the pain did not. Lesson learned: if ever faced with the necessity of riding a camel for a prolonged period of time, the best thing you can really do is squirm--fidget, change positions.

Upon arrival at the sandy camp we took our obligatory shots of Berber whisky (mint tea) and made for the top of the nearest dune to spot the last rays of the sunset. Snowboards and sleds in hand, we trekked to the top of the 300m (1000ft) dune. Lesson learned: best practices for climbing sand dunes involves baby steps without exerting much force. This way you can walk on top of the sand rather than continuously sinking your feet in like you're climbing the Stepmaster 2000®.

At the top was a truly amazing sight--a view of Algeria to one side and the sunset on the other. The wind began to pick up as the sky darkened, and we made way back for camp under cover of darkness, literally running down the steep side of the dune. We stargazed for a bit before eating dinner, knowing that the full moon was on its way up and that we'd never see the stars once the moon took over the sky, we took the opportunity to gaze upward for a bit before eating. Nothing quite like staring at the night sky in the darkness of the desert.

Dinner was excellent despite the sandy bread (i'm sure one gets used to it), but the height of the evening was the post-meal entertainment. In came our hosts and their drums. It sounds cheezy to recount it, but it was much cooler than cheezy. We were all caught off guard when asked to sing/play a few of our own numbers for our hosts, but twinkle twinkle and frère jacques and finally our best-performed i will survive seemed to do the trick. We got back to the Berber tunes and tore up the rug. A dance in the brilliant moonlight to ensure a night to remember, and we called it a night. Final lesson learned for the day: come prepared for such outings with songs, jokes, and ghost stories. We Gabe, EB, Lora, Martin, and Andom told some alternatively good (Andom, Gabe) and bad (Martin, me) jokes and stories, and the ensuing laughter was enough to tire anyone out.

Of course the camel ride back was perhaps even more difficult given our already-sore asses, but we endured and were rewarded by breakfast and a largely uneventful, sleepy ride back in the lap of our luxurious 14-seat minibus.