Speed Devils

On Wednesday we were picked up in the afternoon and driven to the Red Sea Dessert. The dessert amazed me because I assumed it would be covered with sand dunes like a scene from the English Patient. Instead it was parched sandy soil, covered in rocks, flat in places with ridges of mountainous peaks jutting up from the ground.

When we got to the speed devils site, we were given some safety advice. Ahmed wrapped scarves around our heads to keep the dust & muck out of our faces. We looked like terrorists lol. It was so funny. Andrew had a single speed devil & me & Elena shared a double one. We put goggles on and followed Ahmed into the dessert. We drove in a convoy for over half an hour until we reached the top of a small plateau. Elena was chief navigator & photographer and snapped this amazing photo.We had a drink & watched the sun set over the dessert. Afterwards we drove back down to visit the Bedouins. We sat on cushions in the tent & they gave us sweet black tea & coffee. The ladies gave us traditional flat bread which they cooked on a stone. The Bedouin lifestyle depends on water & camels. Once they find a well they stay there for 3 or 4 years until the the well is dry. Only then will they move on until they find a new well. They sell one camel & the money they get will keep them in food & provisions for a whole year. Afterwards we drove back in the dark. It was very bumpy but great fun. We were black when we got back, just look at my white shorts lol. Ahmed blew a lot of the dust of us with compressed air. First time I've been air brushed.