Siwa Safari

We told Mario we would meet him in the morning for the sunrise but that wasn’t going to happen due to the fact that we didn’t even get to bed until 3am. We ended up meting him in front of Mohammad’s. He brought his mother with him too. I went to get some money from the ATM but had no such luck. It is really hit or miss with the Siwa ATM and more often missing that hitting. When I got back to the shop Mario said it to me that it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to come with us on the safari. Not if we go with Mohammad. I said “OK” and threw my bag in Mohammad’s jeep. Mario’s mother was trying to plea to Mohammad that Mario was a good guy and didn’t mean what he said but we were all set. Mohammad was originally going to have his cousin take us but as soon as Mario was out of the picture, he was back in guide mode.

We hit the road with nothing but smiles. Mohammad and his cousin kept yelling “Chin Chin!” I had no idea what it meant but it was getting us excited. Mohammad was so grateful that Mario wasn’t coming along and so were we. We stopped at a salt lake a few km’s out of town where we got to walk through the crystallized mud trying not to sink our feet and forever lose a shoes.

The next location was the old Roman tombs. It was several levels of small rooms carved into the side of a mountain. You could enter all of the rooms and the best part was that there were no lines to wait in. We were the only people there. Mohammad and his cousin took refuge in the shade to shelter themselves from the scorching sun. It was over 100F in the sun. It was a big change from the cold and rainy Rossendale I had just come from. Ramsey and I searched a few tombs and climbed to the top of the mountain. Some of the tombs had bones in them which were said to be human but I’m pretty sure they were goat or cow or something.

After overheating in the Sahara sun we were taken to a cold spring down the road. What I had pictured was a small pond or pool of water in the middle of the sand but it was much more developed that that. The spring was encase in concrete giving it an appearance of a small diving well. The cement shell kind of stripped the spring of its’ oasis vibe but it was still nice to go for a dip and cool off. It was here where Mohammad taught me to wrap my scarf the right way around my head. Bedouin style.

After our core temps were back to normal we head further into the desert stopping at another small mountain range along the way. This place was home to the oldest footprints on record. Human footprints that is. They were discovered not long ago by an archaeologist doing research in the region and could be more than 3 million years old. There were only a few of them. It wasn’t the most exciting part of the trip but at least I can now say that I have seen some really old footprints!

We then drove full speed into the Sahara. It was such a inimitable an invigorating experience to watch the mountains and shrubs fade into nothing but sand. Hundreds of miles of sand. It sounds like it would be a boring sight but the dunes were massive! The contrast of the white sand and the blue sky was amazing. I had never seen sky that blue before. I felt like a little child seeing snow for the first time. We were weaving all over the place jumping dune tops, sliding sideways halfway down the slopes and yelling the entire way. The sand seemed infinite.

We drove for about an hour when out of nowhere arose this beautiful lake. It was nestled between two giant dunes and surrounded by green plants. It was stunning. They call the lake Bir Wahed. We ran out of the jeep and dove right in. The water was a perfect temperature. The lake was small and were able to swim across with no problems. The best was the fish! There were minnows everywhere. Mohammad showed me how to catch one with my hands and then presented me with a bamboo pole. There was a hook and line already attached to the pole so I rigged up my bate and made a cast out along the shore. Within seconds I had a bite. I pulled in what looked like a small sunfish. It was such a bizarre feeling to be fishing in this little body of water when all around me was nothing but sand, stretching far and wide.

The next location was not far from Bir Wahed. It was a hot spring not far from the lake. It was another small pool encased in concrete. It was extremely slippery as well. The sunshine and temperature of the warm water was a utopia for algae. Lindsey slipped and fell right in to the springs. She didn’t injure herself but she did make one hysterical spectacle for all to see.

The last stop before sunset was at an old coral bed. One might forget that the desert used to be an ocean bed as long time ago. Seeing the coral beds there made it more believable. There were many people at this sight. It seemed to be the last place for most people’s tours. The beds were located in a small valley so when the sun had disappeared, we knew it was time to get out of there so we could get to higher ground for a wonderful sunset.

They brought us to our camp so we could drop off our gear. It was beautiful spot with its own cold spring, hammocks, and tents for us to sleep in. We didn’t linger long though. The guys dropped us off on top of a dune near camp and said they would return in an hour to pick us up. They had to prepare dinner and get the tents set up for us as well.

The sunset was one I’ll never forget. The sky was a beautiful array of colors. It was dancing with oranges, pinks, and blues. I had a great perspective of how vast the desert truly was. It was such a peaceful feeling. The temperature was perfect and there was a gentle breeze blowing sand grains across the ground, covering up our tracks. It was so calm and quiet. It was one of the first times I had felt entirely at ease being in Egypt. I just let my thoughts and emotions roll away with those pieces of sand and embraced the complete serenity I was experiencing.

We had to walk back to the campsite after we watched the sun go down. It was only about 1km away so it wasn’t so bad. We were able to get some 'footprint in the sand' photos as well. It turned into a competition of who could jump the farthest into untouched sand without stepping or falling forward. It not as easy as one would imagine. The camp was full of other tourists when we got back. There was another group there that had a combination of Aussies and Spanish people. Ramsey and I went swimming on the cold spring and met one of the Aussie girls. She was on vacation from work and decided to come to Egypt with her friend. Mohammad had gone into the city to take care of some business while we were away. They served us grilled chicken with rice and veggies for our dinner. Being that it was after dark it was alright for us to eat. We had told Mohammad that we would fast while we were with him to see what for ourselves what the Ramadan experience was like.

Once Mohammad returned we sat around the table telling stories by candlelight for hours. He even performed a little belly dance for us with my scarf. I made him feel embarrassed by teasing him for it and he refused to do it again. We walked out into the desert to just sit and stare at the stars. We laid back and talked about all the mysteries of life. It was here where Mohammad told us he could see into the future and see what other people are doing at any given moment. He told us there was an old man sitting in front of his shop and a little boy running around outside. He tried to tell us what kind of house Lindsey had back home but was not even close. He said it was too far away to tell.

We took our mattresses out of the tent after we ate and placed them in the sand outside the camp to sleep under the stars. It was a great way to fall asleep. We had some heavy blankets to keep us warm in the cool desert air. It is impressive how much the temperature will fluctuate from sunup to sundown. I slept like a baby as well, but it got extremely warm as soon as the sun hit. I had to keep moving into the shade for a couple of hours as the sun kept rising. Once it was too hot to bare anymore I ran into the spring to cool off.

Mohammad was supposed to drop us off after we had packed up from the camp but he invited us to stay with him all day. We didn’t have to leave until 8pm that evening anyhow so we were more than happy to attend to him and his daily rituals. We would have only been sitting around otherwise.

He brought us to his garden right away to see how the crops were doing. He had palms, apple trees, pear trees, carrots, potatoes, onions, peppers and many other plants growing there. They were all growing in the sand too. No added soil or chemicals. Just sand and water. I couldn’t believe how well everything grew there. We sat in the shade for a while, a very popular activity among the Egyptian people during Ramadan, and discussed what we were going to do the rest of the day.

Mohammad had a group of Italian people coming for a stay at his salt lake camp that night so we had to go out and check to make sure everything was set up. On the way we stopped at his shop to drop off our things and then to yet another cold spring where some local boys were swimming. There was a small cave down at the bottom but I didn’t have the lung capacity to swim down and into it. The kids were fascinated with the baseball I had. We threw it around while we swam but not for long. We had to get out to the lake.

This was the fist salt lake I had gotten to swim in. It was such a cool feeling to be floating so high in the water. It was hot as well. It was almost uncomfortably hot. We only stayed in for a few minute while Mohammad took refuge in the shade for a quick nap. It’s tough business being active during the day without food and water. Some people do drink water during their fast but I decided to go all out and to the full fast. The hunger leaves you after a while. You totally forget that you are starving.

We jumped in yet another cold spring to rinse the salt off our bodies and then went with Mohammad back to the village. We had to get squared away with our debt to him for the trip so I went to the ATM to see if it was working but of course it was not. I tried to ask the bankers when it would be functioning but they weren’t too helpful. They said maybe 5pm. I went back to Mohammad’s shop and waited there with Ramsey while he ran some errands. We both fell asleep and were woken up by Lindsey. It was nearly five so I went back and lucked out with the ATM. When I told Mohammad that had his money he was shocked. Even though he had told me the ATM works most of the time, in reality, it never worked. He was happy though because he got his payment.

He invited us to eat at his family’s home before we left which was a great honor. They fed us loads of bread, chicken, rice, tomato and cucumber salad, cheese, and juice. We ate with Mohammad in the living room while his family ate in the kitchen. Muhammad gave us a ride to the bus stop in his jeep to see us off. Our bus departed at 8pm for Cairo and would drive all through the night. It was sad to say farewell to our new friend but I was thankful for all of the new memories.

It wasn’t until we left that I realized I forgot my baseball in his jeep. It seems like anytime I get some type of new knickknack I want to bring with me around the world ends up getting lost within the first few weeks of possession. Sorry Ma. I guess the lucky baseball you sent wasn’t so lucky for me.

The bus ride was a real blast. Being hungry the entire way didn't help with the sleep situation and Lindsey got her buns tweaked in the backseat without her permission by some perv. She came and slept by me after that. We did stop at 4am for dinner. Ramsey and I got some bread and foul before sunrise and Lindsey just slept I the back seat. I made quite the mess trying to eat those beans out of a bag but it was enough food to put me right to bed. Goodnight and farewell Siwa.