Wow! Last night was like I had only seen in movies until now. Apocalyptic. Sand storm by night. What a moment!
I was laying on my mat on top of that hill like rock formation, looking at the stars, trying to spot the big dipper. The family down below was slowly falling into Morpheus' arms while the TV was still on. Jamal was doing his last round of the area to make are everything was in order before turning the TV off.
I dozed off for a bit. A sudden blast of thick hot wind woke me up. I reopen my eyes and don't see the stars anymore. All of a sudden everything is black around me. Hmmm...the sky is no longer deep. It is now on me, around me, below me. I don't know exactly how to react. A same storm is taking shape. How bad will it get? Should I stay where I am or should I climb back down with the family? I first pull the mat further away from the edge of the mi I cliff and closer to the small tent set up there. I try to calm down and hope that things won't get any worse. The air and wind are so thick that I feel like they will sweep me up and take me away. I wrap my scarf around my nose and mouth for protection from the sand. And I try to close my eyes and fall asleep again.
The wind going through the oasis palms down under creates a sound as if it was pouring torrential rain. Quite disturbing to be honest.
The wind gets stronger. The sandy air gets thicker. If I didn't have my backpack and all with me it could have been sort of a fun adventure to stay up there till the morning. I look down and see Jamal wrapping up everything and taking the whole family under the tikit. I see him running. Hmmm...not a good sign.
I pack up my stuff and decide to play it safe. I am not sure how strong can such wind get and being on top of the hill where I was could be very dangerous should the wind intensify any more. And so I climb back down/ throw my stuff under the tikit and run back out to help Jamal with whatever else needed to be taken in for protection.
The whole moment was so exhilarating. I wish I could have shared it with someone.
As we were all laying down under the tikit, throughout the night, the wind blew so powerfully. Though the air was burning hot, the wind blew so strong that it was actually refreshing.
In the morning we all woke up early and covered in sand from head to toe. The family woke up as if nothing had happened. It was funny. Their daily routine I suppose. Not for me. But I did like them, and went on to brush my teeth.
We had breakfast all together sitting on a smaller mat behind the kitchen. I love how each hour of the day, based on where the sun is, they relocate the mat to a new place.
By 7:30am Jamal and I had taken off, heading back to Atar. He had some shopping to do for his goats and I wanted to go to Ouadane.
I felt sad leaving Terjit and knew I should have stayed at least one more day. I didn't. Why? No clue.
The ride to Ouadane was not good at all. We were all squished into a small pick up. All 7 of us plus 2 kids. And the back of the car was overloaded with cargo. A long and ultra uncomfortable ride. But interesting in many ways. Especially seeing how people kept on popping out of nowhere. And the driver stopped each and every time to chit chat with the coming Bedouins. We also hit a softer sand storm on the way. But we stopped before hand to reinforce the covers and tarps on top of the back cargo, just in case the sand is accompanied by some rain.
But no rain...just sand.
The road to Ouadane was nothing all that exciting. Except perhaps the tow just before Ouadane. Nested in some sand dunes. Brick houses and tikits spread all around. I thought it was Ouadane and wished I could have stayed there. But finding a ride out would have been impossible.
We finally arrive. At last I can stretch every inch of my body. My first reaction when seeing Ouadane was "really? This is Ouadane?!".
The Auberge I had been told by Moktar, Auberge Zaida, was the least charming of all thus far. But Zaida's story brought it its appeal I suppose.
So since I still have the whole after noon ahead of me, and since it seems to be a challenge to find a ride out of here as well, I decide to hike up to the old part of town, walk around and decide if I want to leave tomorrow with the other two foreigners here or stay an extra day.
Ouadane is famous not for its sand dunes, it has none, but rather because it used to be a big city all built of mud bricks, overlooking the oasis valley of palms, and because of time, heat and dryness, all collapsed into a ghost town kind of place. It reminded me a lot of the ruins of brick house villages I went by on the Anapurna circuit. The view of it from down below is most definitely unbelievable. But when walking through the ruins and seeing that no one lives in it anymore and that a whole new sort of modern town has been rebuilt right behind it takes some of the spice from it all.
It still was spectacular. But as I am walking around, my decision is quickly made up: I am going to Chinghetti tomorrow.
And so I keep on wandering around the new part of town. People are friendly. Kids beg me to take their photos and give me the biggest smiles. The more adorable group of little girls pop out of a street level window so I can take a photo of them. This one kid come by and starts crying so dramatically as if he had just gotten his a arm cut off. His buddy yells that he is a bandit. So he stops crying right away, wipe off all his tears, and smiles, asking me to take a photo of him. He loves soccer and sites numerous names of players I have no clue about. I take their photos. Funny pauses. They really look like a trio of kid bandits. Trouble makers.
I keep walking. Two teenage girls say hello with the most flirtatious tone. One of them suddenly blows me a kiss from afar. It is comical as they are both veiled and we are walking by the mosque. Lol I laugh, thank them and keep walking away.
This town is so interesting. Like all the tows of the area so far I suppose. Everyone is living outside on the doorstep of their boutique or house. Everyone laying down, fanning themselves. Waiting...as if someone had turned the heat on maximum and broke the switch. Everyone on passive survival mode. Planting trees would create a lot of shade and freshness. Why bother. Building windmills that would capture the wind high up and send it right back down into a fan would produce free ventilation units. Why bother. Building houses closer to each other would lead to shaded street. Why bother...
Everyone seemed sedated. Surreal sights.
Before heading back to the Auberge, I hike up a bit on the opposite hill to watch the sun set over the flat desert.
I get back to the Auberge. There I meet Fanny a French girl traveling with her local "guide", and Robert, an american who lives in Dakar. We have interesting chats about social work and NGOs. They both do social work. I secured my rode for the next morning. The evening goes on without much excitement. Robert is slightly anti social and goes to sleep very early. Fanny and her guide finish a game of cards they had started in the afternoon.
I set my mat in the courtyard and lay down to watch the stars. The Auberge is very badly set up as once inside, it is all walled up and all you can see is basically the sky. Not a single view of the landscape or the old collapsed town. But as I was about to lay down, the French girl's "guide" came up to me, and extremely discretely asked me if I had any condoms. I felt so sad for him when I told him I didn't have any. He had just taken the French girl on a five day camel ride through the desert from Chinghetti to Ouadane and was hoping to have built up enough romanticism and friendship with her that tonight she would give in. Lol so funny. I can't believe he actually dared asking another foreigner such a ting though. Hahaha!
Whatever happens will stay between them. Hopefully they both had a good time.
I can't wait to leave this town. I didn't really have a good vibe when I arrived here earlier to begin with.
Tomorrow, Chinghetti!
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