During the first few days, our international group - from Mexico, the US, Belgium, Poland, Germany, South Africa, Malta and the UK - gets to know each other. Some are knowledgeable umbraphiles (eclipse chasers) for whom a trip in the Sahara is a bonus; others are keen on desert travel and, for them, the eclipse makes it worth travelling in Africa at this very hot time of year.
Our routine very quickly falls into place: breakfast at sunrise, a cool morning walk before the 40° heat sets in, stop for a 2-3 hour lunch, stop again at 6pm to set up camp, eat, chat and collapse under the fly sheet of our tents to gaze at the stars and sleep until dawn.
Our local team has an unenviable non-stop routine: from Ahmed's wake-up call of 'Allez allez, bougez, bougez,' they drive, cook, refuel, repair tyres, load and unload our bags, help pitch tents, bake bread and make the ritual sweet tea. They are up before us, are last to bed and busy every hour in between.
The first week's sightseeing is marked by prehistoric petrified tree trunks, graves and rock carvings. We scavenge for flints, arrow heads and, most intriguingly, lightning - when lightning strikes sand, it fuses a hollow rod of fragile glass, up to several metres into the ground.
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| A large desert rock, just crying out to be climbed |
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'These could have been made yesterday or thousands of years ago,' explains Chris.
But the most outstanding feature for me is the scenery: imagine filling the Alps with sand until only the summits poke out. At Arakaou, a crescent-shaped mountain range, the dunes have disrespectfully taken up residence in the valley like unmovable squatters. In Temet, we see the highest dunes of the Tenere at over 200m and a few in our group, led by our indefatigable guide Qader, make a successful assault on the crest.
