The Journey

Friday 2nd March: London – Ouarzazate
Depart London bound for Ouarzazate via Casablanca; transfer to hotel. Ouarzazate (pronounced ‘Wazzazat’) lies just below the High Atlas Mountains and is on the edge of the desert. Night hotel.

Saturday 3rd March: Ouarzazate – M’Hamid – Dune Camp
After an early breakfast, we have a detailed briefing and then leave for the five-hour drive to M’Hamid, our starting point. Our drive takes us over the low mountains of the Jebel Sarhro and down the ‘Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs’ into the desert. We have a brief stop in Zagora to buy a shamla (native headscarf) and have our last cold drink before the heat of the desert. On arrival at our start point, we have lunch while the cameleers load up the camels. Our late afternoon trek takes us firstly across flat open plain and then into Erg Lihoudi, our first taste of small dunes. We make camp at the edge of the dunes for the night. Night camp.
Trek 3 hours


Sunday 4th March: Dune Camp - Well Camp
The full colour of the landscape erupts as the sun rises. Hot coffee and a good breakfast set us up for a good day’s trek. We break camp, load the camels and head off across Erg Lihoudi. We walk across the small dunes and around the larger ones. Amongst the dunes are small tamarisk trees that manage flourish in this harsh environment. Continuing through small dunes, we can see the Jebel Bani Mountains to the north and dunes to the south. After a good four-hour trek we stop for lunch in the shade of large tree. During the afternoon we walk out of the dunes and onto a flat rocky plateau where we make camp near L’oued L’autruche close to a well. Night camp.
Trek approx 6 hrs



Monday 5th March:  Well Camp – Bluff Camp
Leaving camp behind us, we walk across flat, open country with the camels not far behind. The surface is firm and stony with tough grass poking through in places. After around 4km we come to the edge of some low dunes. Skirting to the north of the dunes, we walk on both soft sand and stony plateau where you can find the occasional fossilised sea creature. The hottest part of the day is spent having lunch in the shade, time to relax and refill the water bottles. In the afternoon we head across lots of beautifully-formed low dunes to an area called Bougarnne, where there are several large dunes and clumps of palm trees. The walking is tough and tiring. Sand fills our boots and our feet sink into the small dunes. After an hour we see the large dunes in the distance and head for them. Distance is hard to gauge in the desert and it takes a further two hours to reach the dunes and our campsite perched on a bluff overlooking
Night camp.
Trek approx 7 hrs


Tuesday 6th March: Bluff Camp – Chgaga Camp
After a good breakfast we head off down a gully onto the desert floor. We spend the morning crossing hamada, or stony flat desert. We have several short climbs and cross dry and dusty plains. There is very little vegetation around but we manage to find the only tree for miles to have lunch under. When the hottest part of the day has passed we set off across more hamada until we cross a ridge and have a spectacular view of Chgaga, the largest sand dune of the region. We camp below the dunes for the night.
Trek approx 7 hrs

P.S.

A passing thought ...

If I have a hot flush in the desert, will I explode?

Watch this space, dear readers (Hi Maureen, Paul and Sue!)

And, in case you want to share the experience virtually, I'm posting the itinerary below. Enjoy!

A message to my sponsors

Thank you so very, very much everyone. You have been truly magnificent with your support - financially and with your messages and good wishes.

Including Gift Aid we have crossed the £4,000 threshhold, and climbing .. who knows where?

And with very little effort on my part, apart from just asking you lovely people to put your hands in your collective pockets to help strangers in another continent survive another hungry season. Thank you.

I hope you have read the previous blog describing the need - and then take the time to follow this link to TREE Aid's  beautiful Annual Review, showing just what can be done with even a relatively small amount of money.

Thanks again - and see you in 12 days!! I'm off tomorrow morning.

A reminder

Another guest blog - this time from TREE AID's website - just so you know your money is really making a difference, and is needed. This isn't about planting a few trees - it's about saving lives.

"A second food crisis is unfolding in Africa, in the Sahel, that should start hitting the headlines in spring next year.
Why spring 2012? The answer lies in the remarkably predictable onset of food crisis, starting with an event such as drought or pest infestation, then a poor harvest leading to a grain shortfall. After this, remaining food stocks are run-down, and people turn to short-term coping strategies. For those in rural areas, this includes selling-off weakened livestock; as poor quality animals flood the market, their price plummets whilst the cost of food continues to rise, shifting the terms of trade against the rural poor. At this point, people migrate to cities in search of food or employment, depressing wages and competing for food in urban areas too.  The crisis peaks when food stocks are fully depleted and all there is to do is wait for the next harvest or hope for assistance. In the Sahel, this ‘hunger gap’ usually runs from April to August. Right now, countries in the region are facing significant grain shortfalls following poor harvests due to erratic rains and pest attacks*.
These are the early warning signs of a disaster. The TREE AID West Africa staff are already reporting devastating effects to crop yields.  And famine is fast becoming a very real threat to those just out of TREE AID’s reach.  But the situation can be avoided – if we act now.
Ongoing problems of food insecurity and climate change require long-term solutions.  Trees enable people to both meet their immediate food needs – and store tree foods for use when food becomes scarce.   Today trees are providing a safety net for those families that are working with us.
This year, despite low rainfall, the villagers in our project areas have avoided the crisis seen in other parts of the region.  There’s now a huge demand for TREE AID experience and expertise.
We desperately need your help to extend our programmes and help another 10,000 people by the end of 2012."

We really can help people avoid famine - it's so easy

Please donate what you can today

*To read the full article highlighting the crisis by Rob Bailey, Senior Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Development Programme click here

Ramblings

I know - enough already!

But this is different. I have become an official Rambler.
The New year, and serious training was required. It was time to bite the bullet and join the Bristol Ramblers on their crack of dawn adventures in the surrounding beauty spots. It has meant setting my alarm for 6.00 on a Sunday morning (I couldn't think of going out without a substantial breakfast) but, as Lawrence of Arabia said, 'the secret is in not minding the pain'. Well he did in the film, which I watched last night - training in true grit (which I watched last week - the new Coen Brothers version).

The thing is, once you're up, it doesn't really matter what time it is, and I have to say that it has become easier to get up since I know it will be worth it.

I launched straight into the A team (there is a B team, which sets out an hour later, and is apparently a little more leisurely about the whole thing) - largely by accident, I have to say. But I survived week 1 - 13.3 miles of Cotswold scenery, and since they were offering an introductory hill walk in the Brecon Beacons the following week - I really didn't want to miss out.

And I'm so glad I didn't. We climbed Fan y Big (seriously). the whole walk was 12 miles, with an ascent of 2,500 feet, but boy was it worth it. We climbed above the snow line (see evidence below), and walked along the ridge as it then descended back into the valley - with the ground falling away majestically on either side. It was like being on top of the world - especially when the weather closed in and powdery snow inveigled its way into every nook and cranny of my jacket.  And also my backpack while I was eating my sandwiches - experienced hikers, I noticed later, do up their pack while eating. There's still a lot to learn!

So - here is the proof - my big adventure in Fan y Big, photos courtesy of the Bristol ramblers website - thanks folks.

OK so far - I can still breathe

You want me to go where?

 

...and along the edge. Seriously?

 

 

 

 

 

I made it - the top of the world!!

See what I mean?

And you couldn't spend a Sunday with a nicer bunch of folk, I reckon.

After that I notched up about 30 more miles, out on my own or with another group in my week's holiday. And yesterday we did another Cotswold adventure - 14 miles this time, with an awful lot of ups and downs, but still great, taking in a couple of charming little villages - real Laurie Lee (if a little more well-heeled).

All this has been great for my fitness of course, but more so for my confidence I think. Having pushed myself, I've achieved more than I thought possible - and enjoyed it! What does make it all so much easier, which I hadn't really taken on board, was the inspiration provided by the scenery, and the support of one's fellow trekkers.

Bring on  those sand dunes!

Little Known Dangers of Cycling #8

Well, I suppose it had to happen.

Indicating right halfway up pigsty hill, my extended finger made contact with the nose of an overtaking cyclist. We were fine on this occasion, but I can't help thinking that a slightly slimmer finger or a slightly wider nostril and we could have been in serious trouble. There is danger everywhere - if only you know how to look!

Meanwhile, shaken but not put off, I finally made it into the swimming pool. Well my hair did need a wash. On the advice of Marian at work, I'm trying to develop a more positive approach to swimming.

Lesson 1: Don't always immediately follow the word swimming with "I really hate swimming"
Lesson 2: Try to say the word swimming without pulling an unpleasant face
Lesson 3: Think of all the worse things that I could be doing instead, like dying for example

I'm not confident that it's going to make a long-term change, but I'll try until March anyway.

Walking's fine though. Did a 10 miler on Saturday, along the canal from Bath to Bradford on Avon, and 5 miles the week before, slithering around in the mud on the Bristol downs.

But the good news is that I've made contact with some of the other people who are gong on the trek. There will be 22 of us altogether apparently, and a couple of people have raised their head above the parapet with an email. The really good news is that there is a group of 5 people from Bournemouth, whose ages range from 48 to 58. It's not that I have a problem with 'Yoof', some of my good friends are positively child-like, but it'll be good to have company at the back of the walk (I've made some assumptions there, I know). Mostly though, it's the sense of humour. So many of my jokes fall on stony ground with the young ones in the office - and they're not all that bad. I think it's the cultural references.

Only last month, one of them asked "so what was so great about the Beatles then?"

What can you say?

Well quite a lot actually. I think the response lasted for 20 minutes. They'll never need (or want) to ask that again.

So there we are.