On the Back of a Camel
The night in the tent was cozy and warm, and we were up before sunrise to see the beautiful colors come into full glory and to take a camel trek to the nearby Roman fortress.
My camel was white, Tim's was brown and we were the first two people in the chain of animals. The ride was rather comforable - camels have a wide girth and it was well padded with blankets. The swaying motion was gentle and the early morning desert was silent except for the creak of the saddle. Our camel guide walked in front of us, guiding us over dune after dune, knowing the way because he must have walked it a thousand times.
The Roman fortress was breathtaking - not because it was a beautiful place - but because of what it represented. It was the southern-most outpost of Roman civilization and it dawned on me that I had visited the northern-most Roman border at Hadrian's Wall just a few years back. What a desolate place - Roman soldiers must have dreaded or loved being stationed here - you were literally at the outskirts of the known world.
On the ride back to the oasis, our guide kept smiling and saying "Gallop?" It took me a while to figure out what he was asking, but when I did, I just laughed and kept saying "No, merci!" Our backsides hurt in places we didn't even know existed!! Thank goodness the rest of the morning consisted of relaxing amongst the oasis, and then driving to Douz. Tim and I separated ourselves from the rest of the crowd and found an isolated edge of the oasis - we sat and read, filmed, and shooed the beetles away - and told ourselves that this is where we should retire, or at least get back here often in our lives.
Our drive back to Douz found us with one more flat tire, for a total of three in 24 hours... We weren't in a hurry to leave the desert, so it was just fine that we waited and stayed there a little bit longer. The dunes gave way to scrub grass, and eventually to rolling hills covered in green. The road to Douz was paved and felt like much more civilization we wanted.
We found a roof-top hotel in Douz where we could hear the sounds of the city below. We ate at a restaurant where we were by ourselves and the server was delighted to have customers - he gave us top-notch service and even acted in our video! After dinner we scouted out the bus situation to Tozeur for the next day, and found out we would have to be at the bus station at 6:00 a.m.!!