Arher Dunes

This morning, Omar packed up the 4WD and found us a guide.  The guide would take us on a hike downhill while he drove to our appointed meeting spot.

It was a pleasant hike along a wadi that included a swim in a freshwater pool.  It would have been even better had there been more water.

The guide queried Marie about her bear”.  When he was told of the name “Ben”, he asked “Bin aish?” (Ben what?).  That’s because Bin literally means “son of” and isn’t a name by itself.  I suppose in Hebrew and Arabic, Benyamin means “son of the right hand”.

We met Omar at the bottom of the hike.  He drove us to an open cave by a ledge where he made a tuna, tomato, olive and onion salad which we ate with bread.  It was such a simple but delicious meal which we would repeat for lunch a few times.

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Continuing on the road to Arher Dunes, we noticed there were virtually no cars on the road but only 4WDs.  The coast line as we approached our nighstop was stunning with the turqouise sea and white sand.

Kristina and Lou asked to be dropped off so they could walk and swim the remaining journey.  We drove for quite a bit further so it may have been quite an strenuous journey for them.  But then, on these roads, we weren’t driving very fast.

At our campsite I did my first outdoor “job”.  It was the first of several days without a toilet.

We swam in the sea near the campsite.  There was a bit of green algae amongst the rocks which detracted from an otherwise stunning area.  Some stingrays darted around and missed me.
Omar made a dinner of potatoes and rice which we took under the stars in a black sky free from light pollution.  It felt like an amazing life of picnic meals in the open, swimming and lying under the stars.

While we had goats upsetting the tents last night, tonight it was Marie’s turn.  She woke up in the middle of the night to pee and tripped, kicking off a tent peg.  Fortunately, there was no major damage to the tent or foot.