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You are here: Home / Archives for desert

Camping in the Sahara

May 18, 2010 By Danny

Sure there are roads for us to follow through the desert, even towns with hotels to sleep in, but one of the nicest parts about The Sudan is that using the roads and towns is completely optional. We stuck to the road, but made sure to sleep under the stars.

Pulling up alongside the premier archaeological site of Sudan—the Pyramids of Meroe—around sunset the site’s caretaker directed us around the large sand dune to a big spot of desert in the shadow of the pyramids. There were mountains of sand to one side, and tombs of the Kingdom of Kush on the other side. We pitched our tents and set the potjieon the fire and waited for dinner to be ready. This little episode came after we spent the afternoon off-roading a total of 60 kilometers visiting several sites where we were the only tourists to have signed the log book all week.

The rule in Sudan is simple, sleep wherever you’d like. As we were in the middle of the Sahara Desert there weren’t exactly many locals around anyhow. That first night, near the pyramids, we were directed to a specific area to sleep but after that we merely looked for a nice hill to keep the sand from blowing into our tents. The weather was hot, but a cool 85F by morning if lucky. The stars clear The biggest concern not other people intruding, but needed to watch for scorpions everywhere you put your feet. (Ironically, the constellation Scorpio was coming into view)

The first two sights we visited—Naqa and Musawwarat es-Sufra—were quite amazing. Smaller versions of some of the large attractions in Egypt, these temples were not only our own to explore but hadn’t been restored, providing us with countless ‘Indiana Jones’ moments. Outside of a small ticket building (where the guards had just caught a fresh rabbit and were quite excited for the feast they were about to share) the only other people around were using their mules to pull water from the well. Next up were the pyramids, the ones I mentioned above where we made our camp, which were also ours to explore alone. By comparison, I hear the pyramids at Giza are within the view of a few well positioned tables at the local Pizza Hut.

The camping was not without its challenges. Since it was a desert we really couldn’t leave anything behind at all…going so far as to burn our used toilet paper. The bathroom was always available once you dug a few inches into the sand and so long as you walked at least 50 meters from camp everyone was happy. The wind blew sand everywhere,

Camping in the desert

constantly providing us with a natural exfoliant free of charge, which also meant we didn’t even bother to change our clothes since the moment we did they were just as dirty as the last pair. The heat, naturally, was quite brutal (we intended to fry an egg on the sidewalk but never found a sidewalk) and our 25 liter jug was about enough water to last the four of us just 24 hours.

I can think of no other place where I will ever have the opportunity to repeat this experience. A nice breeze. An open fire. Good food and company. Silence and solitude for miles around.

Filed Under: Africa, Headline, Sudan Tagged With: camping, desert, ruins

We’re either arrogant or stupid

September 2, 2009 By Jillian

Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, the Colca Canyon northeast of Arequipa is an incredible patchwork of agricultural villages nestled in colorful canyon walls. Like the Grand Canyon, Colca Canyon is still home to indigenous Cabana and Collagua peoples, who make their living through traditional farming. Unfortunately for us, its winter, so for the most part the fields were dry.

Every tour agency in Arequipa seems to offer tours to the Canyon from one day bus tours, to multi-day treks. Fortunately we contacted a local guide through couchsurfing who offered his expertise. In true Tobias style we decided to do a two day hike in one day. Our friend told us that it just isn’t done in one day because of the intense afternoon sun, but we’re either arrogant or stupid, and figured that after we conquered the Grand Canyon in a day we could certainly do Colca Canyon. Having assured our friend that we could do it after he expressed hesitation, we took the map he drew us, which we affectionately called the “treasure map”, and headed out on the bus. Six hours later we arrived in Cabanaconde, the furthest village in the canyon, grabbed a cheap hotel room and prepared for our hike.

Inspired by our plan, our new Spanish friends decided to dash their original plan and instead do our circuit, but in the less crazy time frame of two days. Our plan was simple, a loop from Cabanaconde east into the canyon crossing the river before breakfast, and continuing on the other side of the canyon west to the oasis before crossing the river again and climbing out. One variable was left to be determined- how would we handle the 3000 foot change from the canyon rim to the river and back up at over 10,000 feet?

At 4:15am the alarm rang, but seeing as it was still completely pitch black outside we slept for a few more minutes before finally rolling out of bed. Cold and in the dark, we walked out of the hostel shocked to see that the town was already up and moving. Shops, schools and even a restaurant or two were already open, and people were already sitting in the main plaza. Getting a move on, we hurried out of town to the trail head, arriving just before sunrise.

Hiking down to San Juan de Chuccho, the first village on our trek, we passed a few mule trains headed back up to Cabanaconde and a few indigenous men and women heading down. The trail down was steep, and in parts very rocky.  (If you ever want to do this trail, it is definitely necessary to have good shoes, don’t be fooled by the smooth mule path the first hour.) Reaching San Juan de Chuccho we were shocked to see a number of really nice looking hostels and restaurants, but pushing to finish in one day we declined a very nice indigenous womens offer of breakfast.

Hiking along the other side of the canyon we were greeted by a number of side trails and off shoot trails. Unsure, we asked everyone we met which way to Costinirhuha, our next village. Friendly, they pointed us in the right direction and sent us on our way with a cheerful “buen viaje.” Unspoiled by the tourism they have, the small villages of Costinirhuhua and Malata were downright wonderful. Traditional clay homes spanned the canyon cliffs, hovering above terraced fields which spread down to the river. Clothed in traditional costumes, the villagers we met seemed genuinely happy to greet us and never once became pushy or aggressive while selling their hostel, food, or crafts. Unfortunately, pushy and aggressive locals have become a regular on our trip, sometimes so much so that they ruin the place we are visiting.

With the sun beating down on us, we clung to what little shade we could find as we rushed down to the Sangalle, the Oasis. The canyon itself was beautiful, from the inside it was blazing hot, but looking up we could see snow covered volcanoes. Hot and tired, we threw ourselves into a frigid pool at El Eden and lounged in their shade eating lunch. We had yet to run into our Spanish friends, and with a real lack of enthusiasm on my part, we headed out of Sangalle only to bump into them at the outskirts of town. Less zealous than us, they decided to take a mule train back to the canyon rim, so we parted ways and marched on.

The trail was straightforward, and by that I mean straight up. Though we didn’t have an altimeter, we figured that we climbed about 1000 feet in the first hour.  Unfortunately the next two hours were similar and by the time we reach close to the top we were exhausted. Just as I was about to take my 30th break in the last hour, a man with two mules cheerfully came around the next switchback. “Hola Senorita!” He cried. Como estas? Necessitas Agua?” “No, pero estoy muy consada,” I replied. Laughing he chatted with us for a few more minutes before leaving us with good news- only 15 more minutes to the top! Energized, we mustered up what strength we could and found our way to the top. A beautiful view from above, we were unfortunately greeted by several burning trash fires, making us unwilling to spend time admiring our work. We headed back to Cabanaconde and collapsed.

The trek was difficult, but as we say in spanish, “vale la pena” (worth it). If you ever feel so inclined, it can definitely be done in a day, just make sure you are in shape, start early and be prepared with enough food and water.

Filed Under: Hike, Peru, South America, Trek Tagged With: canyon, desert, hiking

Desert Fun

August 25, 2009 By Danny

After our flight over the Nazca lines we headed to Ica, just a couple of hours up the coast from Nazca. After a quick lunch we hopped in a cab and went straight to our first Peruvian wine tour. We had hoped to do a proper tour hitting at least 3 wineries but given that we were traveling by taxi, and quite content by the end of our first, we left that total at just one.

Peruvian wineries have something to them that no other winery we’d ever been to can boast…a pisco distillery. Pisco is, more or less, the “liquor” of Peru (and I believe a couple of other South American countries we’ve yet to get to as well) and is the base for Peru’s famous drink, the pisco sour. Having already sampled several pisco sours the chance to go to a vineyard/winery/distillery was quite inviting.

Since we arrived by taxi, we arrived alone. This wasn’t a problem. A guide was there waiting and he took us on our own private tour. First we saw grapevines (no grapes right now, missed that by a few months) and then we walked further up the path (which was basically a grape-seed gravel) to the big grape smashing swimming pool (I should mention at this point that I might not have all the technical terms down perfectly) where the grapes are squeezed out by barefoot party goers during the grape harvest. Then the they are pressed (by a machine appropriately called the ‘press’). Since there were no grapes for us to stomp or press, Jill felt the need to place me under the press…I’m still not sure what she intended.

This is where the wine and Pisco process divide. After the press we moved to where the pisco and the wine (both just grape juice at this point) are fermented. Here in Peru rather than talking about the benefits of oak versus steel barrels we checked out the traditional ceramic casks used in the Pisco process and compared them to the cement casks primarily used today. The wine of course is still fermented in wooden casks, but considering Pisco is the main attraction the guide left the wine process behind and just told us about Pisco.

Next up is the distillery where 1600L of fermented grape juice is poured into a giant ceramic barrel. Under the barrel was a big pit where a giant wood fire could be stoked, ultimately boiling the grape juice inside. As the 1600L are boiled the juice is turned to steam, leaving behind most of its mass to be reused as fertilizer. As the juice boils, the vapors escape the barrel through a pipe at the top which pipes the gas under a pool to condense before being poured out as pisco.

Pisco it turns out comes out of the distillation process as a man. The first 10L or so of Pisco that flow from the pipes are the head, which is too high in alcohol content to be consumed, but is perfect for sterilizing equipment. The next 400L is the body and id only portion of the original 1600L that will be consumed. The final 60L or so are the tail, which like the head is not consumed.

An consume we did. We tried the Torontel, made from aromatic grapes, the Quebranta, made from non-aromatic grapes, and the Acholado, the mix of the first two from which pisco sour is made. We also tried a version mixed with milk which is basically a version of Bailey’s made with pisco as well as several of their wines. By the time we were done we were quite pleased with tasting and then he pulled out some chocolates. Needless to say there was no need of continuing to another vineyard.

Next up was a trip to the Huacachina oasis just outside of Ica’s city limits. This is the main gringo hangout of the area on account of the oasis itself (which was a brown lake, dirty and completely uninviting) and the rather impressive sand dunes. Within one hour of our arrival we’d changed into shorts and rented a pair of sandboards (cost $3 each rather than the $12 dune buggy/sandboarding tour) and were hiking up and boarding down dunes until the sun set over the desert. Luckily the soft sand was more forgiving the volcanic rock we boarded down the last time.  Can´t say we made much improvement though!

Filed Under: Beer & Wine, Peru, South America Tagged With: desert, sandboarding, winery

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