My Night In the Desert

My social sabbatical is halfway done. I have been in Dakar for two weeks. My colleagues and I received positive feedback on our work so far from our client, so I am proud of what we have accomplished in a short time. This week was full of visiting schools, interviewing parents and even interviewing a representative from the ministry of education in Senegal, to get some primary research for our client, Ateliers Des Genies. We also spent a lot of time researching competitors and comparing offers so our client can better differentiate themselves from other organizations with similar services.

We worked hard this week so I was looking forward to the weekend. However, I was a little skeptical on how much relaxing I would actually be able to do. We decided this weekend we would visit Lompoul Desert, a popular tourist attraction which gives visitors the “nomad experience.” I will admit, that I like modern day comforts, so I was a little bit hesitant when I heard we would be sleeping in a tent in the desert. However, one of my goals for this sabbatical was to get out of my comfort zone so I jumped right in.

After about a 4 hour drive (3 hours and a little bit of getting lost), we arrived at the desert.

We had lunch and then a few of the team “surfed” down sand domes. One thing I was really hoping to have the opportunity to do here was ride a camel. My dad rode a camel in Egypt about 15 years ago, and seeing that picture in my house for so many years, I was hoping I could do the same in Africa at some point in my life. The opportunity did present itself. Four of us did a 20 minute camel ride through the sand where there were several moments I thought I would fall off but fortunately I was able to hold on and get a couple of good pictures.

The evening was surprisingly cool and as the sun was going down, drummers came out and somehow right before dinner was served, they were able to get all of us dancing. It was really a good group of visitors the night we went and the atmosphere at night was really nice. We sat by a camp fire for a little bit before we went star searching. We didn’t get to see too many stars at night because it was cloudy, but the night was really cool and comfortable to walk around in. Unfortunately our tents did not retain any of that cool. They were like saunas at night, but I still slept with a comforter over me in fear of mosquitoes or other critters paying me a visit.

We left after breakfast Sunday morning, making a few stops along the way to shop and eat some ice cream. This was definitely a unique experience for me. I didn’t have on my bucket list to camp in a desert in West Africa, but I guess I can add it on just to cross it off.

Two more weeks left and lots more to accomplish and experience!