“How do you know where the wells are? Do you have a map?
“In here” he taps on his temple.
Hassan’s English is broken but we understand each other just fine. I ask if he prefers English or French to which he replies “it’s the same”. I am lucky, really, sitting proud at the front of the caravan, effectively interviewing the real version of my main character. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
“But how do you really know where to go?”
“GPS” he chuckles, pulling my camel – the leader – along the side of a dune and away from an old set of camel tracks. We are not alone in the vast land of the ochre. The realisation strikes me as absurd. How can something so vast ever be explored?
“I know every dune” he says, reading my mind. “I walk with my brother a lot.” He points to a faraway plateau. “See that mountain over there? That’s the border between Algeria and Morocco. I worked there, collecting fossils with him. We found dead men every week, buried under fallen rocks. I wanted to live. So I left to work here, in Merzouga.”
Hassan has been a desert guide for 5 years but when I ask him how old he was when he started, he falls silent.
“I don’t know my age.”
“Wow” is all I can mutter in response. I had heard of such stories but, for some obscure reason, never believed them until today. “Were you born in the desert?”
“Yes. I was a shepherd.”
He is wearing flip-flops that get caught in the sand and I watch as he tosses little clouds of sand outwards and upwards every time he lifts his feet. He is unaware of course, but I am soaking in every little detail like a dehydrated sponge. Under his jellaba, I notice a pair of jeans – interesting metaphor of modern Morocco holding on to its heritage – and on his head, he has tied a white scarf which is strewn with a multitude of black flies.
As we advance further into the desert, the wind grows stronger and I watch the sand being blown off of the peak of a dune, like an ochre tulle dress billowing in the wind. It looks like a trick of the mind and I squint to make the best of it.
“Do you not get sand in your eyes all the time?” I ask, longing for a splash of water on my face.
“I do. It cleans my eyes” he chuckles again.
“You sure?”
“Yes. When we reach the top, we see who can see better. You or me.”
His sense of humour is striking and for a split second, I wish I spoke Berber. We could talk at length and become best friends and I could tell him all about my novel and thank him for everything he’s taught me without even knowing. But language doesn’t matter. Nothing matters and at the same time, everything matters. What a strange feeling.
*
Thanks for reading.
Hop on my Facebook and Twitter caravans.
Wow! This sounds amazing! Have fun with your real life main character :)
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Thanks Solveig! It was phenomenal!! Hey, now that I’m in Paris, we should meet up. You up for a coffee?
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What an amazing experience. Love the pictures
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This entire trip was truly life-changing. And those pictures really are amazing, aren’t they!
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Oh, Elissaveta! How you must be pinching yourself to make sure this is not a dream. I love the way you notice the movement of sand – under Hassan’s flip-flops and on the ridge of a dune. This is the way to really research a novel – amongst many other things. The photos are stunning: the colour and those desert shapes. I sent a link to a friend of mine, a lover of deserts, now based in that most non-desert city Sydney.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful vicarious adventure.
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Oh how much I pinched myself. This was such a wonderful experience and I will probably blog a lot more on the subject.
Thank YOU for being so loyal even after I was gone for a month!!
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Please do – heaps more!
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It is nice to see you blogging again, Elissaveta. Interesting post on desert adventure with amazing photos to boot!
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Thanks, Peter! More to come…
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sumptuous images and a delightful interchange.
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Thanks Geoff! It was so sumptuous I’m going to need to add some superlatives to the English language.
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That felt like I was reading narrative fiction, Ellie. If that’s your style, I’m really looking forward to reading the novel when it’s ready. Great, immersive research
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Oh now that’s great to hear! Indeed, I tried to write it like a story so I’m glad you picked up on that.
Well, when the novel is ready for a beta-reader, you can indulge in my writing. Ha! 😁
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That sounds more like a threat than a promise – but I will be more than happy to beta read
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Me? Threatening you? Never.
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great post
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Thank you!
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welcome
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Wow Eli, how wonderful! What a trip! And your pictures are incredible! You know I love Morrocco, but this is a side I never saw… I went into the mountains but not the desert. This trip is going to do wonders for your novel. It will give it a sense of realism and conviction that only being there and being present can give. I love the style of your writing too, and what an enigmatic conversation you had with your guide. Can’t wait to read more!
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Thank youuu, my god it was the most amazing experience of my life. I want to share so much more but can’t find the time to blog. Argh!
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No rush. It will always be with you, ready to spill onto the page when you sit down to write. 😊
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I thought you might like the comment of my desert-loving friend, to whom I sent a link to this post. She’s loved desert in Australia, Egypt, Jordan and Abu Dhabi
“A lovely piece. I felt the sand in my eyes, the desert breeze (the sweetest – it has travelled far) and the sights- puffs of dust – and the sounds, such a glorious and fragile silence.”
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Ohh what a lovely comment, thank you for sharing this Meg (both the post with your friend and the comment with me!)
Not to mention she found a better word than I could to express the little “clouds of sand” with”puffs”. I like it!
Thanks again!!!
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