Day 1, And Away We Go!

Wednesday December 15^th. My room mate, John, a 46 year old divorce lawyer from England, and I got up at 6:00, showered, ate and loaded our stuff on the truck by 7:00. Today was a really long driving day. We started at 7:30 and didn't arrive at camp until 7:00 in the evening. We had a minor setback an hour in when we came to a check point and the company had removed the passenger seat in the driver's cabin and it had all the specs of the size and weight of the truck that the inspectors wanted. So, we had to wait while someone drove the seat to us! Then a few hours later we had a police passport check point delay. Other than that the drive was uneventful. I sat beside Edward, a seventy-seven year old Edmontonian. He kept falling asleep and leaning on me and crowding my space. He seems to asks silly or annoying questions... we'll see.

Stopped a couple of times for water, washrooms and snacks. We had lunch in a gas station layby during a rain shower! We set up our tables and chairs and had sandwiches and salad. It rained for a few hours and the weather was chilly. Good travel day.

The scenery initially was farm land. We drove through the wheat growing area, then over a mountain pass and into the citrus and grape growing area, and then over another pass into an area that was mainly pretty barren and desolate. Rocky mountains and hills with scarce vegetation and very few villages or towns. We are headed towards the desert. En route we saw a couple of troops of baboons.

When we arrived we had a demonstration on how to set up our tents and we now have a little tent community. Dinner was prepared for us by the guides. It was pasta shells and delicious homemade meat sauce with peppers and onions in it.

That's it. The group is beginning to sort its self out as we get to know each other.