Second day, heading for the Devil's Thumb
6:30 in the morning, February 8th, 2008, Sun's rising over the dunes
The camp is very quiet
Marc, early bird, rekindles the fire for it's really chilly
C'est le moment de faire la vaisselle de la veille...
It's time to wash the dishes of the night before...
que Guy doit s'asseoir !
It's so tiring to wash the dishes that Guy has to sit !
The waves shaped by the wind in the sand are the same as millions of tiny dunes
The dunes in the early morning
We are really "all alone"
The campfire revives the good mood
Nous sommes repassés par le point de confluence
25 degrés Nord, 48 degrés Est.
Cliquez ici pour les détails de notre première visite à ce point de confluence, le jour de l'anniversaire de Lise, le 16 avril 2004
We went again through the Confluence point
25 degrees North, 48 degrees East.
Click here for the details from our first visit to this confluence, on Lise's birthday, April 16th, 2004
25 degrés Nord, 48 degrés Est.
Cliquez ici pour les détails de notre première visite à ce point de confluence, le jour de l'anniversaire de Lise, le 16 avril 2004
We went again through the Confluence point
25 degrees North, 48 degrees East.
Click here for the details from our first visit to this confluence, on Lise's birthday, April 16th, 2004
au croisement de deux lignes imaginaires ?
How do you feel standing exactly at the
cross-road of two imaginary lines ?
30 et 27 confluences à leur actif, dans 6 pays.
Marc and Lise have visited respectively
30 and 27 confluences in 6 countries
There's not only camel and sheep herds in the Saudi desert, the oil industry is everywhere.
(car pour rouler dans le sable sans s'enliser, il faut dessoufler les pneus).
Guy en profite pour pratiquer son arabe avec les employés du garage.
A stop at the tiny village of Khurais allows us to reinflate the tires
(for to drive in the sand without getting stuck, we must deflate the tires).
Guy is taking the opportunity to practice arabic with the garage employees.
At the garage, in a truck carrying camels: is that a female wearing the veil ? lolllll
One has to be very careful on the roads
Herds cross the roads without warning.
The herdsman let Guy take some photographs of himself...
And his camel
While we're waiting in the car
And we hit the road again
Un peu plus loin, un autre troupeau....avec des jeunes.
A little further away, another herd....with youngsters.
Stop for lunch, on the menu: khabsa (grilled chicken and rice)
Relatively clean...for a roadside restaurant by a garage!
He's quite loaded, isn't he ?
We finally catch sight of the "Devil's Thumb" on the horizon
dans une plaine rocailleuse, près d'un escarpement.
It's a huge rock, standing in the middle of nowhere
on a rocky plain, close to an escarpment.
Marc drove up the steep hill and stopped just under the impressive Thumb
Vite! Une photo avant que
le rocher ne nous tombe sur la tête !
Hurry up ! A quick picture before
the rock tumbles down on our head!
et fais vivre quelques émotions fortes à toute la famille.
To end this trip beautifully, Marc takes the wheel of Guy's Landrover
and introduce the thrill seekers of the family to going down the steep face of the dunes.
View from the top of the dune
The passengers have fastened their seat belts !
On the very top of the dune a camel herd is coming our way
Against all expectation, two of them come to meet us
What a thrill !
Demain, une autre jolurnée d'aventure nous attend...sur l'eau cette fois.
As every good moment must reach an end, we reinflate the tires with Marc's compressor and head back to Dhahran.
Tomorrow, another adventurous day is awaiting us...on the water this time.
