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Libya: our last days Click on photos for larger images: |
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The last week had been beautiful and overwhelming; like nothing most of us had seen. We had somewhat mixed feelings about our time ending. We did not want the experience and magic to end -- the Sahara is enveloping in its magnificence –- but we could feel the wear and tear. I’d begun counting how many more nights we had left to sleep on the sand and had begun thinking of the variety of food we could have in some city -- to say nothing of the constant urge for cold drinks. The heat was getting more intense.
A few images and memories from our last couple of days in the Sahara: |
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On the second last day: we stopped in the small town of Awbari for some drinks (there was very little selection). It was a dreary and dirty small town with garbage sitting in fetid water.
Later, while waiting out the heat in the restaurant after lunch, Andreas plugged in his PC, and we watched his amazing eclipse and star photos…. After which we used the PC to watch videos of Tinariwen that Cheikh gave me. In one clip, Cheikh's brother was playing guitar with the group (photo below by Bonnie Bird)
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Scenes from Awbari |
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That night, our
last in the desert, we had one last night of music around the
campfire, and one more halo around the moon (but not quite as
spectacular as the first) . |
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 The giant dune
beside one of the lakes was available for dune skiing |
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After lunch, we took our last, long Saharan drive, back to Sabha where we started. The magic was over. It was comparatively dull scenery on the way, eventually “progressing” into the unattractive scenes of urban life, especially the ever-present garbage.
Around 5:30 in the afternoon, we pulled off at a restaurant/rest stop for dinner. Food, showers and flies. We speculated about the upcoming flight to Tripoli (scheduled for 10pm). Would it be as late leaving Sabha as it was last week when we had arrived at 3am? One of Bilgasem’s comments came back: “Time is mysterious here. You must learn to understand.”
We left the restaurant around 7:30pm for the airport, where we said goodbye to the drivers. We checked in, sat on seats or on the terminal floor, and... waited once again.
We had drinks and coffees, while watching various pictures of Ghadaffi displayed over and over on an electronic screen. We hadn't seen him for a week.
Fortunately there was no departure board to tell us our plane was late. We traded rumours unenthusiastically: “The plane will be arriving here at 10”; “The plane will be leaving Tripoli at 11”. “Whatever…”
The plane arrived at 12:30. I don’t think we looked as bad as those we had seen waiting for the same flight last week. We finally arrived at our Tripoli hotel at 4am, to fill in the inevitable bureaucratic forms. Sleep.
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 Another long airport night. (Photo by Erica Smythe) |
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The next morning, our Libyan trip ended, with everyone collecting luggage and packing in a bleary-eyed state, and said our goodbyes.
When the first large group prepared to leave by bus for the airport, Bilgasem gave a very emotional farewell. People applauded...
When it was our turn to leave, there was some mix–up about time, and we didn’t get to see our friend Mostafa before we had to leave, so we had to so phone him from the airport. We've continued to stay in touch with him by phone and email (as best we can with the language barrier), and recently mailed him some English-language books and tapes for Arabic speakers. We've also stayed in touch by phone and email with Bilgasem.
Our Saharan group: tourists, guides, drivers & cooks. Photo by Andreas Gada "Conclusion"
The future?
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Other pages:
Links about Libya; Eclipse
links |
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