The Sahara is one of the coolest places on earth. So when I found out in Marrakech that one of the highest dunes of the desert was only a few hundrend kilometers away, I had to check it out. Again, booking with one of the local tourist agencies was a rip-off, so I decided to do it my way. I bought a bus ticket and left at night for a 12 hours drive to Merzouga, entertained by the sound of muslim prayers along the way.
I arrived early in the morning and checked-in at a Riad, located at a short distance from Erg Chebbi (an erg with dunes that could reach 150 meters). Observing through the window of my room, it looked imposing, massive! I woke up at noon, had my breakfast and went straight to the dunes. The receptionist at the Riad told me I had to climb all the way to the top of the Erg Chebbi to have the real view of the Sahara.
I disregarded the fact that it was 1 pm (the time when the sun is almost right on top of our heads) and left for my journey to the top of the dunes alone, carrying only a 350 ml bottle of water. As I walked on the direction of the highest dune, I entered the sandy area and it seemed like it was going to be an easy task. After 200 meters of walking, I started to feel that the sand was a little too hot. I ignored that and kept walking.
As I walked further, my feet started to burn and I had to alternate my balance on my havaianas, to avoid sinking in the sand. The sun was at its full power and I had to take my shirt off to protect the top of my head (specially the parts where there's no hair left). I used part of the water to provide immediate relief to my feet. I then started to walk over the hilly part.
As my climb became progressively more difficult and the heat began to torture my conscience, images of my years as an investment banker began to pop in my mind. Each time the top of the dune fell, and my feet touched the deeper part of it, where the sand was hot as hell, I felt just like when a Director found a typo in one of my presentations or a wrong number in my model.
When I looked back to my Riad and it was too far to return, but the top of the dunes too close to give up, I remembered when I was 3 days straight without any sleep and I had to finish a major presentation for the next few hours, with the promise of a weekend off afterwards.
The mosquitos that were trying to bite me all the time felt like...well I’m not going to say who they remembered me of, but they were there, trying to take little pieces of me and making the way a bit more tough.
When I finally got to the top, I was severely dehydrated and full of blisters in my feet. But I saw the most amazing view of my entire life. At the top of the 150 meters dune, the greatness and quietness of the Sahara were incredible revigorating. It was too beautiful to be true. Although I can’t deny that the lack of H20 in my blood might have had an hallucinative effect in my brain, making it all look even more stunning, but who cares?
The same way I felt when it was time to leave my investment banking life. I was fat as a Buda and carried bags under my eyes so big and dark, that people very often taught I was wearing sunglasses. But the most incredible experience of my life was about to begin. And you know what? I had the opportunity to work with a lot of amazing people, learned a whole bunch of interesting stuff and made some good money along the way too, so it wasn’t all that painfull and, at the end, it paid off.
I guess in life nothing comes for free. We have to face a big Erg Chebbi each time we go after a dream and tolerate our feets getting burned during our climb, if we want to put our hands on the big prize.
At least, this is the way I see it now.
Picture: Watching the sunset over the dunes. Sahara, Morocco
