Well, I did it. Back in one piece having raised £4,831 for the hospice with hopefully a bit more to come in the next few days from anyone who might be hearing about this for the first time and feels inclined to help!
Some may remember that in 2019 I trekked for a week in the Borneo jungle to raise funds for Willen. This time it was a 50km trek in the Sahara Desert and my aim was to raise £3,500.
At this point I should explain that I covered the trip costs of £1,045 from my own resources – plus the kit, which wasn’t cheap! That way I had skin in the game and all funds raised would be going to the cause.
Why I support Willen Hospice
I support Willen Hospice because I admire the excellent work they do. They provide specialist care to people with life limiting illnesses, delivering round the clock care and ongoing support for patients and their families, as well as bereavement support. Their services are completely free of charge, which costs the hospice around £540 per hour to deliver. Each year they face a big fundraising challenge because they receive less than a quarter of their funding from the NHS – the rest is donated or fundraised.
The start of the trek
I was feeling apprehensive before we left for Morocco on March 23rd. Whilst I was confident that I could cover the distance I wasn’t looking forward to the effects of the dry desert heat and of tiredness brought about by uncomfortable sleeping conditions.
Our flight from Gatwick was at 7.40am and after landing in Marrakech it was a long 5-hour minibus ride to a place called Ouarzazate in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains (the peaks were snow-capped which I hadn’t expected).
The next morning, I was woken at 4.30am by a call to prayer from the local mosque. I could have done with another couple of hours sleep because after breakfast it was another 4/5 uncomfortable hours in the minibus until we reached the start point for the trek at midday – where we met up with the local Berber guides who would be accompanying us. I have absolutely no idea where we were: all I could see was sand and palm trees!
After sheltering from the heat for a couple of hours the Berbers headed off with their camels to set up camp where we would be spending the night, whilst we started out on our trek– not too far thankfully, only 8km until we caught up with the Berbers, but still hot work, nonetheless. The evening was interesting: the tents were smaller than we had understood for two people sharing (no way my ‘roommate’ and I were fitting in there) so I slept on a mat in the main tent where we had eaten dinner, although the view of the night sky was amazing, which made up for it.
I didn’t sleep well at all and was woken again at 4am when our Berber guides started making their own breakfast. This was because it was Ramadan and therefore the only opportunity they had of eating and drinking until sundown. We set off at 7.30am to try to avoid the heat of the day. It was still hot though, and we were carrying our day kit, but the landscape helped take our minds off it. It varied widely from dry lake beds to palm trees and endless sands. At one point the terrain resembled how I imagined the surface of Mars to be – reddish dust strewn with boulders and rocks.
Lunch break lasted 3.5 hours in the shade of some palm trees, then when the heat had subsided a little, we pressed on until we reached the next camp. The terrain in the afternoon was across large sand dunes – spectacular to see at points but energy sapping too. All told we covered about 20km that day.
The evening was interesting. Before dinner most of us were administering TLC to our feet (I have never seen so many Compeed plasters!) when a breeze sprang up. By midnight it was blowing a gale and part of the dinner tent, where I had again decided to sleep, blew down.
The next day after breakfast (two pancakes with jam and a cup of coffee) we set off again through the dunes. Goodness me it was hot, about 36°. I wore a long-sleeved top, long trousers, and desert headgear. The only parts of me that were visible were my hands and eyes! It sounds counterintuitive but if your skin is in the shade, you feel cooler. The dunes eventually gave way to dry riverbeds, rocky outcrops and then a large arid plain, which centuries ago would have been an inland lake. We walked for five hours with not much in the way of shelter and some of the group had run out of water by the time we stopped for lunch.
Making bread in the desert
After a four-hour rest, during which I fell asleep, we were off again; although mercifully it was just over an hour before we made camp having again covered about 20km. Before dinner, the Berbers showed us how they made bread in the desert, and we all had a sing-song. The night was unseasonably warm, and I slept in just my sleeping bag liner wearing only my pants (I know, too much information!). It was my best night’s sleep of the trek.
On the way back to civilisation
We were up at 4.30am the next day and by 7.30am had already walked for 5km to rendezvous with the minibuses for the drive back to Marrakech. The desert has a different feel to it in the early morning – cool and airy – which was a very welcome change. There was even a thick patch of mist in the near distance.
Although the trek had lasted only four days it had been on par with my week in the Borneo jungle. Covering 50km through sand, on fewer calories than we would consume at home, in quite uncomfortable conditions, was quite difficult at times. But it was a real experience and there were some wonderful memories to bring back.
The bus journey back to Marrakech took over 10 hours and was very uncomfortable. I even had a nosebleed coming through the mountains, which I’m told is caused by the sand wearing away some of the membranes in your nose, although I’m not sure whether that’s true or whether I was just having my leg pulled.
We arrived in Marrakech at 6pm. The first thing everyone wanted to do was to have a shower and a proper wash (baby wipes only in the desert!). There was an end-of-trek dinner at a local restaurant that night, after which I went straight back to the hotel for a proper sleep in a real bed!
I met some interesting people on the trek and carry some great memories of it. If you get a chance to do something similar, especially if you can do it for a good cause, then I would say to go for it. There is very little visible wildlife in the desert so no need to be concerned about creepy crawlies, although do be prepared to set your dignity to one side when you need to use the toilet in the desert (and be quick about it so as to avoid sunburn!).
A big thank you
To those of you who have sponsored me then I would like to say a big ‘thank you’. Your support means a lot and makes the whole endeavour worthwhile. If you haven’t and would like to then there is still time – just follow this link to my Just Giving page. Any donation is welcome, however small, as its going to a good cause.
Russell Snowdon