A DESERT OASIS...

We stopped in what felt like the middle of nowhere for lunch. At this point I need to be honest as say that I did not care where we stopped as long as there was a usable bathroom.  Both Megan and I had been watching the amount of water we were consuming because there is not a lot of bushes to stop behind!! We arrived at an interesting looking structure.  From the outside it did not look like much but I have learnt that you cannot judge a book by its cover. 

The facilities were ummmmm interesting.  It’s the desert folks, there is a lot of sand and a lot of dust so the bathrooms were basic and dusty but there is nothing a pack of wetwipes can’t fix!!

Outside the oasis is a spring with the most awesome cold water.  It felt heavenly dipping our hands into the coolness of the spring and splashing our faces.  Feeling a little more human/normal we entered the oasis itself.  Palm trees and a little bit of the spring run right through it.  There are low tables with cushions and carpets to sit on.  I felt like Omar Sharif would appear at any moment. 

It was almost as if Cleopatra herself would frequent such a place for rest and nourishment. Actually that was exactly how I felt, as if Cleo and old Julius could have been sitting at the table next to us. There was an old world feeling to the place with a bit of a modern twist (electrical sockets). 

The air was cool after being out in the desert heat, the sound of the trickling spring as it made its way through the structure added a subtle musical element to the atmosphere. It was incredible peaceful and I could almost feel myself give in to the tranquility.  Of course a few minutes later Mostafa, Megan and I got into to a heavy conversation about who are the best actors of our time!!! It was an interesting discussion with both Mostafa and I having acting experience (ok so he beats me cause he was on an Egyptian show just after our trip).

Our guide prepared us the most amazing lunch consisting of tomatoes, flat bread, tuna with onion, Egyptian beans, lays chips and this to die for cream cheese and tomatoes mix.  Such a simple yet divine meal shared with awesome people. I can’t remember what all we spoke about as we ate but I know that we continued to talk about movies.  Both Mostafa and I are big Fast and Furious fans of course Vin is just tremendous. We got into a discussion about Hugh Jackman and it turned out that Mostafa had never seen Reel Steel so in the middle of the desert in an oasis with palm trees and a spring we ended up watching a portion of Reel Steel.  It was all a little surreal yet somehow it was perfect.

We rested and waited for the heat of the day to pass before making our way to white desert and that my friends is for another day…