2 days to go!

Almost ready! Lauren, the American girl who will come with us to do yoga and meditation, tells a little of what she discovered in the desert from the first Desert Therapy. Here are her thoughts: the Italian is not perfect, but you can understand perfectly well her emotions to return to this place:

“I am excited to return to a place where there is no rush, without this way of living guided by a clock. In the desert we follow the rhythm inside of ourselves and find our own path. There is something special also about a place without mirrors. It is not important how we look to others, but we focus on how the world looks to us and we understand who we are on the inside. The mask that we all wear disappears. This is very wonderful. With the first Desert Therapy we all became true friends for this reason, we lived together without masks and we saw inside of each other.”

3 days to go

The chaos increases every hour and the house, as always before we leave, looks like a warehouse. The list of recommended materials is checked off so that we won’t forget anything. Friday everything must be ready to leave. Our advice is always to bring a limited amount of things, especially in the way of clothing: in the desert you only need very little. Years of experience have taught me that everytime you only use half of what you bring on these trips. A good sleeping bag, the right shoes, a little backpack with sunscreen and a camera and a head lamp for going around camp at night; these are the only indispensable objects other than a small personal medical kit. The rest we will bring. The show however will be offered by the desert.

4 days to go

There are only five days to go till the departure for the White Desert in Egypt and expectant waiting is infecting everyone. Max is at the complete disposition of our participants for any doubts as we begin the count down: will it be hot? Or will it be cold at night? What do I need to add to my bags? The temperature today were wonderful: +33 during the day and +20 at night, but the desert is unpredictable, therefore we always advise bring something warm too. The gifts of the sponsors are ready: which are again this time a great surprise! And there will also be a great novelty: which we will discuss before leaving. In short, as always the wait is full of high expectation. I always say that the trip begins the moment in which you decide to go, and the days spent waiting for Desert Therapy are truly special.

Good-bye to the father of the Stramilano

This morning, Francesco Alzati passed away, the creator of the famous Stramilano. Francesco was a great friend, with whom I shared many years of ski racing in the same club, the Fior di Roccia together with a wonderful group of people passionate for mountain sports. Above all it is the enthusiasm and great energy of this special man that will be missed. Always ready to invent something new, and open to new experiences and activities, he always lead a healthy life, in touch with nature and maintained a thin and energetic form: destiny took him too early. Him, the symbol of a man who dedicated his existence to sport.
I remember emotionally when he decided to dedicate his life to Sramilano, the most famous of the city marathons. The start of the first edition was in the evening, behind viale Zara, and we were only a small group of friends full of enthusiasm. The reinforcements were limited to a little broth and hot tea, with a few cookies and some fruit: how simple and what joy in the work we all did together! Thank you Francesco for what you gave to us, but thank you above all for what you left for us: the example of a life lived with passion and honesty and many unforgettable memories. An affectionate hug to the family and in particular to his son Andrea, who continues his father’s efforts and with whom we have brought life to the first edition of New Frontier. Stay close to us Francesco, to help us move forward and extend a hand to disabled persons who want to participate in sport, with your great passion.

Our Gifts

The date of departure is getting closer: October 23 we will return to the White Desert with a small group of people who want to join us for the second edition of Desert Therapy and share together this fantastic experience: the participants are all ready. Also this time Lauren will come with us, who in addition to helping Max organize camp, will lead yoga and meditation twice a day. The chèche (the woven turban that protects from the sun and sand) personalized with the Desert Therapy logo, which participants find in the room when they arrive in Cairo, together with other beautiful gifts are all ready, along with the tisane created specifically for different moments during the day and other sweet surprises. Every detail is handled by us personally, to guarantee our guests nine days of absolute relax and “embrace from the desert” and give everyone the gift of once in a lifetime memories.

Motionless

With the daily presence of dramatic images of the earthquake, floods and huricanes that are devastating some areas of the planet, I often have thoughts instead of the immobility of the desert.
For thousands of years everything seems motionless, no natural upheavel seems to have happened to scratch the static image of this place that seems from another dimension, even if in reality this is not so. The Chinese desert for example, has flowing rivers in the summer that are later absorbed into the sand. The Salar in Bolivia, has a rainy season that makes it impassable. And for that matter it is the presence of water that creates change in the desert. Where there is no water, everything remains motionless, only the wind sculpts new dunes or moves others, but everything happens slowly. This lack of change creates security and therefore the sensation of great well-being that you experience in this place is due to this fact. The magic of the desert!

Together Again

Last night was beautiful with all of our friends from the first Desert Therapy! We got together again for dinner and to toast to the desert. It is incredible how passing a few days together in the Egyptian desert have changed each of our lives and created a close-knit group. The conversations flow spontaneously and happiness is never lacking. We talked about everything but above all of our great love (the desert) and of our desire to repeat this fantastic experience together. Everyone carries in their hearts the memories of those rich days of serenity we shared in the most charming place on earth. We also spoke with Anna from Rome thanks to Skype, and there were many emotional moments. The only one absent, for personal reasons was Claudia, but she sent her greetings to all and has invited us over for another gathering…….after the return of the second Desert Therapy!

Not all are athletes

The most frequent question that we get from those interested in participating in Desert Therapy is regarding physical preparation. Most people imagine that they must train intensely to face this experience, but this is not the case. Every time we tell people that it is sufficient to be in good health and to be able to walk for several hours: the ground is almost always flat and compact and you don’t need to carry a lot on your back. The water and supplies are abundant and there are frequent breaks to drink hot mint tea and rest. Every group of people can bring different characteristics, if someone desires to walk longer we can easily accommodate this. Don’t forget that the fundamental characteristic of Desert Therapy is to regain physical health, without looking for extreme efforts, the point in fact is to give everyone the possibility to reach this objective without suffering. For this reason Desert Therapy is completely unique.