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.

The Flu

The nice, warm weather makes me think back to summer, but the flu that is quickly spreading reminds me of winter. Everyone in bed with a fever and body aches; nothing serious, despite the alarming news shown everyday in the paper and on the news. A little rest, medicine and vitamin C were sufficient to bring back our sick Lauren and Max. The staff of Desert Therapy was decimated, but everyone will for sure be in good health for the departure the 23rd. The new, more sporty version of the trip is interesting also younger persons who did not think it was possible to have the opportunity to finally get to know the desert and some have even asked their parents to have this as a graduation gift! It is wonderful to see so much enthusiasm from guys and girls for an experience of this type: it means that something is changing in their values. For the better.

One Month until the departure

Incredible: it is only one month until we leave for the second edition of Desert Therapy. When we launched the idea a few months ago to walk together in the desert, we never thought we would receive so much enthusiastic support. And now we find ourselves again busy preparing for the departure. Just the thought of the desert brings to mind many strong sensations and memories that bring chills up the back. The smell of the sand, the light wind that calms the heat, the starry nights, marvelous memories that we can’t wait to relive and share with new friends.
To give everyone, also young persons, the possibility to discover this special place, we have decided to bring to life a new version of this trip, more sporty, that will start in November in which each participant will be an active part in the crossing, with the hope of making this experience even more special. The group will again be small and the emotions will be gigantic.

Autumn

Autumn is a marvelous season, also in the mountains. Together with the kids we passed two truly relaxing days, walking in the woods and gathering wild berries.
We returned home tired, with our hand and clothes covered with red and blue marks but with buckets full of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and ribes. Now the great job of conserving all these precious gifts nature has given us for the winter awaits us. We are already working on making jam and jelly, jars of syrup and packages for freezing. For Lauren these serve to cook delicious fruit tarts, which have become famous among our friends. Unfortunately we haven’t found mushrooms. There was little rain this year and you can’t find any, we must have patience. However, the woods have been very generous.

Begining again

The long hot 2009 summer is over and here we are ready to begin our activities again with new energy and great enthusiasm.
Only the blog has been on vacation, we on the other hand have continued to work for the next edition. Our new friends who will come with us to Egypt are very nice, some of whom we have already met in person and without a doubt there are high expectations that the magic atmosphere of the first edition will surly repeat this time. Max and Lauren, always very active and eager to return in the magnificent White Desert, have worked with great passion and are available to answer any questions for the travellers that are preparing to live this special experience. The curiosity of those who will go to encounter the desert for the first time grows every day and the excitement of everyone is very high. Also these days of waiting for the departure, become part of the memory of those who will join us in this new emotional adventure.