A game of Camel,Dung Beetle,Camel Pooh anyone?

We finally settled for the evening in the shade of a specacular sand dune. We where let loose and we spent the next 2 hours exploring taking photos of eachother in various poses on the dunes, like we where on some crazed desert photo shoot. It was such good fun and we have some lovely photos as a result. We where finally called for dinner and as I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that I would be spending the night with large, creepy dung beetles the size of a Euro coin, we settled infront of the camp fire as the sun set and the stars came out. And oh my god the stars! I have never seen so many in my life. Constellations I have never seen before. And right across the entire sky directly above us was a GIGANTIC milky way, really wide and really long. The guides sang us some local desert songs using a metal tray and a plastic water container as percussions. We all had to sing something so I ofcourse sang our beloved "She Moved Through The Fair" for lack of inspiration (Mum you would have been proud) which was well received. We saw a couple of shooting stars, one of them was just HUGE!It had a really long tail as long as half the sky and it fell really slowly so we got to get a really good look at it.
As the others fell asleep, I ,flanked by a very shivalrous Steve and Andy to protect me againt the creatures of the night, I was introduced to a very imaginatve version of Rock, Paper, Scissors as invented by Andy and Steve. They had originally developed a version on a previous trip to south east asia I think, and this one was dubbed Polar Bear, Penguin, Chocolate born from a conversation they had had. Our version was created specivially for the dessert. So we hashed out the rules (Camel eats Dung Beetle which eats Camel Shit which chokes Camel) and I spent the folloing half hour with tears streaming down my face as we tried to mimic Camels and Dung beetles using our fingers to win points. Quality entertainment. Thanks guys.
After getting dangerously close to choking from the laughter, we eventually settled down. The guys built a lovely little baracade out of sandals, bottles and back packs and we had a little laugh as within minutes there where shouts of "Theres an enemy breach" from Andy, and a "Incoming on east flank" from Steve. Childish I know, but hey desperate times! I made the guys laugh as I occasionally yelped and jumped as I would see a black shell glistening in the moonlight crawl across the blanket I lay on. Then it was Andy's turn as one crawled into his face, so I got my revenge. I think at one stage one got into my hair and I grabbed it and threw it away but I am not sure if that was just a sleep deprived delirium. Andy thinks it did happen, but he would!

Despite the horrible looming creatures of the night, the sky was just too amazing so I spent the majority of the night contemplating the stars. As the night wore on, the constellations moved and gradually the moon shone high and strong right over us. I might have had more success trying to sleep in a floodlight football stadium the light from the moon was that strong. Eventually I spotted Orion's belt and the plough and was so excited I woke andy up to share my delight. The following day we continued our crazy, fun adventure making a loop to rejoin the jeep. It was just as fabulous and I can safely say that it was an unforgettable experience.

Positively magical.