A loooong drive

I wish it was possible to do a detailed route discription of the places we go to. Mostly we can track our route on the Garmin, but sometimes we even complicate this poor device. The past weekend is one of those where we just had so many things interfering with our well made plans. It all started off with our new neighbours who came over to introduce themselves. Being the polite people we are, we made small talk while our arses were burning to load the car and be off. The visit delayed us with a good 30 minutes - very important if you want to reach the edge of the desert before nightfall. The second interference was the weather conditions. The wind was pumping, light rain was no issue but the sand...Boy oh boy, the sand... But off we went on our merry way. Our first desert crossing via the power line is usually also on our shortcut route to Riyadh and it's quick and it's low traffic and it's much more fun than the tar version. Sometimes there is a bit of corrugation which is a tad uncomfortable on the body. Due to the sandstorms, the road started out as a bit more comfortable because the corrugation had a light layer of sand over it, evening it out. Soon enough though, the light covering turned into never ending speed bumps and massive dunes all over the road. This resulted in some more delay timewise. Needless to say, on day one we did not manage to reach Rumah, which would have enabled us to reach the Crater by about 3pp.m on the following day and give us enough time to come back a bit and lessen the distance for the final day of the journey. Aahhh well, go with the flow. Now we are sticking to tar roads so that at least, even if the milage is more, the duration might be less. Good thing we did just that, or we would have missed out on a lot of wonderful sights and sites to see.. in Shaqrah area we drove through a historical site that is under reconstruction. This area seems to be very fertile. You cross quite a barren landscape, then all of a sudden (thank you sandstorm) out of the 'mist' a huge rocky mountain looms and you pass through black stone walls into the greenest valley imaginable. It never ceases to amaze us that so much greenery can be found in Saudi. Farming here is on a different plane to what we are used to. Preconceived notions are dispelled constantly when we see the huge walls and imposing entrances to the farms, the lush green fields behind those walls and the very modern farming methods used over here. The Bedouin farmers have their own unique qualities that we can really appreciate. They don't live in tents anymore as we see in romanticised pictures. They live in very modern caravans/trailer homes, have trucks with water tanks that supplies water to people and animals alike and usually at least one 4x4 vehicle in their collection. At night, strings of electric lights make all of this look quite festive. Anyway, I'm digressing. Afif was our next port of call where we filled up with fuel and got some much needed ice. By the way, for all this distance (1200km one way) the wind, sand and occasional thundershowers followed is. By now it was already 3p.m and decision time if we are going to push on to see the Crater or turn around. We have come this far, what is another 260km? So on we go. From Shaqrah we have followed the R50, which was an excellent tar road with little traffic and lots to see. Now we are on an unmarked road, but because it is a brand new tar road leading to a Gold Mine, it is better than excellent, so we could push the speed just ever so slightly hahaha. We reached the Crater at 5.30p.m with enough light left to take good pics and have a walk around. What a sight. It is big, it is deep, it is spectacular. The blackest rock formations surround the entire escarpment. It is like a moon landscape. Harsh, stark and painfully beautiful. As per Saudi tradition, we are invited to share coffee. The family visiting with their 10 children, grandfather and all of the rest of the family, too many to count, did not want us to leave. They wanted to give us the best experience they knew how. This meant trying to give us things, trying to explain things in Arabic and sign language, share their food. Very touching. Unfortunately, also as per Saudi tradition, people feel the need to throw their trash into to the Crater. They write their names on the stones. They break the wind shelters that are built along the wall of the Crater. There are also no camping facilities of lodgings available at one of the best sights in Saudi. Clean toilets and a very nice mosque, that's all you get. But yes, it was worth doing a 1200km trek across the desert.tired but happy, we found our little sand patch and put up our tent for a well deserved sleep under the stars (no stars, cloudy skies and dust, but this is my story ...😆