It's the weekend baby (well at least in Saudi)our quest​ to pack up and hit the road. This weekend we are going to try and reach a crater on the western side of Riyadh. As usual we hit the desert road just outside Jubail and follow the power line straight across towards Riyadh. It doesn't necessarily take less time, but who can resist the magic of the desert on a late Thursday afternoon as opposed to heavy traffic on the main roads? If we are lucky, we will manage to get away at about 4p.m which gives us a good 2 hours of light and our first stretch of dune roads over with. By nightfall we should be back on a tar road and being all grown up and wise, we will stay on this road untill we get tired, but as close as we can get to a small village called Rumah. Our camp site will be about 2 km off the road behind a high dune ....No fixed address😋. Normally we get up when the sun comes out, which is around 5.30a.m nowadays and by 7a.m we are back on the road. During the daylight hours we try to stay as far away as possible from the tar roads, at the very least, away from the major highways. Saudi Arabia is a huge Country with a few really good highways that connect the major cities. For the rest, gravelly dune roads are what you've got. Coming from Africa, we are not scared of dirt roads and these ones, in our opinion, are sometimes better maintained than the tar roads, there is far less traffic to deal with and no potholes....Well, mostly... And stunning scenery. My job is to find a place we can reach in the time we have available and Robert's job is to get us there in one piece. We have a set of very bad actual paper maps (yes, you do still get them but in Saudi the challenge is that the more detailed ones will be in old Arabic), a Garmin which we endlessly swear at and a compass. Of course the vehicle is our secret weapon why we so bravely follow our noses- over here our short wheelbase Land Cruiser is invaluable. The 'capsula' as the locals call it, can take on quite a lot of mean road. Because it is not a vehicle that Westerners usually buy over here, half the nation thinks we are somehow affiliated with the traffic police (who drives ONLY short Land Cruisers) or we are 'connected'. We get a lot of respect 😀. Our kit is a very basic 2 man tent with a foldable mattress, 2 pillows, 2 folding chairs, a folding table, LED lamp, food and drinks and firewood plus BBQ grid. We travel light, even in the desert. A sleeping bag and enough water are probably the most valued items to have in this style of camping. On our frequent previous drives out, we have encountered many Bedouins (travelling farmers) and local people. Without exception, we have been treated with respect, friendly and with curiosity. We are kinda White and to boot, I am blond and while I do wear an abaya, I don't cover my hair. The combo of Westerners in a 'capsula' out there in the desert on our own is something that either astounds the people or fills them with curiosity...Or maybe they just think we are very, very stupid so better to leave the idiots the hell alone! Who knows, but without fail, they will ask us where we are from (White Africans???NO!!) And why we are where we are if it is so far away from Jubail where we live. When we explain that we want to see as much as possible of their beautiful Country, they cannot do enough to tell us about things worth seeing. We are always invited for coffee and dates and even to spend some days with them and their families....One day we wil and might end up with one of their daughters as a gift😀 So, dear friends, I will post the next chapter and verse on Saturday evening when we should be back from all Wanna Crater, which is where we are off to this weekend.