This is a wonderful sighting. For an Earthwatch volunteer, words of praise from the team leader are the ultimate satisfaction, worth all the effort and occasional discomfort. Life on this expedition is not for the fainthearted. Conditions can, from time to time, be trying. Temperatures range from 105 degrees by day to 45 at night.
Wind storms buffet the campsite, whipping up the sand and coating everything with a fine dust.
The tents are small and cramped. There is no electricity in the camp. There is no running water. We washed from plastic dish tubs with water doled sparingly out from trucked-in waterbarrels. There are no toilets.