Day 14-26, November 18-30th

In the desert

Fadel has not been riding for 3 days. However he said: “I will never forget Kasimier Novak in my life”.

They are leaving Ghadames! They are supposed to spend maximum 12 days in the desert.

But how to survive 12 days in the desert? Liofilizated meals, energetic bar, few kilograms of fresh food are filling our bicycle purses. 35 liters of water should be enough at least until the next well

- We are riding into the hamada and the hamada is riding into us – Piotr Sudoł will say a few days later. It’s a gigantic rocky plateau lying at 500-600 m a.s.l. Practically non-stop at a dizzy speed the masses of air are rolling driven by the wind at an open, dead and rocky space. Hurricanes and storms are raging. Why always in the opposite direction to ours? Probably it will remain a riddle forever.

The differences in temperatures in the day and night are enormous. Everywhere a gravel tract. It’s hard. The chains starts to break, the bearings to groan.

Fadel has not been riding for 3 days. However he said: “I will never forget Kasimier Novak in my life” and he gave up the idea of crossing the desert on bicycle.

The Poles stop over two wells, tracing the Nowak’s route from Ghadames to Ghat. Thirsty like he was they draw a refreshing, drinking water. And like him – they are condemned to conduct disputes over their further journey with their obligatory companionship. For Nowak it was the man leading the caravan – Ali, today for his imitators – the driver of the escorting Toyota, who to make matters worse forgot about taking the satellite telephone.

They ride from dawn to dusk– in average above 5 hours a day of pure ride, they pitch the tents and from the gathered small thorny bushes they light a fire. They prepare a salad from the vegetables and a goulash from the dried camel, mutton and goat meat. They get more vigour from a strong tea or a cordamon coffee.After eating they rest wrapped in their sleeping bags. In jackets, polar fleece blouses, hats – all their warm clothes

- The day was clear and cold – wrote Nowak 78 years ago to his wife. – I had a good supper today. Like everyday a cooked flour and a goulash to it from a piece of gazelle, that Ali received from these Touaregs who took to Ghadames my postcard for you. Then tea – and there are still cigarettes! If I could earn here, I wouldn’t hurry to people and to this Ghat, where I’m heading to.

It took him a month to go from Ghadames to Ghat, the section where all the solar system planets have their own landscapes. He pressed ahead alone without knowing what will happen next.

- Did we understand that? – wonder his imitators. – I doubt. We hardly came across this extraordinary feat. Escorted by a car, using the improvements of the civilisation in the form of professional globetrotter equipment.

Finally after 13 lucky days they reach an asphalt road, they will arrive to Ghat in two days. They don’t know that a sad surprise is waiting for them.