I didn't realize how long I'd been holding my breath until I felt it leave my body somewhere on top of a dune in the middle of the desert. Of course, it was really hot but i found the weather more tolerable than when i was in the city with tall buildings covering the natural air from flowing. This was my first real vacation, not some hurried trip that i used to go to and was invited on at the last minute, this was planned. I was free and i had planned all that needed to be planned “work wise” and my phone didn’t buzz every twenty minutes with something that "just needed a quick reply." An actual vacation the kind where the only agenda is watching the light change.
I stood at the top of a dune as the sky went soft and pale. Below me, a small desert camp sat at the edge of the sand, built for the night entertainment, a low fence, the outline of tents catching the last warm light. It looked like it had been there for a hundred years, this was someones business i thought to myself. I lifted my phone to film it, more out of instinct than intention you see something like that and some part of you just wants to hold onto it a little longer and i guess i was right in filming it, because now i get to share it in this sub group. I saw some people sand surfing, which looked absolutely ridiculous to me. The worst activity their by far, but to each his own i guess.
I feel again the part nobody tells you about deserts is how alive they feel despite having almost nothing in them. Because even in the midst of nothing, nature is still beautiful and serene and for me i think that's what vacation is actually supposed to do. Dont get me wrong i have travelled to other countries before but they were usually for conferences or usually work related and the traveling and work resulted in a very tight schedule, and i never got to explore the cities to be honest.
But every once in a while i remember the work and challenges i have back at home and i start over thinking again, sometimes i have to even be reminded by my relatives i went with to let it all go and enjoy my trip and that i did, i felt free, it was as if i was breathing dirty air all this while back at home. I hope to do this again definitely but i have to set things right at home with regards to work before i am able to travel again
