Camping at "Bountiful"

Camels on the beach in the fading light.

Sunrise.

Sunset behind Nephi's mount to the west.

The reeds and marshes near camp support an abundance of birdlife. Nephi's mount in the background.

Yes, there are caves. I imagined all the Old Testament stories of people fleeing to hide in caves, burying loved ones in caves and just living in caves. They are more like large overhangs, not what we call caves where I come from.

We now pause for a video presentation. This was taken before the camping trip. These frisky youngsters are just way too cute!

And meanwhile, back at camp.....

This general place, WadiSayq, was called "Land Bountiful" by Nephi's family. Today the particular beach, is "Karfut". I personally call it "Bug Beach". The bugs are plentiful as well as bountiful. Warren assures me these bites are from ticks. Oh great! (rolling my eyes)
Monday the 16th. I'm thinking about how nice the people have been. Friendly, helpful, honest and generous to a fault. They do have locks on doors so things aren't perfect. However, I am realizing how guarded I feel at home and how relaxed and safe I am here.

Zillions of sand crabs on the beach. I wonder if it comes down to playing Robinson Crusoe, if they would make good eating?

They build these pointy hills as they dig into the sand. I can't figure how they do it.

February 18th. Life has fallen into the mundane and routine. Warren takes photos in the morning light and then, to avoid the heat, we are both back at camp by 10. We sit around, nap, slap bugs or think about the next meal until 3 or so. Then it has cooled a bit and it's time to take more photos. It's dark and I'm in my tent by 7. That's pretty much it.

I busy myself with my Christmas cards. This year I even missed the Valentine deadline. I dug up the old blanket. It came in handy.

Cows on the beach are frequent.... and friendlier than the camels. Camels would have made a more exotic photo but I didn't get one. I doubt you will see many Land's End catalogs sporting this kind of promotion. (I'm talking about the beach cows - not the girl in the suit!)

The day's sea breeze is welcomed. I rig my tent's rain fly for a sunblock. Warren tries to do something with the ladder for his tent. He doesn't do anything about the rock under his tent but wonder why it was hard to sleep on. Not much different than airplane arm-rests ....

Natives come by camp with a 2 German tourist girls. They have a (still kicking) fish. They were going to eat it themselves but in the culture of generousity, they cut a filet for us. We wrap it in foil, throw it on the grill and have a delicious lunch in only a few minutes.

Earlier, I had calculated our remaining food supply and determined we need to reduce ourselves to 1/2 rations. The fish is a blessing. And it walks right into camp!
On the way to the spring for water, we come upon the largest, scariest snake I've ever seen outside a zoo. Warren avoided stepping on it. The "Expedition First Aid Kit" has nothing for snake bites or bee stings. Does this make sense in the land of "much fruit and wild honey"? Does it sound like we were really prepared for this trip??

There are beautiful birds to counter the scary snakes...

And interesting trees... (not just palms)

The end of the week. We have one can of tuna left between us. The guy who was supposed to come fetch us from the beach isn't here. If he doesn't come soon, I will return to the spring waters with a different attitude. I've heard that snake tastes like chicken. (The cows will be next.)

Our man comes!

We went by some of his lobster catching friends on the way back. Check out how beautiful the water is!!