walking across the Sahara with Paula Constant

Why would an Australian woman walk across the Sahara with camels? The question was forming while I listened to Paula Constant in a segment of the Ubud Writer's Festival titled Incredible Journeys. She did not really answer my question in that session, but I did enjoy her style of story telling sufficiently to buy her book simply titled Sahara. Having walked more than 3,000 miles from Trafalgar Square to Morocco, Paula starts this adventure at the western edge of the Sahara, with her husband Gary, planning to walk from the western coast to Egypt in the east. Initially the book is quite self-indulgent, but in a way, it has to be, because the decision making behind this adventure is not always logical or linear. However, Paula's honesty, careful descriptions and self-analysis are compelling.

She writes with amazing clarity and compassion about the people of the Sahara and compares cultures between the original Saharawi nomads, Arabs, Bedouin and Touareg, and especially between men and women. I really enjoyed beginning to understand the racial and tribal connections and the importance of the infamous tea ceremony. Paula hires local nomadic guides, initially to teach her about walking with camels and later to navigate the route and languages.

However, the selection and choice of guides is quite challenging, while offering her and the reader amazing geographical and cultural insights. The Sahara is really more than the barren sand dunes we all visualise. She walks through the countries of Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and finally Niger, where she had to terminate her journey for political and health reasons.

The story is ultimately one of Paula's struggle to address her innermost demons and take control of her journey, her camels, and the men she hires to guide her through the romantic "big empty" desert. Early on in the trek, her husband leaves and the dynamics change quite dramatically. She writes honestly of her physical, emotional and spiritual journey; sharing both her courageous and naive decisions. She describes the challenges of hidden landmines, political bureaucracy, extreme weather, bandits and corruption without complaint or dramatic exaggeration as these are the tools for her own self discovery. It is clear that she is not trying to be a super-hero, but just testing her abilities to their limits. Her adventure is strangely believable and I found myself experiencing with her, emotions of joy, heartache, inspiration, and despair.

I also realised that she found her own threshold of sanity and realised the power of the human spirit in all its guises. However, she is much more courageous and capable that I ever could be! Finally, after finishing this book, I found 2 podcasts of Richard Fidler interviewing Paula about this journey and a TEDx talk 'The Power of Enough' where Paula shares her profound insights and acceptance of herself. She acknowledges the simplicity of accepting that she is where she is supposed to be, and that she is enough just as she is. I am glad that I found this because I realised her story was not about success or achievement but the process we all go through in one way or another or trying to be the best we can, but ultimately settling for accepting and enjoying our own authenticity.