Sinking Sand...

The past few weeks we have been planning a trip to the Nile with some friends of ours that have a little girl about one month younger than Sadie Mac. Yesterday morning we left with sunscreen, water toys, a grill, and excitement attempting to find the place we were last time. Cultural Note 1: You have to understand that there are no signs that say “Nile Beach 12 mi.” like we are accustomed to seeing at Myrtle Beach. Also, we liked the spot we went to last time because there were no people around staring at us as we enjoyed our day, so we were wanting to see if we could find the same place we did last time from our markings on the GPS. (thanks Stephen and Janelle!)
We did find the general area and just wanted to find a spot close to the Nile with a smidge of shade so the girls could play on the mat we brought. Stephen and our friend’s husband went down to see if the spot would be suitable and it seemed to be, so we headed down to the beach in our cars. Bad idea. We were driving along leading the way and all of a sudden, our car sank! The top of the ground was hard and solid, but that was deceiving. Cultural Note 2: We live in the Sahara Desert and AAA is no where to be found. So, what was to be found? Shepherd boys and herdsmen!

A group of about 10 boys and men came out of nowhere, all with ideas and input and they were eager to help! They tried breaking branches and putting them down behind the tires hoping they would grab traction… but the mud/sandy-clay was too much for our heavy car. After about 2 hours of trying and sinking, our friend went to a village semi-nearby to try and find a tractor. Cultural Note 3: You have to have tea whenever you are on a visit. Our friend found a man with a tractor and was asking and negotiating a price (also something you have to do beforehand) and when this was done he said, ok… let’s go. But they were insistent he have tea. He said his wife, daughter, and friends were all down waiting… but NO(!)… he had to stay and have tea. So, he graciously did have tea and then returned with the tractor! All that time, Stephen continued to dig and try to work the car out of the clay. After a short while, thanks to the tractor (and Stephen's digging :-)!!) the car was out and we were so thankful! We know the Father was with us!!!
It was still early enough in the day for us to grill-out, swim for a few minutes in the Nile and enjoy time with our friends. We were so thankful they were with us. Stephen jokingly told us all to enjoy it because we were never coming back here again!
The girls enjoying the water

Sadie Mac... splish splashing

This is what the ladies did... sat in the shade and waited