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Beyond the Last Oasis: A Solo Walk in the Western Sahara
In February 1983 Ted Edwards completed a nineteen-day trek of 350 miles across the waterless empty quarter of the South-Western Sahara: the longest self-sufficient solo camel journey in history.
This is his story and it recounts not only the trek from Araouane to Oualata, but also the hazards of its preparation: an inflexible bureaucracy, a mugging in Morocco, a shipwreck, and, inevitably, his own inexperience.
The Walk itself took on an epic aspect from the start. Stung by a scorpion, bones broken in a fall from a camel, waterless in over 120°F, exhausted by his efforts to avoid sand dunes over a thousand feet high, and given up for dead by the BBC team awaiting his arrival, Ted Edwards finally struggled into Oualata,four stone lighter than where he set off from Araouane.
His story, characterized by his determination and sense of humour, graphically recreates the moment-to-moment experiences of his perilous, record-breaking journey.
This is his story and it recounts not only the trek from Araouane to Oualata, but also the hazards of its preparation: an inflexible bureaucracy, a mugging in Morocco, a shipwreck, and, inevitably, his own inexperience.
The Walk itself took on an epic aspect from the start. Stung by a scorpion, bones broken in a fall from a camel, waterless in over 120°F, exhausted by his efforts to avoid sand dunes over a thousand feet high, and given up for dead by the BBC team awaiting his arrival, Ted Edwards finally struggled into Oualata,four stone lighter than where he set off from Araouane.
His story, characterized by his determination and sense of humour, graphically recreates the moment-to-moment experiences of his perilous, record-breaking journey.
209 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2023
Put this book on my 23/23 list before researching it much. All I knew was that it covered the vague geographic region of Western Sahara, and that would check off some locations for the RatW project.
WIL
1) Personal booksperience: What a journey this book has been. I ordered my copy close to the end of the year, September I believe, thinking surely that's enough time to get a book to read it. Surely the book will be here within a month's time! Aha! Not so! My book arrived Dec 22, 2023. Nine days before I was to finish the challenge. And a challenge it was indeed. The book (allegedly "in good condition" per the book provider's description) literally fell apart in my hands as I read. Perhaps Ted could make a trek across a great distance, but his words in their published medium certainly could not. This was an endless source of amusement ("ah, there goes chapter 3, detached from the spine") which was, really, my favorite part about the read. The book was also heavily perfumed which gave me occasional piercing headaches, so, like, that was interesting. The book was dying and trying to take me out with it. Gotta respect the effort I guess.
2) Occasional witticisms. Ted's got a wit on him, when he so chooses to wield it.
3) Quotable. I won't provide quotes here because it seems the book is still hellbent on trying to kill me (see above), but maybe someday it'll be more docile and I can leaf through the pages for quotes.
4) Recognition of the admirable insane trek. One of the things that bothers me most about other comparable treks (Tracks by Robyn Davidson comes to mind) is that the authors say they Just Need to Go, which is a difficult thing for the desert-averse reader to comprehend. Ted, by contrast, explains well that there's a gap in our understanding that necessitates his adventure. Kind of. Sort of. Not really. At least, he can USE the gap in our understanding to justify his (mis)adventures in the remote desert. He knows it's a bizarre thing to do, and he recognizes this, but he at least attempts to justify it to help the reader better connect to his thought process. Good decision.
WIDL
1) Weird space allocation. The way this text was broken up was...just a bit odd? I went in assuming that the majority of the space would be reserved for the actual desert experience and adventure, but quite a lot was reserved for the pre-adventure stuff. Also, the trials of the desert didn't receive much space at all; I wanted to hear about the walking, the heat, the wildlife (if any), the sun. What struck him as he walked? What did he do to pass the time? What profound philosophical ideas came to mind in the solitude? (e.g. "woah! Camel vomit is gross" or "trees...are very...tree-y" etc. I'm not picky.) Instead of an actual dialogue of desert and man and camel, we got... a travel to-do list and snippets of interactions with people inhabiting the edges around the Great Empty Nothingness. Just felt.. off to me.
2) A very European take on a non-European locale. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting given that his name is Ted Edwards. I had hoped for a bit more immersion though. Edwards does make a point to use his foreign status to avoid gunfire but also mentions that he received praise for haggling like a local. But really, he doesn't inquire much into the lives of the locals. We don't learn anything about them as readers. All we hear is Ted's passing relationship to them and very brief descriptions their lives AS THEY PERTAIN TO HIM. I wanted more. I wanted a broader perspective. I wanted Ted to step outside himself and help us readers understand what life is like somewhere else.
WIL
1) Personal booksperience: What a journey this book has been. I ordered my copy close to the end of the year, September I believe, thinking surely that's enough time to get a book to read it. Surely the book will be here within a month's time! Aha! Not so! My book arrived Dec 22, 2023. Nine days before I was to finish the challenge. And a challenge it was indeed. The book (allegedly "in good condition" per the book provider's description) literally fell apart in my hands as I read. Perhaps Ted could make a trek across a great distance, but his words in their published medium certainly could not. This was an endless source of amusement ("ah, there goes chapter 3, detached from the spine") which was, really, my favorite part about the read. The book was also heavily perfumed which gave me occasional piercing headaches, so, like, that was interesting. The book was dying and trying to take me out with it. Gotta respect the effort I guess.
2) Occasional witticisms. Ted's got a wit on him, when he so chooses to wield it.
3) Quotable. I won't provide quotes here because it seems the book is still hellbent on trying to kill me (see above), but maybe someday it'll be more docile and I can leaf through the pages for quotes.
4) Recognition of the admirable insane trek. One of the things that bothers me most about other comparable treks (Tracks by Robyn Davidson comes to mind) is that the authors say they Just Need to Go, which is a difficult thing for the desert-averse reader to comprehend. Ted, by contrast, explains well that there's a gap in our understanding that necessitates his adventure. Kind of. Sort of. Not really. At least, he can USE the gap in our understanding to justify his (mis)adventures in the remote desert. He knows it's a bizarre thing to do, and he recognizes this, but he at least attempts to justify it to help the reader better connect to his thought process. Good decision.
WIDL
1) Weird space allocation. The way this text was broken up was...just a bit odd? I went in assuming that the majority of the space would be reserved for the actual desert experience and adventure, but quite a lot was reserved for the pre-adventure stuff. Also, the trials of the desert didn't receive much space at all; I wanted to hear about the walking, the heat, the wildlife (if any), the sun. What struck him as he walked? What did he do to pass the time? What profound philosophical ideas came to mind in the solitude? (e.g. "woah! Camel vomit is gross" or "trees...are very...tree-y" etc. I'm not picky.) Instead of an actual dialogue of desert and man and camel, we got... a travel to-do list and snippets of interactions with people inhabiting the edges around the Great Empty Nothingness. Just felt.. off to me.
2) A very European take on a non-European locale. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting given that his name is Ted Edwards. I had hoped for a bit more immersion though. Edwards does make a point to use his foreign status to avoid gunfire but also mentions that he received praise for haggling like a local. But really, he doesn't inquire much into the lives of the locals. We don't learn anything about them as readers. All we hear is Ted's passing relationship to them and very brief descriptions their lives AS THEY PERTAIN TO HIM. I wanted more. I wanted a broader perspective. I wanted Ted to step outside himself and help us readers understand what life is like somewhere else.
July 15, 2012
Books like these make you appreciate what we have and how good we have it.
March 26, 2013
The incredible tale of the adventurous Manchurian traversing the Sahara with nothing but his wits and two rather disgruntled camels. Well told with suitably dry wit.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews