What do you think?
Rate this book
Sahara
Having walked more than 3,000 miles from Trafalgar Square to Morocco, Paula Constant finds herself at the westernmost edge of the Sahara Desertand the brink of sanity. Sahara is the story of Paula's struggle to overcome her innermost demons and take control of her journey, her camels, and the men she hires to guide her through one of planet's most extreme regions. Illness, landmines, and political red tape stand between Paula and the realization of a life's dream. Though the wheels have fallen off her marriage on the course of her journey and her funds are quickly drying up, she is determined to complete the walk through the romantic Big Empty of Northern Africa to Cairo. Both a thrilling adventure and a story of joy, heartache, inspiration, and despair, Sahara isabove alla celebration of the greatness of human spirit in all its guises.
394 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2009
11 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Paula Constant
6 books74 followersI live in the beautiful tropical north west of Australia, in the small pearling town of Broome. It's the place where I dreamed up the three year walk that formed the basis of my first two books, Slow Journey South and Sahara. I moved to Granada, Spain, for a time after that, which is where I dreamed up the Visigoths of Spain series, currently out (The Saharan Queen, The Votive Crown, The King's Coin) and with more books in progress.
I am also working on a new series of paranormal romance books under a new pen name that I will add as soon as they are available.
I love to hear from readers, so please do contact me any time.
I am also working on a new series of paranormal romance books under a new pen name that I will add as soon as they are available.
I love to hear from readers, so please do contact me any time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 25, 2020
Why did the lady cross the Sahara? You would think such a question could easily be answered but for many people she encountered, this was inconceivable, more-so because of her race and gender.
An Aussie gal is an epic walker. Having walked across Europe she decides to take on Northern Africa. The beginning part of the book is hard to read. The author starts off with her husband and has marital problems. It took some time to move past this but if you can, the story is quite interesting. You learn about some fascinating cultures in Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and beyond. I liked hearing how each one was different and the terrain as well as the obstacles.
The author, who is writing a detailed travelogue has a lot of grit. I doubt many would achieve half of what she did if not a tenth. Naturally she made some wise and unwise choices but she also pushed quite far across a difficult landscape in many ways.
By the end, I enjoyed the book despite the low rating (2.5 if I may...). If you want to learn about these places, this book provides a fair insight. The only reason it is not rated higher is that it dragged at times. There was a lot of emphasis on feelings and persevering despite obstacles. I think I would have liked to know more about what she saw.
So why did the lady cross the Sahara?...
An Aussie gal is an epic walker. Having walked across Europe she decides to take on Northern Africa. The beginning part of the book is hard to read. The author starts off with her husband and has marital problems. It took some time to move past this but if you can, the story is quite interesting. You learn about some fascinating cultures in Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and beyond. I liked hearing how each one was different and the terrain as well as the obstacles.
The author, who is writing a detailed travelogue has a lot of grit. I doubt many would achieve half of what she did if not a tenth. Naturally she made some wise and unwise choices but she also pushed quite far across a difficult landscape in many ways.
By the end, I enjoyed the book despite the low rating (2.5 if I may...). If you want to learn about these places, this book provides a fair insight. The only reason it is not rated higher is that it dragged at times. There was a lot of emphasis on feelings and persevering despite obstacles. I think I would have liked to know more about what she saw.
So why did the lady cross the Sahara?...
January 28, 2010
Absolutely awesome. Even better than the first book. But I do find that she is a very selfish and self-indulgent person. She also makes some really stupid, stupid decisions on her trek, but her writing is addictive.
March 16, 2010
I picked up Sahara after reading Paula Constant's brilliant first book SLOW JOURNEY SOUTH. Sahara is a truly compelling story, written straight from the heart and with a healthy degree of humour. Paula's ability to self-analyse in even the most challenging situations is clearly what got her through her amazing trek across the desert. She writes about every encounter, every misfortune superbly, never resorting to unnecessary hyperbole or histrionics to heighten the story - the prose is beautifully clear and straight-forward.
One of the best travel writing books I've read in ages!
One of the best travel writing books I've read in ages!
February 9, 2017
Despite getting a bit emotional with the split up at the start, the journey and the interaction with the guides and locals is interesting and the frustrations well documented. I haven't read the first book, so am not sure how much that would add to this one, but it reads well standing alone.
Probably 3.5 stars for me.
Probably 3.5 stars for me.
August 27, 2020
3.5/5. Ugh this is a difficult rating!
This was a combination between a travelogue and a personal journey/growth experience. I preferred reading the travelogue-type sections, about the different countries she passed through and the different people and cultures she experienced.
I found she was rather more obsessed with working towards her walking deadline (ironically maintaining her Westernness while attempting to free herself from society’s confines). She made some ridiculously stupid decisions and seems to be constantly agitated about continuing the walk whatever the cost, which reveals her lack of experience in proper outdoor/wilderness planning and expeditions. This cost her her health and almost affected the camel’s health, not to mention her safety. However, I guess this made for a more exciting story.
However. She was rather ignorant, insensitive and disinterested in understanding the countries and constantly judged the people and views she encountered. A certain example stand out. She continuously criticised the gluttony of Mauritanian women getting fat drinking litres and litres of milk, but did not mention (presumably not knowing) that it is actually due to the practise of ‘leblouh’, which is the practise of fattening young girls to increase marriage prospects. It is indeed an abusive practise, but her failure to mention leblouh shows she didn’t have any understanding of why they did it. (I did a quick search about Mauritania and learnt of the practise so it isn’t secret knowledge).
I found her complaints about being harassed by ‘rude’ people for money quite amusing, as well as her complaint about how “the poorer a country is, the more expensive it is for me”. Being harassed for money is annoying, yes. But no more than that. It kind of goes with the experience when you’re travelling through the poorest countries in the world. I failed to see why she had to include those observations in her story, it made her seem embarrassingly self-absorbed and inconsiderate.
Overall, i feel like this story could still have been effectively told without the extra judgment and added opinions.
This was a combination between a travelogue and a personal journey/growth experience. I preferred reading the travelogue-type sections, about the different countries she passed through and the different people and cultures she experienced.
I found she was rather more obsessed with working towards her walking deadline (ironically maintaining her Westernness while attempting to free herself from society’s confines). She made some ridiculously stupid decisions and seems to be constantly agitated about continuing the walk whatever the cost, which reveals her lack of experience in proper outdoor/wilderness planning and expeditions. This cost her her health and almost affected the camel’s health, not to mention her safety. However, I guess this made for a more exciting story.
However. She was rather ignorant, insensitive and disinterested in understanding the countries and constantly judged the people and views she encountered. A certain example stand out. She continuously criticised the gluttony of Mauritanian women getting fat drinking litres and litres of milk, but did not mention (presumably not knowing) that it is actually due to the practise of ‘leblouh’, which is the practise of fattening young girls to increase marriage prospects. It is indeed an abusive practise, but her failure to mention leblouh shows she didn’t have any understanding of why they did it. (I did a quick search about Mauritania and learnt of the practise so it isn’t secret knowledge).
I found her complaints about being harassed by ‘rude’ people for money quite amusing, as well as her complaint about how “the poorer a country is, the more expensive it is for me”. Being harassed for money is annoying, yes. But no more than that. It kind of goes with the experience when you’re travelling through the poorest countries in the world. I failed to see why she had to include those observations in her story, it made her seem embarrassingly self-absorbed and inconsiderate.
Overall, i feel like this story could still have been effectively told without the extra judgment and added opinions.
March 27, 2010
An amazing story of a woman's physical, emotional and spiritual journey across a continent I knew little about till I read this book. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy the style with which Paula Constant writes, I came to better appreciate the cultures and countries through which she walked. This is one book I have recommended to friends without hesitation.
March 8, 2010
Sahara by Paula Constant (2009)This is a book I am invoking the right of the reader not to finish. I hated what I read of it which is very pedestrian in style and just makes you want to shake the author and say wake up to yourself.
March 16, 2010
L found Sahara to be a excellant book. To think Paula actually achvied as much as she did.... through all the challenges she had along the way. WEll DONE PAULA. I look forward to reading more of your work.
October 14, 2009
I couldn't put this down, although at times I was shocked by the narrator's actions.
A thrilling ride!
A thrilling ride!
March 18, 2010
Review on my blog.
September 20, 2020
I read this book after hearing Paul talk about her experience on podcast Conversations. Why anyone would want to do what she did is beyond, but I take my hat off to her. If you enjoy reading stories about resilient women then this is a perfect read. The Book was written with such raw honesty and Paula has a great writing style too. As I could feel myself edging closer to the end of the book I was a became disappointed that it was coming to the end- and not the end I expected. I was kind of mourned finishing the book afterwards as I was always looking forward as to "what's next". I look forward to reading about Paula's next instalment.
June 22, 2023
I read this about 3 years ago - just had trouble getting GReads to believe I'd finished it. But I remember it well because it so fascinated me that I read it twice. I don't read many books twice! The author tells in detail how she organised it (or didn't), how she dealt with unforseen difficulties, how she gained insights about the desert, her camels and the people around her. I gained a few insights regarding Australian attitudes, too! Altogether, this is a fascinating and enriching tale, well worth reading twice.
March 25, 2018
This is a book of high adventure and poor decisions. Paula has planned a Saharan trek that will take her from Morocco through to Cairo. There are many dramas along the way and a diverse assortment of characters to meet. How she did not come to some serious harm is astounding and though hindsight is wonderful, there were many warning signs that the author ignored which truly placed her in perilous situations. A very honest and readable account of a physical and mental journey.
March 7, 2020
This lady is crazy for doing this trek, but she does so with amazing fortitudenand resilience. The story is not just the experience of the walk and the people and cultures she experiences but her grappling with her sense of self and worthiness. In these pages I read a woman of great courage and determination and of such insecurity that causes her to make such costly mistakes and whom, I feel, doesn't manage to believe she has done what she has done because of those insecurities. Great read.
July 22, 2019
Enjoyed this journey of lady walking 5000km across Morocco and Africa and struggles with marriage breakdown and locals she met and handling camels
June 27, 2020
I loved this so much. So brave.
December 16, 2020
I read this in 3 days, it a story of an adventure, love, loss and inspiration.
March 31, 2021
This book is interesting, someone walking across the Sahara is interesting, but I found the book dragged on and there wasn’t enough description about what she saw
June 20, 2021
Great Sequel!
December 31, 2022
The journey was interesting but the writing was poor.
November 14, 2020
Inspirational
What an extraordinary tale - beautifully written Paula! Wow, it had me gripped from start to finish! Couldn’t put it down! Honest and inspiring! Highly recommend!!!
What an extraordinary tale - beautifully written Paula! Wow, it had me gripped from start to finish! Couldn’t put it down! Honest and inspiring! Highly recommend!!!
February 27, 2017
Loved this book....Paula writes with a great clarity, affection and compassion for the people of the subsahara. A true adventure story, she treks with her camels into the vast dessert and within herself. A wonderful read
April 5, 2015
This is the second book about Paula Constant's ambition to walk from London to the south of Africa. It picks up where Slow Journey South: Walking to Africa - A Year in Footsteps left off. Paula and her husband Gary are in Morocco and planning to walk to South Africa. Shortly after setting out the journey goes through some major changes: Gary bails on the walk (and the marriage) and Paula decides to walk across the Sahara to Cairo, instead of heading south. This book is the story of her journey from Morocco through Mauritania and Mali to the border of Niger.
I got irritated with Paula in the first book because there was so much about her and so little about her walking experience. The balance is much better in this book. It's a genuinely fascinating story and she does an excellent job of pulling the reader in so you feel like you understand what it would be like to go through such an experience. She's incredibly gutsy and incredibly capable. She also has to cope with some truly formidable obstacles: bandit attacks, bureaucratic and corrupt police forces, extreme weather conditions, intense infections, guides of varying ability, having to learn Arabic to communicate, stubborn camels, hidden landmines. Along the way she reflects on racial and tribal divisions in Africa, on relationships between Africans and Arabs and between men and women and how they change depending on which country she is in. She also describes what life is like for the nomadic people. I was really interested to read how the Saharan desert is far from being the barren and isolated region that I have always imagined it to be. Instead it is heavily populated with nomads and villages.
Over the course of the walk Paula becomes a much stronger person and develops a sense of inner peace. I admired the way that she could describe the issues she faced in such a matter of fact way, without complaint. In the first book I disliked her, but in the second I got really caught up in her journey. I admired her and was most definitely rooting for her.
If you haven't read the first book, I wouldn't bother: just pick up this one and get lost in this incredible travel adventure.
My only criticism of the book are that I wish there was a route map and more photographs. There are a few black and white photos included, but far more (and better) are on Paula's "constant trek" website.
I got irritated with Paula in the first book because there was so much about her and so little about her walking experience. The balance is much better in this book. It's a genuinely fascinating story and she does an excellent job of pulling the reader in so you feel like you understand what it would be like to go through such an experience. She's incredibly gutsy and incredibly capable. She also has to cope with some truly formidable obstacles: bandit attacks, bureaucratic and corrupt police forces, extreme weather conditions, intense infections, guides of varying ability, having to learn Arabic to communicate, stubborn camels, hidden landmines. Along the way she reflects on racial and tribal divisions in Africa, on relationships between Africans and Arabs and between men and women and how they change depending on which country she is in. She also describes what life is like for the nomadic people. I was really interested to read how the Saharan desert is far from being the barren and isolated region that I have always imagined it to be. Instead it is heavily populated with nomads and villages.
Over the course of the walk Paula becomes a much stronger person and develops a sense of inner peace. I admired the way that she could describe the issues she faced in such a matter of fact way, without complaint. In the first book I disliked her, but in the second I got really caught up in her journey. I admired her and was most definitely rooting for her.
If you haven't read the first book, I wouldn't bother: just pick up this one and get lost in this incredible travel adventure.
My only criticism of the book are that I wish there was a route map and more photographs. There are a few black and white photos included, but far more (and better) are on Paula's "constant trek" website.
February 22, 2017
Sahara by Paula Constant (2009)
June 3, 2022
Paula Constant's mission is to travel with her husband from Morocco to Egypt around the rim of the Sahara. The marriage falls apart in the first stages of the trip, and she is left to negotiate the journey without him. In the West the Arab and Islamic worlds are so often regarded as dangerous and anti-female that this scenario is bound to attract interest. And then there is the romance of the desert itself. For me the book largely lived up to its promise.
She brings out both the poetic and practical sides of a journey by camel along the edge of the great desert. It is in part a western woman’s authentic journey of self-discovery, neither precious nor affected. Culture clashes come under scrutiny, along with the erosion of local cultures under western influence, the lives of local women and men, and the hindrances of bureaucracy and corruption as she plans her trip and makes her way on.
The only significant failing was the wooden depiction of her husband Gary. He seems to have blandly accepted the erosion of his relationship and the circling presence of other men in her life. We never learn what might be happening in his inner world, either through dialogue or any other device. It is as though she was too close to the situation to write about it.
She brings out both the poetic and practical sides of a journey by camel along the edge of the great desert. It is in part a western woman’s authentic journey of self-discovery, neither precious nor affected. Culture clashes come under scrutiny, along with the erosion of local cultures under western influence, the lives of local women and men, and the hindrances of bureaucracy and corruption as she plans her trip and makes her way on.
The only significant failing was the wooden depiction of her husband Gary. He seems to have blandly accepted the erosion of his relationship and the circling presence of other men in her life. We never learn what might be happening in his inner world, either through dialogue or any other device. It is as though she was too close to the situation to write about it.
August 2, 2011
Paula Constant's "Sahara" is the second book about her long walk from London to the Sahara Desert. This volume is far more dramatic than "Slow Journey South" with Paula coping with relationship difficulties, less than capable guides (in some cases) and major health problems. After a slow start, the pace and drama gradually rise the deeper Paula gets into the desert. However her brushes with 'civilisation' cause her more problems than the vast expanses of desert she walks across. Her descriptions of the "Big Empty" are truly evocative, and make the reader just as eager for Paula to return to the space and solitude as she is.
February 25, 2013
This is a pretty interesting read, and amazingly honest - especially the descriptions of cultural interactions and personal introspection.
I really enjoyed it and thought it was excellent arm-chair travel. I was so captivated, and then I suddenly realised that she was only halfway through her trip and the book only had about 20 pages to go, which rang alarm bells, and I was truly disappointed to read about how her trip got cut short.
A fascinating and honest glimpse into a culture very foreign to my own. Refreshing to hear an Aussie voice (for a Kiwi reader).
I really enjoyed it and thought it was excellent arm-chair travel. I was so captivated, and then I suddenly realised that she was only halfway through her trip and the book only had about 20 pages to go, which rang alarm bells, and I was truly disappointed to read about how her trip got cut short.
A fascinating and honest glimpse into a culture very foreign to my own. Refreshing to hear an Aussie voice (for a Kiwi reader).
July 15, 2013
Most books I look forward to finishing, so that I've gotten the whole story - this one, I kind of just wanted it to keep going and going, which I suspect was the whole point of her walk (it's about the journey, not the destination :P ). I got very caught up in the interactions with locals, the troubles with the guides, and stories of her camels. A very soothing read.
November 30, 2009
Read this book! This woman is incredible or crazy, and probably both. I like this adventure story because Paula really tells it from the inside, so that you believe that she is real all the while she is amazing.
March 16, 2010
A truly amazing woman! I felt as though I was walking with her, the highs and the lows, the happiness and heartbreak, she shared everything with the reader. I hope she writes again soon, I will certainly buy the next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews