Watch our family chase the myth of the “Perfect Moment” deep into the Sahara Desert.What we actually discovered out there was the meaning of “irony.” Once we arrived at our overnight camp in the desert, and darkness forced our cameras to stop rolling, the ephemeral “Perfect Moment” was quickly shaken off. It was replaced by what might have been one of the hardest nights of the trip. The pitch black camp, which could accomodate up to 100 guests, had only five that night. It was us and a freaky Brazilian man who insisted on being enigmatic and stand-offish, talking in frustrating riddles. Our “guides” hid in the kitchen for hours, preparing a bland dinner while we shivered in the darkness without a campfire, just a couple clicks from the Algerian border. The tent was bitter cold and and five layers of blankets were barely enough to defend against the frigid night. We groped our way to the bathroom in the dark, brushed our teeth, and forced ourselves to sleep, hoping for the dawn to come quickly. The next morning, we woke up before the sun and rode our camels back — but the Perfect Moment, by this point, was only a memory. Thankfully, a memory we had captured.
Your video was beautiful, like all your videos. I always felt uneasy about the desert overnights. A bit too much dependency on the “hosts”. But could you see millions of stars in the pitch dark? On the video it looked somewhat overcast. I do want to see a full sky of stars!! Never been anywhere where there was no artificial light and clear sky….even on tented safari. I will go to one of the small towns in Arizona that claims to be a “dark sky” town.
That night, the sky was remarkably clear and we entertained ourselves in the cold by looking for constellations. The only place we saw a clearer, more remarkable night sky was in Australia on a pitch black stretch of road between Melbourne and Adelaide. We turned pulled the car over, turned off the headlights, and saw the whole Milky Way above us — including the Southern Cross.
I especially love the beginning of this where you tell the things you have already found… … beautiful, meaningful zoom on Jennifer! You guys are AMAZING!!! I can’t say enough how much I am loving this. Maybe it’s better you couldn’t film after dark… very scary!
Camels. The Sahara sand. Enigma ?
I am happy that you captured the moment, rather than being captured yourselves by marauding Bedouins from Algeria looking for ransoms to fund the jihad.
xox,#1FANNY
So, of course my computer only let me watch 2/3 of it, but boy was it beautiful. Not sure which I loved more, the sands of the Sahara, or the exquisite blowout. Call me!!
Love this!!!
One of my favorites.
So beautiful. You have found the perfect moment when you look into your family’s eyes.
Thank you for these perfect moments. Diana Weiner
That’s a great video!
I guess the perfect moment is right now.
Thank you for another beautiful tale of your adventures.
This was a beautiful video- all the shadows of the camels and their long legs, the beautiful portraits of Jen, Franny and Finn enjoying themselves, the man in the aqua caftan and turban, the photo of the 4 of you together, the music, the scenes of the sunset. I did not read the accompanying paragraph until just now about 8 hours later..that was quite a shock. Thank heaven that you have the video footage to remind you of that real perfect moment and none of the night’s misery that followed.
So many perfect moments. Our whole family has been enjoying your videos. We are living vicariously. Oxxo
This one made me cry for many reasons..the beauty and the sadness…those hard travel experiences make you realize how very brave and strong you are…I find that those are the moments I still remember and call on when I need to remember my strength…Thanks agin for helping me continue to grow thru your journey..