interview with Arita Baaijens
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Arita Baaijens is Holland’s leading female explorer. She has made many solo desert trips as well as travelling with nomads over the last twenty five years primarily in Egypt, Sudan, Siberia.
1. How did you get involved in desert exploration? I first had a taste of the desert in Sinai in 1978, and made several journeys into the interior, while dreaming of a longer journey for which the Sinai was too small.
Ten years later I met Carlo Bergmann, a German who travelled in the Western Desert of Egypt with camels. He agreed to take me on one of his journeys if I paid for expenses and on the condition that certain physical services were included. When I refused the price went up.
To cut a long story short, we travelled together for about a month. The landscape was fascinating, but the man drove me crazy with his vitriolic moods. He considered himself to be the King of the Desert and expected me to behave according to his rules. After a month I desperately wanted to leave and I told Carlo to bring me to the road. The night before my departure I watched the full moon appear from beneath the earth. The sand dunes glowed in the silver light of the moon and I could not bear the thought of leaving this magical place. I decided there and then I would continue the journey on my own. Carlo warned me that I would die if I missed the water wells en route. I nodded and asked for directions. He gave me a detailed description of the route, told me how to handle the camel I would take with me and waved goodbye.
You probably won’t believe this, but the most important thing I learned from him is the art of loving (*). Of course I also learned technical stuff: how to buy and train camels, how to navigate (I’m talking pre-gps days!). I learned how to repair worn camel feet, how to use a revolver.
A good mentor is invaluable, but I learned most of my lessons while travelling solo: How to cope with loneliness, deal with run away camels, tracking, treat and operate sick camels, deal with panic, use fear as a tool.
Discoveries: I am a survivor. I can look death in the eye and stay calm, have no unreasonable fear for the unknown. Enjoy walking on the edge and to take calculated risks. I know myself inside out by now and ilhamdulilah, there’s no need anymore to prove my strength or to show that I can further, higher, deeper than someone else.
Nomads taught me true leadership, courage, to put the interest of the group above that of your own, deal gracefully with limitations and draw backs. Not to show anger, pain, frustration. How to ride a camel.
By the way, nomads are human and they also make mistakes, so trust your own judgement.
Most beautiful archaeological discovery while travelling with Krzysztof Pluskota in the Red Sea Hills, eastern Sudan : a hidden valley with 3 altars and thousands of prehistoric petroglyphs of cows.
6. Any final thoughts?
Go, go, go girls!!!! If you need some help, let me know.
Arita’s website is: AritaBaaijens.nl
