Desert Songs

Arita Baaijens gave up her job as an environmentalist nearly twenty years ago, and has been exploring the deserts of Egypt and the Sudan with her small camel caravan ever since. In Desert Songs she recounts her passion for the desert, the place she loves and fears. On one level Desert Songs reads as an ode to camels, vistas and horizons, nomads and exploration. On another it is a story about an inward journey, a rite of passage. It is about leaving the world you know to venture into the unknown where you discover your true strength. How strong are you when there’s no back up? Where do your limits lie? Baaijens sets out on a voyage of self-discovery and unrelenting physical trails to find the answers. The experience changes her forever. Arita Baaijens is an author, a photographer, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She has published several books on her desert journeys. In between travels she lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.