Don't look, Gwen!

Hundreds of miles from the majestic purity of the sandy desert, we were in the scrubby, scruffy zone along the coastal strip, or tihama. In fact, we were only a couple of miles from the vast landfill site and accompanying lake of human effluent that threatens to undermine the city. From a distance, its verdant banks are beautiful to behold. On our way to out-of-town destinations, like the venues of the Jeddah Hash House Harriers (desultory running, jogging and strolling group), we occasionally passed the source of the river flowing into this lake, ie the disposal point for the incessant convoy of wee and poo trucks plying between Jeddah and the hills.

The main hazard was mosquitoes, but the netting on our new tent and the choking fumes of the camp fire protected us, as we were cunningly placed downwind. However, it was an uneasy night for some of our party...

This was another creature that we seemed to disturb, mainly by chasing it around with a flash camera.