A desert-like dune landscape plus some urban sightseeing

Today was the first time that all of the groups went to a common destination together. Until the afternoon, though, everyone had an opportunity to spend the time on their own. Some of the participants went to a market, while others visited a shrimp farm or used the time for some more outings to a mud bath or to go to a restaurant or on a sightseeing tour of the city. In the afternoon, we drove to the desert-like dune landscapes together. Rain forest, ocean and a desert-like landscape so close together? Yes, only very few of the participants knew that before this day.

We spent around three hours at two different sites here, a very short time for finding all of the animals burrowed in the sand behind rocks. The groups ran around examining the terrain like small ants. We were able to find many tracks in the sand which indicated lizards and snakes, in addition to ants and bugs. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any of the animals. However, we had already been able to see them near our accommodation. The fact that we weren’t able to find the animals doesn’t mean they weren’t there. That is why we drove to another area in the desert after sundown. There, we encountered spiders and a few eyes glowing in the dark. But not the other animals unfortunately, except the spiders and other insects. Time was simply too short for that, but it sufficed to gain an impression of the landscape. We were very surprised and moved.

After returning to the hotel, we all met for dinner. Today, though, there was no lecture after dinner, and instead, a farewell with a presentation of the test results and a review of the previous days. Now it’s time to pack our suitcases. Even though it feels like we just finished unpacking them. All the exciting experiences cause one to lose all sense of time. Numerous valuable acquaintances and friendships have developed among the 70 participants, many of which I am sure will continue to exist long after this workshop is over.

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