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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Gauthier begins his final week in the Empty Quarter

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By Lakshmi Kothaneth — MUSCAT: March 26 - A sand storm that challenges his tent, a crow from nowhere and the dog disappearing for 24 hours - life in the Empty Quarter, Rub al Khali, is everything but empty for the adventurer Gauthier Toulemonde. He has been to Oman three times and during one of those trips he happened to buy ‘Le Desert des Deserts’ by Wilfred Thesiger.  Gauthier explained, “The pictures were so beautiful! I said to myself- ‘This is where I want to go!’ In March 2017 his dream became a reality.  He has seen the Sharqiya Sands and the Empty Quarter but it was the Empty Quarter that he chose to camp for four weeks. The Experiment with the desert by living on his own began on March 3rd.


“Both deserts are nice but maybe the Empty Quarter is most spectacular,” he explained.  The author of three books began his stay in the desert with two computers, four solar panels, one satellite phone and three cameras. According to the adventurer, that is enough to work and to make a movie in connection with Barasti Productions.


Gauthier had only camped in the desert once before, “Only one night as a tourist! But I have spent 40 days alone on a deserted island in Indonesia. So I do have some experience of these kind of things.


“That is where I learnt to manage with hostile environment: heat, snakes, scorpions, violent storms, solitude and so on. Here, Ahmed Al Mahrouqi gave me over three days of precious advises. It is great to learn from the king of the desert!”


According to Gauthier the nights in the desert make up for the sunny days and heat of March.  He has to work in the tent nearly all day.  “Sometimes it is difficult (about 40° inside). But at night it is a real pleasure as it is cooler and I can watch the stars.”  This is when Gauthier and Slooki, Ahmed’s dog who has stayed back with him in the desert go for their walks and says, “Walking at night alone in this immensity is great and inspiring. Slooki is a great fellow and with her I learn from the desert and I am not alone.


The biggest challenge according to the adventurer is — “It is not the fact to be alone but to support weather conditions at this time of the year: hot, sand everywhere, strong wind. One computer has collapsed.”  Dates is definitely part of the daily menu.  “I eat mostly rice and dates two times per day but it is enough.”


By profession Gauthier was a merchant banker in mergers and acquisitions of companies.  He is the editor of a magazine dedicated to stamp collectors.  Today he is an entrepreneur.  The graduate from Paris in political science has been also part of the first world trip using solar energy, “It was with the solar boat PlanetSolar.”


And this is the message he wants to convey through this journey — “I have three messages. Oman is a fantastic country: people are kind, landscapes are wonderful and it is safe. In addition, the message I want to convey is that it is possible to work at a distance from everywhere thanks to the solar energy.”


This is what Gauthier learnt from the desert during these last three weeks, “To listen to silence.”


Meanwhile Ahmed al Mahrouqi, Oman’s desert adventurer, is looking forward to joining Gauthier once again by March 31st traveling from Adam to the Empty Quarter and then proceed to Sharqiya Sands by riding camels until they reach the Arabian Sea at Ras Ar Ruways.  When asked would it be easy to go through the transition to a normal lifestyle Gauthier replied, “It is difficult after such experiment to go back to normal life. It takes about three months.”


Gauthier can be followed on Facebook and Web Site as Web Robinson.


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