Crossing Saudi on foot, stage 1 wrap. I can’t tell you how I was longing to say those words as I limped the last few kilometres into Medina. I was footsore and emotional as we joined the worshippers flocking to Friday prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque. What an experience. This first 930km stage of my bid to become the first recorded person to cross Saudi Arabia on foot north to south has exceeded all my expectations. 

Wild spaces

The Crossing Saudi expedition has taken me three years to plan and I have been thinking about it for even longer. I really wanted to do it or I could not have persevered through the obstacles. I knew it would be an adventure and a notable achievement. However, I did not think it would be such fun, just sheer fun. 

The crossing Saudi team

That was all down to the team: Shaya Al Shaya who walked all of it with me except for a few days when he had to ride in the car because he got shingles and kept me laughing the whole way; Abu Abdullah our chef extraordinaire who whipped up different Saudi dishes and presented them with a flourish every night; Alan Morrissey who mapped the route and was an absolute fund of knowledge – he is also known as the naked geologist but that’s another story; Abu Ali our camelteer who it turned out was more of a petrol head; and Khalid Al Rabiah, the owner of MadAdventures (Mallah AlDoroub) who is the logistical brain behind the whole thing and has a thirst for adventure.

No expedition of this kind is easy. You are dealing with extreme weather conditions, hostile environments and difficult reprovisioning.

A half marathon every day

For us walkers there was also the physical attrition of getting up every day and doing a half marathon regardless of blisters, temperature and conditions underfoot. Shaya and I designated 2pm as ‘waqt al junoon’, the time of madness. At that hour every day we would go slightly loopy and try to find ways to entertain each other. His train impersonation as we walked along the old Hejaz railway (now renamed) was a favourite. Toot toot.

Meeting @itchybootstravel

There were so many high points. Meeting people – of course – was one of the best things. Here are two of my favourite encounters.

Shaya and I are trudging along a tarmac section when suddenly a Valkyrie roars into view. A huge motorbike with a small woman on it. Noraly is biking across Saudi. Lulu and Juicy take an instant liking to her and inspect her bike with curious muzzles. “I’ve had no problems at all here as a woman on my own,” she tells me. “Everyone has been so helpful and nice.” We give her Faisal’s contacts in Wadi Al Deesah as a great place to stay and she rides off into the sunlight. Later I find out that she is a massive YouTube star with 2.65 million followers – check her out.

The kindest hospitality

It’s been a long and hard day. My feet are really hurting and I am very hungry. We have picked up Alicia who has come to film which has lifted everyone’s spirits. Alan drives up and says we have to walk some extra because we are camping at a ‘bayt shaar’ a hair house – Bedouin tent. When we get there, a lady is semi-hiding from all the non-familiar men. I go and talk to her. She is Umm Musallam our hostess. We sit and chat and she tells me about her family and that she lives nearby in a village but she and her husband come out to their tent all the time and that this is where she comes from. “He is a good man,” she confides, “if he says he will do something, he does it.”

Sharing a feast

Later, we sit in the tent in the women’s area and she speaks softly out of respect for her husband so that strange men don’t get to hear her voice. They slaughter a sheep for us and we feast on mutton and scented rice.

The team’s light-heartedness, humour and enjoyment of the adventure got us through it together. We are all really proud of having finished this first stage and looking forward to the next one.

Now, I am back in Morocco and starting to plan for the next stage. Lots of work ahead to find sponsors, tell stories and try to keep relatively fit. The plan is to start again in October. Crossing Saudi on foot, stage 1 wrap will soon become Crossing Saudi on foot – the first days.

You can hear lots more details on the podcast, Alice in wAnderland (with an A) available on all platforms. Check out my Instagram for all the pictures. And, please take a moment to have a look at the websites of STA and RCU who sponsored stage 1 www.visitsaudi.com and www.experiencealula.com for loads of additional info on the country.