CARLA PERROTTI, THE ‘LADY OF THE DESERT’ COMPLETES HER HISTORIC SOLO WALK ACROSS THE LIBYAN DESERT.
Famed Desert Explorer walks across the Sahara portion of the Akakus Tadrart of Libya’s Desert for the cause of ‘Peace in Africa and the World’.
Dateline: Tripoli, Libya
In the aftermath of an exclusive press briefing for journalists at the African International Media Summit (AIMS 2008) in Tunisia, world renowned desert explorer Carla Perrotti has completed her historic solo walk across the Libyan Desert in the area of Akakus Tadrark. Ms. Perrotti, crossed 5 deserts in 4 continents and her daring desert sojourns have earned her a global following, has gone where few humans have before: into some of the world’s most foreboding desert wastelands.
“I was looking forward to this experience and it exceeded all my expectations,” said Ms. Perrotti as she emerged from her latest desert walk challenge. “The Libyan Desert”, she told reporters, “is one of the most beautiful and historic deserts in the world full of ancient history. Everywhere I turned, I made new visual discoveries, ancient writing on rocks and stone, remnants of monolithic structures. “The Libyan desert is a testimonial to life.” Ms. Perrotti credits her Libyan team for their professionalism, attentiveness and care in helping her prepare for what has so often been a grueling and intense experience for her. “My ground crew was exceptional. I think the Libyan people are a very considerate and goodhearted people. They helped make all the difference in my getting across their desert without suffering too much from the blasting heat or other challenges – and having such extraordinary preparations as they made allowing me to devote more time enjoying the history that was written across that incredible desert – and its magnificent natural and ethereal beauty”
When asked about the heat, Ms. Perrotti said the climate in the desert reached about 45 degrees Celsius. “It wasn’t unbearable, not in the least. Probably the hardest part for me was carrying my backpack and all the equipment. But I was able to continue on because of the perfect preparations made by my extraordinary Libyan team, the inner strength gained from my training and the years of experience I’ve had walking across some of the world’s great deserts.”
“I want people to have the wonderful experience and reconnect with the desert. I believe the five deserts I’ve crossed with the Libyan Desert being number six are now connected by an invisible silver thread. I would love to tie the threads of these deserts together to unite the human race in a message of peace in Africa and peace all around our beautiful planet. People often tell me what I do seems incredible, walking alone across the great deserts but I think, that everyday, people in some parts of Africa face challenges that are more difficult to simply survive from one day to the next. That’s why I dedicated this desert walk to peace in Africa – and the cause of peace all around the word”