Just got back from the Sahara where I've been for the last 12 days and still seem to be finding sand in the most unexpected places! I was leading a team of 31 from The Carphone Warehouse on a CSR trip to build a bridge in a remote Berber village in Eastern Morocco. The bridge idea turned into a ford, but one with 2 metre deep foundations into the dry wadi's sandy depths! The team all worked really hard mixing cement and shifting rocks and along with a team of local stone masons and workers we did an incredible amount of hardwork - all by hand! The temperature stayed uncomfortably high for most of the time, but annoyingly, I was so caked in suncream and dust that my impressive 'tan' all but washed off when I eventually managed to have the first shower in 7 days! Nevermind, better than getting horribly sunburnt I suppose!

It was a great insight into the customs and culture of this part of the world, but also an eye-opener about the extreme poverty that these villages are in. Without the ford, when the river is flooded, no one can get in or out of the village for weeks.

In complete contrast to the heat of the desert, check out the link below to the '300 Club' at the South Pole... Talk about getting a chilly willy!

The 300 Club