Sandboarding the white dune at Dakhla

Outside Dakhla, where the desert meets the lagoon, there is a white dune that rises clean out of the water, and we drove out to it one evening with a snowboard in the car, planning to sandboard down the face.

The boarding itself was a lesson in managed expectations. Sand is not snow. You do not glide, you grind, and the fast, silky runs you picture from films turn into a slow, effortful shuffle down the slope. We laughed more than we rode.

A board or even a cheap sled does the job, and the locals will point you to the right face. But manage the picture in your head before you climb, or the ride will disappoint you.

The dune was worth it anyway, just for where it sits: a clean white ridge between the open desert and the still water of the lagoon, glowing as the sun dropped. Climbing it for one slow run and that view was a fair trade on its own.

The better part came after. We drove off into the desert as the light went, weaving between the dunes for the fun of it, and then had to navigate our way back out once it was fully dark. That drive, not the boarding, was the evening's real ride.

If you go expecting a ski run on sand, you will be let down. Go for the dune, the light, and the drive around it, and it is one of the best evenings Dakhla offers.

Bring the board for the story, not the speed.