In the summer of 2014, we featured a guest post about two amazing woman from Quebec, Canada who were getting ready to compete in the 14th Trophée Roses des Sables, a woman only orientation rally in the Moroccan desert. The team is back and with a full report for the Diva Community!
Where to begin…
Myself (Emmanuelle Beauregard) acted as the co-pilot along with my good friend, Caroline Ouellette, who acted as the pilot. We entered the race excited for the challenge and ready for the adventure of our lives! As team #229, ”les demoi-zèles des dunes” we were ready for whatever was coming our way.
We proudly finished 36th on the official ranking (there was a total of 150 teams). The Trophée Roses Des Sables is a really unique experience for women. Women from around the world compete together in a non-traditional environment. Our limits are pushed not only as women, but as individuals. We were faced with many challenges, but together we were able to overcome them all!
On our first day, we encountered a sand storm, which was really intense as we were trying to set up and get settled with supplies for the following day. Driving in pure sand is in itself a continuous battle. We got lost a few times, which in the desert can be a bit concerning as it was a new terrain for both of us. We also had the chance to test our mechanic skills, changing both tires on our truck after they blew out when we hit a rock in the sand.
Some may be wondering, what exactly does food and shelter look like in the desert? For food, we had traditional Moroccan bread as well as mint tea for breakfast every morning before leaving for the “challenge of the day”. As we were responsible for our lunches we bought some bread, paté, granola bars and dry fruit from France, which was enough to get us through the day on the road. For dinner all the teams ate together at the camp, mostly traditional Moroccan foods – couscous, soup, etc. Each team also had a tent for two in the bivouac, except for during the “marathon” challenge (48 hours in total autonomy) where we had the chance to sleep out in the open. The sky was amazing! It was hard, but we are proud that we could finish the rally. And… our friendship is stronger than ever!
While on the journey, we also had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful women who had inspiring stories to share and admirable reasons for why they chose to participate in the race.
We are grateful to the Diva Community for helping us achieve our pre-rally goals and were pleased to feature the DivaCup logo on our 4×4 during the entire race – which was a great conversation starter. We had a number of conversations about the DivaCup with other participants during the race. We quickly learned that the DivaCup is not as recognized in France as it is in North America. But although new to many of the women, they were very interested and intrigued with the product. When you are living in the desert for a week with minimal sanitary installation, you realize how practical the DivaCup is to use.
Emmanuelle and Caroline
Emmanuelle Beauregard is a sexologist, massage therapist and a DivaCup enthusiast since 2006. She discovered the DivaCup during university while involved with the environmental committee. Caroline Ouellette, is a sexologist, social worker (in training) and has been a proud DivaCup user since 2007.
