Where in the story does Coelho describe the setting in detail in order to add meaning to the events in The Alchemist?

As I expect this question is based upon opinion,
I feel that Paulo Coelho's descriptions of the desert in
The Alchemist add meaning to the events at the
oasis.

The young boy (Santiago) has already learned about
his Personal Legend and the Language of the World by the time he embarks on his trip
across the desert with the Englishman. At the beginning of this journey, the boy
observes the quiet of the desert, very different than the scene of confusion and noise
present as the caravan got organized.

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'I've crossed these sands many times,' said one
of the camel drivers one night. 'But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant,
that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain
silent.'

The boy understood intuitively what he meant, even
without ever having set foot in the desert
before.

The boy first learns
to listen quietly, which is part of Coelho's concept of the Language of the World. One
must listen in order to hear what nature has to say. Coelho also describes the wind that
never stops.

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...the boy remembered the day he had sat at the
fort in Tarifa with this same wind blowing in his
face.

This detail provides a
sense of connection between all things in the world. The descriptions of the landscape
of the desert parallel life. In some places there were obstacles that needed to be
traveled around; some sand was too soft for the camels, so firmer sand needed to be
found; the camels would not travel across the dried seabeds, so the men had to carry
their burdens themselves and reload them when that space had been crossed: but in every
instance, the caravan stayed on course.

readability="7">

But all this happened for one basic reason: no
matter how many detours and adjustments it made, the caravan moved toward the same
compass point...the star that indicated the location of the
oasis.

This description
describes life and the traveler. Despite the obstacles life places in one's path, each
person must stay on course to discover his or her
destiny.

Another description of the setting of the desert
adds meaning to the events presented in the story.

readability="10">

...'There are rumors of tribal wars,' he told
them.

The three fell silent. The boy noted that there was a
sense of fear in the air, even though no one said anything. Once again he was
experiencing the language without words...the universal
language.

The description
here speaks of a sense of fear that is almost tangible. Everyone feels it. There is
foreshadowing in this, as danger will visit them at the oasis—as
life often presents us with difficulties and/or dangers. However, in terms of the
story's themes, the fear parallels the concerns people experience in life from threats
known and unknown. This passage emphasizes Coelho's belief that one must listen to the
Language of the World, the universal language, in order to find one's way even when that
language introduces an element of fear.

I believe Coelho's
descriptions of the caravan's journey through the desert add meaning to the events with
which the author hopes to instruct his reader.