Sahara Experience

The time had arrived for the special part of this trip - a night out in the desert. Past trips had us ride camels out to a camp and enjoy the evening, riding back the next day.  We saw sand dunes and enjoyed the trip.  As Abdellah, our guide said, this time we were going to experience the real Sahara - what does that mean?  Well it means the desert is much more than sand dunes, there are so many different landscapes than the dunes.  In fact some thought they had been sent to the moon.  Because of recent rains, we did see more greenery.  We experienced this in 4 by 4s.  The trip out to the camp took over 2 hours and it was definitely not for the faint of heart - a Berber massage indeed.  It is amazing how many steps you can can get on your watch riding a 4x4 in the desert. Needless to say we were happy to finally see our tents.

Acacia tree

These fellow was putting on quite a show prancing from car to car

Relaxation for just a bit and it was time to climb aboard the camel express and head out for sunset.  Sunset was a bit of a bust but the ride was great.  All camels were well behaved.  Mine thought he needed to stop for a bit to eat at every bush he met so his name was changed from Humphrey to Hungry! Those guys, and yes they are all male, have the longest eye lashes!

Hungry the camel

Back at camp and time for dinner and then some drumming around the fire.  Unlike last years experience with camps all around, this is the only camp in the area and it was quiet, the stars were out and after the rooms cooled down, everyone enjoyed a good night sleep.

One of our own gets in there to show that Canadians can drum too

6:30 am - the time to be up to see sunrise.  After climbing up one of the dunes and waiting and waiting, we were rewarded with a golden morning.

Breakfast over and we were back in the vehicles for our trip out to- this time it was over 4 hours.  The first part didn’t seem bad but the last hour was pretty rocky and rough. But the scenery was amazing especially the stop at the massive Erg Chigaga, the largest dune in the Moroccan Sahara and definitely off the beaten path.

We missed it but yes it was raining in the desert

Look hard - it is an ostrich on the dune

Our final stop was to visit a Nomad camp, very different from those of the Atlas Mountains. It is hard to even explain what we saw but I think Abdellah summed it up the best -“ it teaches us to appreciate what we have”.  Travel does have  hidden bonuses and this was one.

The kitchen

Again the road to our next stop continued to show the many contrasting landscapes in Morocco - contrasting and exotic at the same time.