We are back from our desert trek and it was spectacular! We arrived in Merzouga just before 4:00 and quickly packed a single day pack with everything we would need for the next 2 days. We met Omar the Camel Trekker (that is really the name he goes by!) and were introduced to our guide, Mohammed. Not to be confused with Mohammed our waiter in Marrakech, or Mohammed our driver from earlier, or Mohammed the hotel proprietor, or....you get it! This Mohammed is a 22 year old that makes his living as a guide on camel treks. Really nice, friendly, and speaks a smattering of 5 languages. We got by mostly with Spanish, English and a little French. Mohammed introduces us to our camels. When asked their names we were told “this is Camel #1, this is #2, etc..!” I promptly named my camel “Camilla Cabello Camel” Abby got “Carmelly” (only afternoon CJ explained who Carmelo Anthony was, Carmelo was her first choice!) CJ was with “Lucia” and Chris...”Camel #2!”
We proceeded to trek through really cool dunes for a little over an hour until we arrived at a huge dune and the kids tried their hand at sandboarding. Very cool! We then lounged with our camels and watched the sunset. Really beautiful. We then trekked further until we arrived at camp. Camp is a bit of a misnomer. It was straight out of Arabian Nights! Carpets on the sand, candlelit lanterns, 4 beds with good mattresses, a regular toilet and hot and cold running water with a shower...all in our tent! We settled in and couldn’t believe there was WiFi! Sadly we did not bring chargers and phones were fading fast! We had dinner in the “Dining Tent” with our fellow trekkers, Sarju and Kristin. (Married couple from London. He’s Indian, she’s Australian, they got married 6 days after meeting at some Harry Krishna type thing!) Dinner was NOT camp food. We had 4 or 5 veggies, rice, grilled turkey, roasted chicken, fries, bread, and fresh fruit for dessert. After dinner there was traditional music and dancing around a fire. Loved watching the kids join in!
Next morning brought an early wake up to see the sunrise over the dunes. Absolutely beautiful. A great breakfast and back to the camels. We rode across the desert for a couple of hours until we arrived at an Oasis. Totally weird. Nothing but sand and then out of nowhere a copse of trees! We had lunch (prepared by Mohammed) at the Oasis and Chris and the kids tackled sandboarding on a frighteningly high dune. We eventually got back on our trusty steeds and trekked to a Berber village. By village I mean makeshift huts, homes made of mud, nothing like the previous night. A lovely Berber woman made us a welcome tea and snack and then later made us dinner. This was a completely different experience. We slept in a house? Hut? Room? Made mostly of mud with blankets and pillows on the floor. No bathrooms. “Where is the WC?” “Everywhere.” Um...ok. Abby was not thrilled with that answer! It was a great experience for all of us and really reinforces how blessed we all are.
The night sky in the desert is incredible. Just can’t describe it and the pictures can’t capture it. We sat around stargazing before bed and then got up again around midnight to see if we could see the meteor shower. We saw 2 shooting stars and were psyched!
Up and out on our camels before daybreak. It’s almost surreal to be trekking through the desert in the dark. As we made our way back the sun slowly made its appearance. A great experience all around!
Totally unrelated to anything, but an example of how educational this trip has been...when a camel poops in the desert and it rolls down a dune, those are called “desert dice!”
Onward to Fez...
