The highlight of our Moroccan trip was definitely the dromedary trek through the Saharan dunes.
It is probably one of the (if not the) coolest and most amazing things I've ever done in my life!
It is probably one of the (if not the) coolest and most amazing things I've ever done in my life!
We drove to Merzouga, from where we would make the trek. Merzouga is a small village that borders with Erg Chebbi, a Saharan dune sea.
The last bit of the drive to Merzouga was rough - as you can see there were no roads, just these gray, very rocky plains (which caused a flat tire!) with the odd tree here and there.
Then, all of a sudden those dunes loomed on the horizon. It really was like a sea of dunes.
I got very excited at this point!
We stopped at a hotel for a quick break, dropped off our backpacks and.. off we went!
The last bit of the drive to Merzouga was rough - as you can see there were no roads, just these gray, very rocky plains (which caused a flat tire!) with the odd tree here and there.
Then, all of a sudden those dunes loomed on the horizon. It really was like a sea of dunes.
I got very excited at this point!
We stopped at a hotel for a quick break, dropped off our backpacks and.. off we went!
These are our dromedaries. I immediately blessed them with "typical" Moroccan names - Joost & Frits ;). I had slight worries that I would fall off my dromedary, after stupidly watching multiple videos on YouTube of people falling off their camels (those poor people! and those mean people for filming them and putting it on YouTube afterwards! :O). Fortunately that didn't happen. Dromedaries are very laidback animals!
After an hour or so we stopped for a while to see the sun set. Ahh, to sit on top of a dune with your bare feet buried in that warm Saharan sand, with that view? So awesome. Beautiful. (Wish it lasted a bit longer though - that sun quickly disappeared behind that dune.)
From here it was only a short ride to our camp. Dinner was served (bread, soup and tajines filled with good stuff) and some Berber men played the drums.
There were tents for us to sleep in, but you were also allowed to take your mattress and bedding outside, to sleep underneath the starry skies. Obviously we did.
It was amazing. I did fall asleep pretty quickly though - I was so so so tired from all the traveling and taking in everything we saw that day. I mean, this was the same day as the Eid el-Adha slaughtering!
From here it was only a short ride to our camp. Dinner was served (bread, soup and tajines filled with good stuff) and some Berber men played the drums.
There were tents for us to sleep in, but you were also allowed to take your mattress and bedding outside, to sleep underneath the starry skies. Obviously we did.
It was amazing. I did fall asleep pretty quickly though - I was so so so tired from all the traveling and taking in everything we saw that day. I mean, this was the same day as the Eid el-Adha slaughtering!
Blurry pic taken with my phone.
It was much lighter in the desert than I expected by the way, but that was because it was almost full moon.
People said it got very cold outside at 5 am. I didn't notice - I was fast asleep. I did notice however when I was woken up to see the sunrise. I was frrrrrrreeeeeezing. Got up quickly though, I really didn't want to miss it (and, it was totally worth getting up for)!
It was much lighter in the desert than I expected by the way, but that was because it was almost full moon.
People said it got very cold outside at 5 am. I didn't notice - I was fast asleep. I did notice however when I was woken up to see the sunrise. I was frrrrrrreeeeeezing. Got up quickly though, I really didn't want to miss it (and, it was totally worth getting up for)!
The Saharan dunes were everything you would expect and more. So gorgeous, so special, so impressive.
If you ever go to Morocco, I highly recommend doing a dromedary trek. It's only two days and one of the best things I've ever experienced. Just bring some comfortable pants and tons of water.
Also, a butterfly landed on my dromedary (I wrote about it here). In the desert. I still don't get how a butterfly would survive here! But there he was. I like to think the butterfly was a bearer of good fortune :)
Anyway.. I loved this Moroccan trip. We really saw so much and did so many different things. Experienced local food and culture, saw the most diverse landscapes... And you know what, this country wasn't exactly high on my list of places to go to, but I'm soooo pleased and thankful Paul's parents chose Morocco and took us here!
Anyway.. I loved this Moroccan trip. We really saw so much and did so many different things. Experienced local food and culture, saw the most diverse landscapes... And you know what, this country wasn't exactly high on my list of places to go to, but I'm soooo pleased and thankful Paul's parents chose Morocco and took us here!