May 23, 2012 - Dades Gorge - Merzouga

– I wake up early to sound of birds chirping and water moving. I wish I could stay here a few days, hike and relax. However, we must leave for final destination – Marzouga in the Western Sahara and home of the Toureg people. Our first stop is at the nearby Todres Gorge; not as spectacular (to me) as Dades but important because the river begins here. I walk to the spring and soak my feet in it. It feels mystical. Later, we walk through fields to reach a Kasbah and women cooperative for tappis (rugs). I remember Anna’s words: “Don’t you buy...

Jun 16, 2011 - Follow that camel!

Captain Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca? Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters. Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert. Rick: I was misinformed Once again our happy band takes off, soon stopping for another photo opportunity, this time of the town, although some Arabic with the star of Morocco, emblazoned in white on the hillside, catches my eye. I ask the driver what it means, and if I understand him right, it means 'the desert is ours', and is a reference to the disputed...

Apr 8, 2011 - And to the desert

Another days travel through some amazing scenery – the country varying from flat plateaus to mountainous ranges – vary similar to the Territory or the Pilbara region – Glorious colours. Wide, gravely riverbeds, mostly dry with a small creek running through them Now large Oasis appear between the ranges – full of date palms, Olive and Fig trees and small subsistence farm allotments. The houses square with flat roofs – all made of mud brick with few windows and the doors closed. Passing through villages there are small stores but many are...

Sep 16, 2010 - Desert Storm

After beakfast we visited the Todra gorge - some 300 metres high at its deepest point. We tried the dirt track a short way, but to be honest, the tarmac road covers the best part! The drive south became increasingly desert like as we went, with blackened rocks and rough hills. We stopped at a place where underground irrigation canals had been built and were visible from the surface through holes in mounds of earth. Some local boys showed us the water holes and gave us freshly picked dates to eat. The highlight of the day was a one and a...

Jun 20, 2010 - Faire la sieste à dos de dromadaire

Les surnoms berbère de Mélanie et Caroline: Mélanie semble difficile à pronomcer pour les marocains (arabes ou berbères). Lorsque j'appelle Mélanie par son diminutif affectueux, Mel, Hassan notre chauffeur entend "Miel" alors, il la surnomme "Tamim'te", miel en berbère de sa région. Pour Caroline, on l'a surnommée Fatima, un nom populaire chez les berbères et utilisé comme nom honorifique pour les dames dont on ne connaît pas le nom. Un ami d'Hassan avec qui Karo marchandait un tapis s'est exclamé: "Tu es une vraie berbère, Fatima!" Le...

Jun 19, 2010 - Enfin, le désert!!!

Nous revoyons la petite Rosa toute pimpante au petit-déj. Elle se fait plus discrète en nous tournant autour. La confiture n’a pas le même attrait que le poisson… Une fois montées dans le 4x4, nous continuons notre progression vers le sud et nous traversons la ville d’Er-Rachidia avant d’arriver dans la vallée de Ziz, une magnifique oasis verdoyante. La route passe ensuite par la grande palmeraie de Tafilalet ou de nombreux ksars (villages fortifiés par des remparts) sont enfouis. Nous traversons Erfoud, capitale des dattes dans le sud...

Jun 15, 2008 - Sweet Sahara

By Elizabeth “Trust in Allah, but tie up your camel.” – Old Muslim proverb Five camels and one guide named Adi. Endless sand dunes, Algeria in the distance. An hour trek on the camels, passing tiny nomadic tented settlements. Camel shadows flickering on the sand. Hiking up the dunes to watch the sunset. Leaping down the dunes with wild abandon. Sharing mint tea with a nomadic man who spoke no English. Enjoying a traditional Moroccan dinner – a tagine of chicken, carrots and potatoes. Falling asleep under the stars as Adi played the drums...

May 19, 2008 - The Sahara

We have arrived in the Sahara from Ouarzazate via bus. We crossed the Dades Valley, the High Atlas and the Ziz Valley. We lucked out and met a guy who worked at the auberge were headed to, so we got a ride in. A couple from Holland joined us as well. The ride into the desert to the auberge was wild and bumpy. We kept waiting to see sand, but it was too dark. It was not until we got onto our private balcony...yes, private balcony...that we saw the dunes lit by moonlight. We decided to go on a two day trip and the Hollandaise decided to join...

Feb 3, 2008 - Surreal Sahara Soiree

Surreal Sahara Soiree Originally we weren’t going to start our Europe adventure until February to avoid at least part of the European winter. Then we realised we would be sitting around during the school holidays waiting to leave, so we decided to go in January. We looked for somewhere warmish to start and found Morocco on a map (not quite Europe, but pretty close). We looked at the map harder and saw the Sahara and thought “Why not?” But when we told people that’s where we were heading, they didn’t respond “why not?” they asked “why?” For...

Sep 20, 2007 - Zagora to Merzouga- Day 2 of Sahara Adventure

This morning came too early (6am) but the guide came serving tea and bread with jam and cheese into our tent. We ended up eating just outside our tent. They wanted us to see sunrise over the desert. We slowly managed to peel ourselves out of bed, wiped our gritty face with wet wipes I had packed. Good thinking Rene! We should think of this as a spa treatment at the Sahara desert. . . a face and body exfoliant! of sorts. Probably worth lots of money at home, no doubt. The layers of sand on our scalps would have to stay for now since there...

May 15, 2007 - Berber Camp, Camels

After a refreshing lunch, we drove to Merzouga, on the edge of the Sahara desert. Our adventure really began as we then switched to 4-wheel drive off road vehicles (Toyota Land Cruisers) for a bumpy ride across the unpaved, unmarked desert floor to a Berber camp with facilities for tourists. We were shown to our private Berber tents on the sand, with carpets on the floor and low beds (no A.C here!), and almost immediately "hopped" onto camels for a 45 minute ride into the dunes and then back again. Most people enjoyed it, but Anne never did...

Apr 22, 2006 - Sweet and Sour in the Sahara

It was a difficult few days but I kept reminding myself that stories from hell are good to tell.....after the fact. Once the pain of the moment has been endured, it usually makes for a good travel story as we've learned from past experiences. Our journey from Marrakesh to the Saharan Desert began innocently in a mini-van with 7 other tourists at 7am. The weather was the first downer as a white haze covered the mountainous scenery for the entire day, blinding us from the surrounding beauty. 10 hours later on the bus we still hadn't arrived...