Morocco – The Desert

The excitement builds as we see the sand dunes rise from the stony desert ahead. It doesn’t become continuous sandy desert till over in Algeria, but they are classic dunes that do spread for tens of kilometres. The Algerian border is only a few tens of kilometres away and is well guarded and may even be closed at the moment. Along the edge of the dunes are rows of hotels and we stop at one where we wait till a small group of tourists (mainly Dutch and English) are ready and then we are led out to the camels. We each only take an overnight bag with us and leave our luggage in the hotel.

The ”camel trek” involves a couple of Berber lads walking and leading a camel followed by a train of camels and their passengers roped together. Not particularly challenging but soon we are away from everything with dunes in all directions as far as can be seen for a 45 minute ride to our camp for the night. It would feel remote except for the tracks of quadbikes everywhere, camel droppings in abundance, and other groups of tourists on camels been led in all directions! But it is surprisingly peaceful.

Camels are incredibly uncomfortable. As they lurch to their feet you are thrown steeply forward, then backwards, so holding on tight is essential. The saddles are like sitting on an uncomfortable bean bag and 45 minutes is far enough for one day. Going up the dunes is fine but coming down is hard work, you have to hold on tight to avoid toppling forward. It's a great workout for the inner thighs, says Vicki.

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The “Berber Camp” looked authentic with its ring of eight large black tents surrounded by a little stockade, but it was more 'glamping' than camping. Each tent, stifling hot in the sunshine and throughout the night, contained a king-sized bed, almost covered by a double-sized sheet, rugs covering the sand floor, and a solar light. The shared loo was a porta-loo type arrangement, but the flush wasn't working, so a bucket of water and a cup were provided to create the 'flush'.  A small water tank outside allowed hands to be washed and teeth cleaned.

Awaiting dinner

After much wandering around the dunes and taking pictures, including the much-vaunted sunset (drab if you normally live by the sea or mountains), dinner was served outside under a canopy, followed by the waiters doing the customary song and dance routine. We’ve noticed that nearly everyone in the tourist industry is also an entertainer and speaks 3-7 languages! They all speak Berber/Arabic plus French, and then many speak some or all of Italian, Spanish, German and English as well.

Because we had to be back at Marrakesh airport early the following evening, and Hamed, our driver and guide, knew our stop-at-everything-photogenic record, we had to be on our camels by 6am and part way out of the dunes by sunrise. Another drab affair, but still serene and beautiful. Luckily we managed a good breakfast and shower at the hotel before a big drive back, having covered 1200km or so in three days. Once again we enjoyed the desert, though this time by a different route as we headed over a different pass through the Atlas Mountains to reach Marrakesh in plenty of time.

Looking back we’d have to say that the camel trek and night out in the desert was the best time of our Moroccan adventure, followed by the mountains and gorges and villages. The worst time was the long wait at the airport for the flight home, only realising that the plane was delayed by hours through a text from England - they certainly weren’t telling anyone this at the airport! Then the stress levels ramped up big-time as we landed and immigration were not keen on letting Vicki into the country. Luckily they took pity on us as the rules are not clear and it was 3am on a Bank Holiday weekend. So, we're back in England for another six months …