A ride to remember

Salam Alaykum Everyone,

This weekend i decided, at the last moment, to go with a group headed off to the Sahara Desert. The trip included a ride on a camel into the desert and camping overnight in an authentic Berber tent.

The drive from Rabat to the desert takes about 10 hours, then it's a 90 minute ride on a camel to the camp. When we got to the camp i literally had no feeling in my legs! Camels are great animals, but riding one is not my idea of a fun way to travel.

The drive over was fascinating, however. We actually travel from the sea to the mountains to high desert then the great desert itself. We pass through small villages that are hundreds of years old, and some of the villagers still live in the original stone homes built when the village was founded. Some have been renovated to a degree, perhaps with indoor plumbing, but many are the same as first built. No heat (they may have a fireplace, but if not they builkd a fire on the stone floor), no electricity and no indoor water or sewer. They get their water from a well and use an out-house. The women wash clothes in the river (if they're near one) or use the well water. But the homes have a simple beauty about them, with brightly painted doors and window shutters. And the villagers give you a friendly wave when you drive by as they go about their daily rituals.

Sleeping in the desert is a TRIP! The Berber guides we had made us dinner, then demonstrated authentic Berber drumming and singing. They are also adept at riddles, and were very amused that we couldn't figure them out.

There are no lights in the camp, just a fire, so finding your way to the tents without a flashlight is an experience. But I made it without walking into a palm tree or tripping over the tent!

Our beds consisted of a twin sized mattress on top of a rug on top of the sand and a heavy blanket. It gets cold in the desert but the blanket was warm so sleep came easy. Until about 3:00 am, when a donkey, who seemed to be just behind our tent if not in it, decided to tell us just what he thought. Moroccan donkeys bray like there's no tomorrow. Scares the crap out of you.

Then it's up at 5:00 am and back on the camel for our 90 minute trip back to the guide headquarters. A quick breakfast and into the van we stumble for our 10 hours drive back to Rabat. We do stop along the way to stretch for a couple minutes (but it's not enough). It was oh so nice to crawl into my bed when we finally got back. I have been stretching my back ever since. Some of the folks declared that they want to do the trip again. It's nice to be young!

I've posted some photos from the desert trip, but sadly, my camera battery ran out before i got to the Sahara so i couldn't get photos of the desert and camel. Fortunately others in the group were better prepared, and they are willing to share their photos so I'll post them as I get them.