We spent nearly a month in Morocco starting in the north of the country and working our way south. We started in Tétouan and visited many amazing places along the way. We visited Morocco’s blue pearl, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, an 11th century tannery in Fes, drove through sandstorms, and high mountain passes, got lost in the medina in Marrakech. One of the craziest things though was an overnight camel trek into the desert.
Getting to the Desert
After a long day of driving highways through the desert scenery we reached the village of Merzouga. This small village is a popular destination for tourists visiting Morocco due to its proximity to Erg Chebbi, a large sea of sand dunes. The village lies just to the west of the dunes and despite its small size is host to 70 or more hotels, auberges and riads. Many local companies offer overnight camel trips into the dunes in partnership with these hotels.
We made a quick stop to get directions and then set off into the desert in the small Volkswagen Golf in search of our hotel. The hotel was quite a way through nothing but sand. Driving this little car through the fine sand was a little daunting. Maybe that was just my opinion as the sole passenger of the backseat, everyone else seemed to enjoy it. We finally reached the hotel, checked in and were given a few minutes to set down our bags and get ready to head out.
Setting Out into the Desert
We headed round the back of the hotel and there waiting for us were four camels and our Berber guides dressed in their traditional blue robes. The Berbers are the indigenous people of North Africa, several nations make up the Berbers. Our guides taught us how to properly tie our scarfs to make the tagelmust to protect ourselves from the sun and cover our faces. I was warned by a coworker before leaving that riding a camel is worse than riding a horse. As someone who’s been horseback riding like twice I didn’t know what to expect. The camels were all kneeling down so we could get on. Basically, you sit on top of the camels hump. The saddle consists of blankets and some padding around the back of the hump to give you a bit more space to sit. It definitely got uncomfortable quickly.
With everyone sitting as comfortably as we could we were ready to start going. When camels stand up, they fully stand their back legs up first. This was news to me. Because I was at the back of our little camel train mine was the first to stand up. Next thing I know I’m nearly parallel to the ground staring at the back of my camels head. I think I momentarily forgot to breathe as I gripped the handlebars with my life to avoid face planting into the sand. I’m sure the guide could see the sheer fright in my eyes as my camel finally got up on all fours. Once everyone’s camel was up we set out into the seemingly endless desert.
Life in the Desert
We set out for several kilometres into the desert. I’m not sure how long we were on camelback for, you quickly lose track of time as you watch the sand dunes go by and are hanging on for dear life. Camels might have adapted to walk through the sand but it still isn’t a smooth ride. They slip and sink in the sand which takes some getting used to. Our guides walked the whole way leading the camels to the camp. It was really impressive, the route to camp took us up and over dunes and snaked through the desert and they knew it like it was the back of their hand.
It wasn’t a particularly warm day. The sun was missing, hidden behind clouds for most of our trek. It made for a more comfortable journey, not having to worry about blistering heat. We reached the camp with a couple hours to spare before sundown. It was a small series of tents set up in a circle. Camp required a little bit of digging out due to a sandstorm that had hit earlier in the day. We were met by another guide at the camp who prepared tagine over the fire and shared stories with us until it was time for bed.
It gets quite dark inside the tents with only a small lamp to provide light. Mats were set out on the ground with blankets and we were allowed to take our pick of the tents. We opted to sleep outside in the middle of all the tents instead. The desert is meant to be one of the best places to see the stars due to the lack of light pollution. We were really looking forward to this as we set up our mats and blankets. Most people at the camp thought we were crazy for doing so. Unlucky for us though, we didn’t see a single star that night. The cloud cover completely rolled in and at one point I was woken up in the night by a sprinkling of rain on my face. That’s right the Vancouverites venture all the way into the desert, one of the driest places on earth and still got rained on. Although we didn’t see any stars I think getting to say I went into the desert and got rained on makes for a more unique story and it’s a good laugh. The desert does get cold at night, not the coldest camping I’ve ever experienced but colder than what most people might prepare for. I slept comfortably with a hoodie, wool socks and wool blanket.
Climbing the Dunes
We were woken up pretty early by the sun beginning to rise. Everyone in the camp decided to climb the nearby sand dune to watch the sunrise. Easy right? Wrong. I don’t think any of us actually made it to the top. There’s nothing worse than walking up the side of a dune for ages, looking up and thinking oh man I must be at least half way there and realizing you’ve barely made it a third of the way. Climbing dunes is hard work. I had to give up about halfway out of sheer exhaustion. I was working on an empty stomach and next to no water since the previous day. It was definitely a workout. I didn’t get to watch the sun rise but instead basked in the sun until I felt like I wasn’t going to pass out anymore. Once we all made it back down it was time to head back to the hotel. My legs were super sore from the ride in still, getting back on that camel was no easy task.
All in all, getting to spend the night in the desert and trek in on camelback was such an amazing experience. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe next time I’ll get to see some stars!
That’s all for this week, again I’ll be hosting a poll on my Instagram at some point to determine the topic of next week’s blog. Last week’s pick was Inside Stonehenge, so it’s something totally different each week. You can follow along as well on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
See you next week!