Morocco: Sahara Desert

I’m (finally) back with another entry about my trip to Morocco. I’m only a little over twenty days late with it, of course, but that’s not too bad, right?

Ah. I see. Well then, let’s get started, shall we? 

Following the debauchery from the night before, I had to be up in the early hours of March 9. Why? Well, because I was scheduled to be picked up by a guide for a two-day/one-night trip to the famous Sahara Desert! I don’t know how I managed to get up, but I did.

The guide finally arrived, accompanied by two of my fellow travelers on this leg of the journey (NJ and SP). Together we made our way toward Djamaa el-Fna where, after a bit of jockeying, we were finally allowed to board the van that would take us the rest of the way. Soon thereafter we were joined by the remaining eight members of our group for the next two days, and off we went…

Now, given that the Sahara is the largest (hot) desert in the world, and that its size is comparable to both China and the United States, one might think that it shouldn’t take long to reach its sandy border. 

One would be wrong. 

It actually takes over 5 hours to get there from Marrakech—and most of that 5 hours consists of severely winding and twisting turns as you make your way around and over the Atlas Mountains. Nonetheless, the mountains are beautiful and the views are quite spectacular—at times, even exhilarating and heart-stopping!

Day Trippin'

Mountaintops

Photostop!

Fortunately, our route allowed us to stop a few times along the way, thereby breaking up the monotony of the drive and affording us the opportunity to explore more of Morocco than just the touristy hubs.

Our first significant stop was about 2½ hours southeast of Marrakech, at a kasbah called Aït Benhaddou.

Ait Benhaddou

View From the Top

We were handed over to a very nice local guide, who led us through the steep streets (and steps) of this amazing city. Among other things, this guide informed us that, due to annual flooding, most local residents have moved to a neighboring town—however, there is still one Berber family actively living within Aït Benhaddou’s walls. 

For the most part, it has become an attraction for tourists, with shops now nestled within many of the buildings (which are rebuilt annually due to the weather), and with locals showing off such skills as creating images out of tea-stains and fire on scraps of paper. But, as our guide reminded us numerous times, traditional tourists aren’t the only ones interested in Aït Benhaddou! Hollywood has frequently made use of the kasbah as a backdrop for some of its most famous films, including: Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, The Jewel of the Nile, The Mummy, and Gladiator (among many others)! (In fact, the gateway that's visible on the right-hand side of the photo with me standing in front of Aït Benhaddou was constructed specifically for Lawrence of Arabia.)

Now, I’m going to digress for a moment here, as this seems like a good place to discuss our group dynamic during the trip. 

Before setting off, I had been worried—especially in light of how amazingly I hit it off with the Djellaba Crew at Waka Waka—that this trip would be a strange and awkward experience. I mean, let’s be honest: spending over 5 hours in a van with a group of total strangers, and then sharing a tent with some of them overnight…the potential for drasaster (drama+disaster) there is huge! 

Fortunately, I had nothing to fear. 

Everyone was very friendly! Only myself and one another (RG) were travelling by our lonesome—the rest were all part of groups: NJ and SP were two Australians studying together in London; J and JJ were a traveling brother-sister team; and then there was a group of five Americans (JM, KB, OS, MD, and DB) who were studying together in Spain. But, despite people having ready-made friends on the trip with them, there was never a sense of cliquishness or stand-offishness.

Personally, I had the pleasure of sitting next to and talking with JM for most of the bus ride. I mention JM specifically because he really went out of his way during the whole trip to make me feel included, and I truly feel as if the friendship formed between us there was one of the biggest highlights of this leg of the trip for me.

At any rate, there had been some pleasant conversations here-and-there while on the trip to Aït Benhaddou, but I think it was with the spontaneous decision to take group photos (using all of our cameras) that tipped me off that the whole group had formed a really special bond. 

Front Row (L to R): DB, KB, SP, NJ, Me / Back Row (L to R): MD, JM, RG, OS

 I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am that I was part of such an amazing group!

From Aït Benhaddou we proceeded to Ouarzazate, Morocco. Ouarzazate, also known as the ‘door to the desert,’ is another locale known for its connections to the film industry: many of the same movies listed earlier have also featured this capital city, and it is also home to Atlas Studios (where an episode from The Amazing Race’s 10th season was filmed). Sadly, our driver didn’t give us much in the way of details about the area (though I've since learned that the structure seen below is called Taourirt), so I can’t really say too much more about it.

Kasbah Taourirt

After our quick stop at Ouarzazate, we made our way to Zagora, Morocco, the town where we finally traded-in our bus for some camels. (As an interesting aside, the town’s original name was ‘Twin Peaks’ in the Berber tongue, a reference to a nearby mountain named Zagora.) 

We were informed that we each needed to buy a tagelmust for protection from the desert sands, and also that this would be our last chance to buy bottled water for our time at the campsite.

Shortly thereafter, stocked-up and wearing our tigelmas, we were ready to mount-up and head into the desert…

Front Row (L to R): NJ and SP / Back Row (L to R): Me, JM, KB, RG, DB

Giddy-Up!

But that’s a story for next time…