First off, I'm sorry about how long it has been since I updated my blog. These past few weeks have been insanely busy with Arabic lessons in the morning, work at the National Park all day (which eneded up going much better than described in last post, but thats for a later post), then frequently joining Moroccan friends to celebrate ftour (sunset breaking of the Ramadan fast). And then each weekend would be full of traveling. This weekend's trip was incredibly unforgettable (I will try to talk about previous weekends in future blogs, but I just want to explain this one while its fresh in my mind). Six of the other AUA volunteers and I took a 6 hour van ride to spend 3 days in the Saharan Desert.
Friday night we all piled into a van to drive to Erg Chebbi part of the Sahara. When we arrived exhausted at our hotel, we discovered a lack of air conditioning in the rooms. That night was very hot, but thankfully we only would have one night actually in the hotel- the others were to be spent in the desert. The next morning dawned hot and dry. We got a tour of the hotel grounds that included date trees, camels, tents, and a pool where we spent the rest of the day. At 5:00 that evening we prepared to depart on camel.
First lesson learned was how to use a scarf to make a turban to keep us cool and to protect from the sun. Second lesson was how to ride a camel. Camels will lie in the sand with their front and back feet tucked under them so you can just swing your foot over their saddles, then hold on tight as they stand up. Word of advice- its more comfy to sit behind the hump than in front. There are no stirrups, so your legs just hang off the sides. The camels are all tied one after the other in a caravan led by a guide who walked through the sand. My camel was the leader for a while, until he saw a dune he didn't feel like walking up. We named our camels- mine was TJ, and also in the caravan was Jeremiah, Lawrence, Mohamed, Buster, Maverick, and Cramer. Each had their own personality and unique traits. Camels look rather like brontosaurus dinosaurs with their long legs and necks.
We rode through small dunes with rocky sand for over an hour. I was surprised at how many plants were there. Our destination was a small structure built of mud-brick where a Berber family lived. Our guide laid blankets on the ground where we all collapsed, sore from the camel ride. We watched as the sunset over the desert to make way for the most stars I have seen in my life. We saw a lot of shooting stars too. We slept on the blanket. It got really cold in the middle of the night. We rode back to the hotel right after sunrise.
The rest of the day was spent driving around to different sites in the desert such as an oasis where palm trees grew and a town where we listened to traditional gnawa music. Lunch consisted of a delicious Berber pizza which is beef, onion, potato and carrots cut up small baked between two thin pieces of bread.
That evening we set out on camel again, this time through the taller dunes. They towered over us as we rode through them to a set of tents. The tents were more luxurious than the previous night and included cushions to sleep on. We had a dinner of lentil soup, vegetables and fruit and danced to drums played by the guides. Then our guide suggested that we walk to the top of the dune. He literally meant the top too. At the start of the journey I didn't realize how tall the dune would be, but after over an hour of fighting up the sand, we reached a spectacular view. Off in the distance the lights of the city were visible, and a million stars glimmered in the sky. To get back we slid down on our butts for the steepest part. It was really fun with the minor exception of my pants getting a hole in them.The dune below is the one that we climbed in the middle of the night.
We rode back the next morning, rather sleep deprived, but happy. The van ride back to Ifrane included a lot of sleeping. The trip to the desert was truly unforgettable and I'm so glad I went.
Friday night we all piled into a van to drive to Erg Chebbi part of the Sahara. When we arrived exhausted at our hotel, we discovered a lack of air conditioning in the rooms. That night was very hot, but thankfully we only would have one night actually in the hotel- the others were to be spent in the desert. The next morning dawned hot and dry. We got a tour of the hotel grounds that included date trees, camels, tents, and a pool where we spent the rest of the day. At 5:00 that evening we prepared to depart on camel.
We rode through small dunes with rocky sand for over an hour. I was surprised at how many plants were there. Our destination was a small structure built of mud-brick where a Berber family lived. Our guide laid blankets on the ground where we all collapsed, sore from the camel ride. We watched as the sunset over the desert to make way for the most stars I have seen in my life. We saw a lot of shooting stars too. We slept on the blanket. It got really cold in the middle of the night. We rode back to the hotel right after sunrise.
The rest of the day was spent driving around to different sites in the desert such as an oasis where palm trees grew and a town where we listened to traditional gnawa music. Lunch consisted of a delicious Berber pizza which is beef, onion, potato and carrots cut up small baked between two thin pieces of bread.
That evening we set out on camel again, this time through the taller dunes. They towered over us as we rode through them to a set of tents. The tents were more luxurious than the previous night and included cushions to sleep on. We had a dinner of lentil soup, vegetables and fruit and danced to drums played by the guides. Then our guide suggested that we walk to the top of the dune. He literally meant the top too. At the start of the journey I didn't realize how tall the dune would be, but after over an hour of fighting up the sand, we reached a spectacular view. Off in the distance the lights of the city were visible, and a million stars glimmered in the sky. To get back we slid down on our butts for the steepest part. It was really fun with the minor exception of my pants getting a hole in them.The dune below is the one that we climbed in the middle of the night.
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