Into the Sahara desert by camel

Back at the hotel, we packed up for our next adventure – camel trekking deep into the Sahara

desert for the night. We were each assigned a camel and mine was sitting on his legs grumbling away as he waited for me to climb aboard. (see left) It sounded like a growling stomach or maybe an approaching thunderstorm – take your pick. Apparently, it was just him voicing his thoughts on me climbing on board. The camel man came and helped me get on the ancient leather saddle. My camel man, Omar, was watching the camel and keeping him still. My friend's camel man, also called Omar :), was helping her camel. 'My' Omar, gave a command and the camel struggled to get onto his front knees and I lean back and then I was jerked forward as he got his back legs under him. I wiggled around and got adjusted in the saddle. It's quite an adventure, as long as you are not afraid of heights - you are quite high up by the time he is standing.

Finally, everyone in our group was aboard and the camels started their noisy way across the desert. They growled and groaned at each other as they fell in line. Omar walked the whole way, guiding the camels safely across the sand. He explained that they always walk along the crest of the dunes because if they are on the slope they can sink into the sand and lose their footing. The tracker/guide is the one who tells the camel where to walk and so is usually on foot. Who knew that camels needed to be told where to walk? Omar explained that one side of the crest is loose sand and the other side is packed. Camels can slip off and get stuck in the falling sands on the loose side. Even though their feet are wide and well padded, if the sand is extremely loose, they can be stuck. Who knew camels couldn’t 'walk on sand'?

The camel train headed off to a Berber village, at least five hours by camel into the desert. We crossed several high dunes and traversed valleys with rippled sand. It was hot but windy and we each had a Berber-style turban - a long cloth wrapped around our heads with the end free to cover our faces. This protect us from flying sand as well as the hot, pounding sun. The movement of my

camel became a rhythm my body adjusted to and found agreeable. As the shadows stretched across the dunes and slid over the tops of the dunes, the air cooled. It was peaceful (once you got used to the growling and grumbling camels). I wanted to take it all in and make sure to enjoy every moment of the amazing experience. Hours later, as we came over one dune, we saw the cluster of low, black tents sheltered in the hollow of the next set of dunes - the Berber village!

There were a few other groups at this camp as well. The trek was over and I had to hold on tight as my camel settled down on the sand or I would have gone flying! Once they were on the ground and grumbling to each other, I climbed off. We were shown to our tent, where they had about 10 blankets for each bed because it would get COLD!

While dinner was being slowly cooked in the fire, we climbed the dune to the west, to get a picture of the setting sun. It is deadly getting up the dune. Every step had us sliding back down. We had to take as large a step as possible so the backward slide let us gain at least a little distance! The horizon is the dune ahead of you and it is on fire as the sun sinks behind it. The

instant the sun was gone, it was like we had stepped into a freezer. There is nothing to hold the heat and so the cooling was fast. Once the sun was gone we had to get down the dune - this was so much easier. With each step we'd slide down further - it took 1/3 the time to get down (and 1/3 the steps!). But our feet were heavy because our shoes were full of sand! To walk normally we had to empty our shoes out.

Dinner was in the large Berber tent and the toilet is down a boardwalk from the tents. We grabbed our jackets and blankets and headed to the main, low black tent where a fire and musicians played their drums (usually Bendir or Tbilat drums) and sang for us. The music was of ancient Berber origin or even Tuareg (the Blue people of the desert). This was how they passed stories and history to their children. The Bendir drum is similar to a Bongo but has a different sound and history. Many are thin two-sided, and can be drummed by both sides at once. The Tbilat usually has a pottery body with skin covering it - tied with gut cord.

After dinner, our two camel guides came to find us to take us for a Saharan Sauna. They took us off into the desert - up one dune and then across the top of it. They stopped and started digging into the sand until they were over a foot deep. My friend and I looked at each other in alarm – what were they doing? They told us to sit in the hole and we debated over the wisdom of complying but stepped in anyway. They started to cover us up and basically bury us. My friend was next to me and we both started to get nervous as our arms were buried in sand. It was pitch black and we were deep in the desert with two strange men burying us in sand! What!?! But too late! We were buried up to our necks! But before we got too worried we realized that we were toasty warm in our sand bed. The sand holds the heat - only the top layer cools at night. By being buried in the 'hot zone' the heat makes you sweat like being in a sweat lodge - without the smoke. READER ALERT: Our actions were not necessarily smart but we had made friends with our camel men - Omar and Omar - and felt safe with them. I would NEVER have done many of these evening activities if I had been travelling alone!

The 'Sahara Sauna' is used as a treatment for arthritis. It is also commonly done in Japan and there are spa treatments that do the same thing but the heat of the Sahara sand is perfect for easing

arthritis pain. Soon the heat was released into my body, I sweated it all out, and the treatment was done. The guides dug us out and we headed back towards camp along the crest of a dune. But before we got to camp, our guides stopped and told us to sit again. My friend was sitting about eight feet away in the dark. So... I sat and my guide asked if I have ever gone 'sand skiing' before. "Ah...no! What is that?" Suddenly, he grabbed my feet and started running down the dune. I yelled and screamed in shock and fear - it was pitch black and I was being pulled down a dune by my feet. Soon I was laughing and gasping for breath as we let me go and I slid to the bottom of the dune. My friend was somewhere to my right in the dark and was also screaming and laughing. Our guides laughed and tried to help us up but we couldn't catch our breath.

Finally, we stumbled back to our tent babbling about the evening and how we'd never forget this weird, yet wonderful night. What experiences. The guides must be comparing stories about the silly foreigners screaming down the dune! Before we settled in for the night we sat out on the sand once more - gazing up at the ink-black sky. ....at the twinkling stars and the Milky Way that streamed across the black. There - a falling star out of the corner of my eye. 'When you wish upon a star...." Within a few minutes, the cold sent us diving for our beds... our beds made of at least FIVE woolen blankets with four more available. I put wool socks on, several layers and then snuggled in. ** Make sure your head is under the covers too or you might freeze! And, as is normal when you camp, you will probably wake up in the early hours and need the loo. It was very hard to get out of the comfy, WARM, bed to trek to the toilet in the black zip tent.

Another fabulous day in Morocco. What's more exciting than a camel ride into the Sahara desert? Not a lot but there are so many more things to do in Morocco. Things on my bucket list - Bought a handmade Berber rug? Check! Had a Sahara Sauna? Check! Gone Sahara Sand Skiing? Check! Rode a camel? Check! Slept in the Sahara Desert? Check! Ate with a Moroccan family? Check! Entertained by a Berber Traditional band? Check! Just about froze my toes off in a desert? Check!

What more can you do in Morocco? Ooooh... there's a lot of excitement left!

Before I move on to the other places you can go in Morocco - Fez (my favourite city) or Chefchouen I wanted to show proof that my parents did travel into the desert with me. They came for a trip through Morocco and we did a big circle from Casablanca (where I lived at the time) to the Desert and then across the mountains in the east, up through Fez and other towns. We stayed in little boarding houses on the edge of the desert and took a day trip into the desert by camel. I think they needed their comfortable beds so we were back in the hotel for the evening.