Thurs., Jan. 31, 2018 - Sahara Camp

Sahara Camp
Morocco

The sheep get a birds eye view...to market.

We made our way to the gateway of the Sahara by bus and then had a crazy 2.5 hr ride by 4x4 to the camp.  The first hour was a bumpy crawl over large jagged rocks followed by speedy flight over a dried lake bed.  We were in four cars racing over the sand side-by-side.

An extra bumpy ride, ruts marked by small rock piles.  

Stunning background while the drivers raced each other no matter what the terrain.

No roads, just speed.

Every so often an auberge and restaurant interrupted the sweep of the horizon.  No one seemed to be there but I guess it was a comfort to know some shelter was available to the wandering traveller.  Can't imagine who would be out wandering.

Lots of camels feeding on paltry greenery.  One baby we jetted by was just struggling to it's newborn feet!

The beginning of the dunes.  These were much higher than the ones we saw in Tunisia.  The highest in the vicinity was 200 m. 

We arrived at the camp just before sunset, ran as much as we could and then climbed, panting, to the top of a 150 m sand dune.  Crossing sand dunes takes a good deal of energy.  First, the ascent:  Sahara sand is very fine and round.  Not only is the slope steep, the sand piles up around the ankles so you are pulling your feet through the sand while your feet slide back down the slope in the collapsing dune.  For every two steps up, you descend one.  Then the descent:  This time the dune collapses in the same direction you are going so you descend quickly.  However, the collapsing sand makes running in shin-high moving sand down the sleep slope very unsteady.

We arrived just in time for sunset.  It was a relief to be released from the bumping, grinding truck and run across the dunes - at least the flatter firmer parts.

An exhausting climb up 150 m.  Kind of like walking on a steep beach. The sand was firmer on the ridge of the dune. The small strip of greenery in the background was a lake that had seen a flash flood a month before.  It is now dry but the seeds that had blown there had sprouted.  The nomads brought their camels for some delectable tender eating.

After sweating to the top, I can't imagine walking across the desert for days.  It is no easy feat to get to the top and then, time after time, to see only more and more dunes, one can understand madness.

A comfy seat at the top.  Made it in time to watch the sun set in the haze.

The sunset was indeed beautiful.  Dunes to the horizon.

Dinner in the dining tent and then drumming around the campfire.  The camp was a cooking tent, a dining tent and a series of sleeping tents with four cots.  Each tent was lined with Berber carpets - walls, ceilings and floor and the beds were covered in brightly coloured blankets making the whole warm and cozy.

As the sun crept up, the sand turned from a grey to an orange glow.  Stunning!

Another frigid night under several blankets and sleeping bag to wake in the morning at 6:30 a.m., ascend the dune once again to contemplate the vast emptiness of the sand waves as the sun rose.  Truly an awe-inspiring view.

The horizon was too hazing to see the sunrise.  Still glorious.  The tents down there are the dining tent and kitchen of our camp.  There were a few camps spotted about but being separated by a few dunes might as well be many miles away.  We felt solitary in an ocean of sand.