SAHARA

Swapping the chilling cold for the blistering hot we made our way, with a tour group, to the Sahara desert. It took 2 days to drive there in an agonising mini bus trip. But every second of pain was worth the amazingness that followed. We arrived in Merzougha on the edge of the desert at about 6pm. We mounted our camels and were off roaming the smooth curving dunes of the Sahara. Elise was ecstatic to ride a camel for the first time even though we had been warned that it hurts your inner thighs. We decided to ride side saddle and delightfully floated through the sand bumpily jumping up and down with each step of the camel.

An hour and a half later we arrived at our camp for the night. It was a circle of tents set underneath the biggest sand dune of the whole desert. The sun was starting to set and we all eagerly ran up the side of the dune, underestimating how hard it would actually be. After about 20 m we all stopped and sat in the sand exhausted, calves throbbing with pain. Half an hour later we were sitting at the tops looking over the masses of sand dunes, watching the amazing pinks and purples settle in the sky as the sun dropped behind the distant mountains. We could see Algeria from where we were sitting and we sat an appreciated the beauty of the natural wonders that the world has to offer.

Our Berber (native Moroccan mountain people) hosts treated us to some traditional food followed by some music and singing on the drums. We slept outside the tent under the stars and gazed up cuddling as we drifted off to sleep. At around 5am we were woken by large drops of rain. Only a few drops at first but then it started to get harder and we had to resume our place in the tent. Rain in the desert, snow in Africa, I was mystified at every step by how diverse and unpredictable Morocco was. Just an hour later we woke again and set off back to civilisation on another amazing camel ride.