Kasbah Hotel Chergui Erfoud

... I so long lusted after. But I'm afraid pics will have to wait. Perhaps on Tuesday when I'm back in Marrakech. Sorry. Lo siento, je juis desolet. ;(

So suffice you'll have to put up w/ but just my blather on how absolutely PERFECT my dream of riding a camel in the Sahara turned out to be.

As always it seems - with much serendipity involved.

It all began w/ that 11 hour bus ride into the night. The bus very modern, a/c ...

... Mike hopped off his camel and let Abdul ride it and walked about half the way. The camp was a great setup - about 4 individual tents with thick blankets over timber frames on the walls and roof, all connected with an open area in the centre. We chose tents - the 3 single guys in one, ladies in another and Mike & I in another. Each tent looked like it could sleep about 6 people, but it was nice to have such a small group and have the place to ourselves ...

... Dancing to live drum jamming with the crew, and singing an impromptu rendition of "Buffalo Soldier" with our gracious hosts. Sleeping under the stars, many of them shooting (make a wish!) watching the moon set, and the sun rise. Grumpy camels, braying donkeys. Not to mention the many, many laughs, and lack of dull moments.

... the sunset over the dunes. It was sooo beautiful! the sands become this deep red color and change with the depleating sunlight. It wasn't as hot as I'd imagine, though the sun was low in the sky by this point. the sand was hot still, but the temperature was tolerable, and masked by all of us being in awe of the experience we were having. The dunes were massive, and you just cant help but wonder where the heck all of this sand came from, and whats ...

... nothing. Just heat. By the afternoon of day two, we had finally made it to Merzouga and the mouth of the Sahara. Our campsite (yep, you read correctly - even Iain camped voluntarily - I think the heat is affecting him) was only accessible via a one hour camel ride. Unfortunately we had also arrived just in time to greet a ferocious sandstorm. You think sand is frustrating when it gets caught inside your cozzie? That's nothing! Sand is much more painful when it ...

... down to Morocco for a few days of sniffing about, prepping for the Paris Dakar next year. Lovely guys, but we can't help thinking about the expression "Only mad dogs and Englishmen in the heat of the noonday sun". Its 32 degrees. Probably told the wives they're just popping out down to the shops for a loaf of bread, and might be able to scramble back in time before either of them notice. The riding is good and we are chewing up the kilometres. The route ...

... the boys were there to pull me across. At end of the walk Megan fell in, and I came very very close, needed two boys to catch me!! Walked through several villages, bit of a power walking tour, local guide was half mountain goat, and the rest were nearly running to keep up. We kept our own pace and made sure we stopped to take pictures. I would have liked to spend more time in the villages, all mud brick with no electricity for the most part - local kids ...

... ve seen the famous 'Ait Benhaddou' Kasbah where many parts of the movie were filmed. When we finally reached the desert region of the country that borders Algeria, it was time to hop on a camel, an experience both of us had been looking forward to. Our impression of riding a camel was that there would be 2 humps that you sit in-between, but as it turned out, the types of camels we rode only had one hump and we were sitting ON the ...

... we headed to our friend's cousin's shop who he came to visit. The shop was very nice, lots of fossils and lovely carpets. My coworker and I were dressed up by our friends, she as a traditional Berber woman and me as a traditional Arab. It was lots of fun, we had tea and couscous, the couscous was amazing! After that we looked at the rugs and the other stuff in his store. After relaxing we headed out of town to the dessert. The drive again was great ...

... lowered my offer on a slightly smaller rug, and they accepted eventually. The owner told his staff to sell it to me at that price because he personally had established that I didn't have much money because I was travelling long term. I suddenly had bought myself a Berber Rug in Morocco. I wanted one as my major 'souvenir' from the trip. I considered it in Egypt, but in the end I am happier to have bought it here. For years to come I would not have wanted to say 'yeah its lovely ...