Les Portes du Desert Merzouga

... fields with goats and sheep, and herders tending their flocks. There aren't any fences to keep the animals off the road so the herders and sheep dogs have their work cut out for them. We saw a lot of the animals perilously close to the highway. Several times we had to stop for donkeys and sheep in the roads. We saw a rainbow, and then . . . we passed by several fields of blooming sunflowers! What an awesome sight. <br ...

... castle it had views of.  Unfortunately we had to get back on the road after our breakfast, otherwise we would have liked to explore this area more.  We were off to Marrakech.  The road ahead passes over yet another mountain pass, but thankfully this one was open.  It was kinda like the pass over the Beartooth mountains in Montana, lots of hairpin turns and snow covered peaks to look at.  It was amazing such a road exists in Morocco, it seems like such an engineering feat.  

... got worse. Not a problem in normal circumstances but in the desert, the toilet is a blue canvas cubicle that you move around in the sand and then dig a hole for the toilet. Stomach churning, I left the cosy comfort of my sleeping bag and crept through the tent, trying not to wake anyone and lifted the entrance flap, looking for the spade. It was propped up against the tent so I grabbed it and looked for the cubicle. Couldn't see it at first, and began to panic. I ...

... a fantastic rug made by the Beni M'Guild tribe, a Berber tribe that inhabits the central Middle Atlas region. It's beautiful, and we were VERY lucky to have Kim do all of the wheeling and dealing for us in Arabic. The process of rug buying is a tradition in and of itself. You inquire about rugs, they show you some, and you either leave or continue looking. If you seem interested the rug seller will come out ...

We were keen to head out into the wilds of Morocco, and after exploring the options to do this independently we plumped for a tour. Still stinging from our last package tour experience in the highly laminated and rebuilt city of Xi'an (China) there was a little bit of trepidation about this experiment. But there was not a great deal of choice. This absence of choice was evident in the magnificently disinterested salespeople reluctantly forcig themselves to show ...

... all we want is to get on the road again. We were almost to Merzouga when we reached Rissani, another small town on our path. The people there are so upset that everyone passes through the town and does not stop, that they took all the street signs down. Consequently, the road dumps you in the middle of a town full of hungry young boys pretending to be guides. Once they help you, they ask for a lot of money in return. We were wise to ...

... sweet berber whiskey star gazing sweltering heat sensational sunset and sunrise sureal views sand dunes as far as the eye can see and snoring camels i enjoyed sleeping out under the stars, such a simple thing but so amazing and the sky was so clear that millions of stars were able to be seen. although missing the southern cross all in all i am very glad we made it to the desert that is for sure!!

... morning, opened the shutters to our windows and the view took our breath away...creamy, caramel colored, rolling sand dunes interrupted only by the occasional palm tree...quintessential desert right there outside our window...we could not believe it. We slept in of course, the beds were the best I have had since...Argentina maybe??? Then lazily made our way into our very own little dining area and had breakfast before heading out in the Range Rover with our ...

... and I felt too ill to walk to the berber camp for lunch. Kath, Kate and the guide left us to moan and feel sorry for ourselves and went to lunch for a few hours. Laying in the back of the FWD turned out to be not so bad though.. A couple of Berber shepherds came down from a nearby hill with their sheep and goats and tried talking to us .. in berber or french.. either way we didnt speak their language. The two berbers hung around for a bit and eventually i realised ...

... it appeared. The colours that appear at that time of day are fascinating as the sun shines through the cloud. Depending on conditions, the colour can change from almost black to clay type red in seconds. After downing a quickly prepared, high-octane cafe au lait, we decided to walk up the 615-foot dune. 615 feet up a hill of sand is kind of difficult. It took almost an hour, but the view from the summit was remarkable. That afternoon, Ellen and I mounted our camels ...