Les Portes du Desert Merzouga

... from lack of practice; and that he's been taking people on trips to the Sahara for the last few years. He was a little shy at first, but came out of his shell as the weekend went on.






It was a nice drive even though the weather was overcast and misty - the first time without sunshine since I've been here. After we got out of Rabat, the terrain shifted to farm country. Miles and miles ...

... 10PM and again were greeted by friendly staff and a great chicken tajine.  The placed we stayed was called Kasbah Itran, and we really recommend it.  It was a bit cold during this time of year, each room had a little wood burning fireplace and lots of heavy Berber blankets.  The place was like a mini-fortress with neat little stairs and terraces to look out at the view.  The next morning we were amazed at the cliff it was hanging over, and the views of the river valley and ...

... so glittery. Mind you, was cold too and we finally snuggled down into our cosy sleeping bags for the night. I was woken from a great sleep two hours later by my urge to use the toilet. I became aware of how foolish I had been to eat again so quickly after an upset stomach. I should have stuck to water for 24 hours to give my stomach chance to settle down. Too late now though. I desperately tried to get back to sleep, hoping it would settle down but the need to go to ...

... 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 ...

... head wrap. Claude fashioned an excellent replacement from a shirt which I had even had the presence of mind to shove in with my dirty socks, making it tremendous as head protection and a filter for breathing. But it kept the sand out, and I was at peace with the world. And if I felt a little goofy for the fact my headdress had sleeves, at least I felt less goofy than those out more than 10 euro for that one time only piece of apparel. Ambitiously, the pure ...

... that the short massage I received seemed like FOREVER! Since the girls were not saying much, I continued on about how cold and tired I was. Once he had thoroughly massaged ever inch of my upper body, Hassan moved on to his next victim, Lindsay. Except Lindsay was extra lucky, he was trying to put his fingers in her mouth and hold her hand. As I laid there completely crept out, I realized that this guy had no right to make us feel ...

... the afternoon we had to set off suddenly as the storm in the mountains during the night had caused flooding and we were almost cut off by the water flowing down. it was very strange to see the dunes turn into a river bed, and we soon learned from grumpy;s reaction that camels do not like flowing water. we made it to the oasis and went to bed after a tagine. other trekkers soon arrived. we all slept in berber tents. ours was the only one with waterproofing ...

... between 2WD and 4WD is often confusing..... The hotel is an old style Kasbah, but only 4 years old. It is a veritable oasis in the desert. Amazing Moroccan salon-style rooms are beautifully decorated with a local touch. Even though it is mudbrick, it is 4 star mudbrick if that makes sense. I am spending more than I would as a 'traveller' because I am hanging round with those on 'holiday', but it is a fair compromise and still exceptionally good value because it includes food ...

... as far as my ass could handle. I was a level of ass abuse I had truly hoped never to experience......again. On arrival at the oasis we dismounted and hobbled off like drunken John Waynes. Since it wasn't quite dark yet we set off to climb the gigantic sand dune overlooking the oasis to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, though, about halfway up I got some sand in my shoe and we had to stop. Meanwhile, Hassan was setting up a table and lounging area outside ...

... a real possibility. The sun was beginning to set upon our arrival in Merzouga. We found a great place right in front of the highest sand dune in the area. From Auberge L'Oasis you have a breathtaking view of the dune. We chose, for $3.00 p.p. to sleep on the roof top terrace. Mats, pillows and blankets provided, our ceiling, the desert sky. We were awakened by the light of day at 5:30 a.m. Fortunately, the sun had not risen over our dune. It wasn't until 5:45 a.m ...