Merzouga

I do not recommend the overnight camel trip from Chez Julia to Erg Chebbi. After 90 minute camel ride we arrived at the “camp” to find the caretaker dragging the bedding through the sand and dumping it into various berber tents exposed to the wind and sand. Our tent was an inch deep in sand as no attempt is made to prevent sand intrusion. I also cut my foot on a submerged beer can and the domesticated cats brought into the camp by the staff kept people up all night with their noise. Sandstorms are common and the tents are no escape from sandblasting in the middle of the night. The camp adjacent appeared to be better set up with solar power and more trees.

Also be aware that Chez Julia charge 10% tax on all accom, food and beverage as a tax that is not quoted as part of the advertised costs. I’m not sure if other hotels in Merzouga do this but we did not encounter this anywhere else in Morocco

Major flood at Merzouga recently (pictures at http://gepetto.ch/18892.html) and locals have lost homes, cars and livelihoods. There’s more news, and an appeal to help the locals at http://www.bluemenofmorocco.co.nr/

The highlight of my trip was spending one night in the desert, which in Morocco was typified by the dunes and the black rock desert that is between Morocco and Algeria.

I had arrived in town in the pitch dark the night before and I couldn’t see anything, but as the sun rose, I could see why my friend had so strongly recommended going to Merzouga, just a few hundred meters away stood a sea of huge, glowing, golden sand dunes. Merzouga was on the very edge of the desert.

There really wasn’t much to do in Merzouga itself, and the draw of the desert was overpowering, so I decided, as touristy as it sounded, to arrange a day camel trip into the desert. It was an experience I will never forget.

So it was a very quiet trip. Most of my time was spent concentrating on balancing myself and my camera gear on top of the camel as it plodded up and down the dunes. Once away from the town, all I could see in any direction was sand, beautiful, fine, red sand, which glowed brightly in the setting sun. The dunes themselves were like nothing I’d ever seen in my life, almost a hundred meters high, they came to a razor sharp peak at the top, and the difference in light from one side to the next was dramatic.

Taking photographs was challenging, since a single foostep could be seen even a hundred meters away, as it would break up the perfect surface of the dune. Even breathing on the top ridge of the dune would dull the sharpness of the ridgeline. I had to carefully plan each step to keep from “ruining” the sand.

I became very attached to my camel, who Omar named Hable Jable. Omar can be reached at:http://www.cameltrekking.com/, always enthusiastic, outgoing, and personable I was impressed with his english and knowledge… Anyway we trekked on our camels out into the dunes for about an hour and a half with the sun setting behind us. We were headed for a small oasis at the base of a giant dune, by the time we got there it was almost dark and the stars were coming out. The oasis was small, only five palm trees and tussocks of grass. We had dinner, tajine washed down with plenty of mint tea. The rest of the night was spent watching the stars before bedding down for the night on a blanket. The silence was complete that night, not even an insect buzzing. Unlike in Tunisia, we were the only people we saw that night in the desert. I woke at five just as it was getting light and climbed half way up the giant dune and sat there watching the sunrise. Again everything was perfectly still and quite. It was the most relaxing time I’ll be having on this trip. By mid morning we had saddled up and packed up camp and I rode Hable Jable back to Merzouga.

I was amazed by the glow of the desert against the torquoise of the sky as the sun dipped behind endless dunes. We slept out under the stars to the braying of donkeys and with kangaroo like mice stealing our biscuits. Perfect.

Amazing. One of the best natural wonders in the world. Left me breathless.