A journey through Morocco
To put this into context, the trip to Morocco was as random and spontaneous as any other. We both wanted to visit the country, but the choice to go was sudden as my trip to Egypt was just completed. But George gave me a call a week literally before the trip, asking me to join, something that he didn't have to do a lot of convincing to get me on board. We both also had a prime opportunity, as we could work remotely and follow our courses online (we wanted to call ourselves digital nomads, but we weren't there yet!).
We were mostly staying in Marrakesh but we decided to go through inland Morocco all the way to Merzouga, near the frontier with Algeria, being drawn to the large dunes of the Sahara.
The trip there would take at least two days, but it would serve as as a chance to see rural Morocco for what it truly is, away from the large touristy centers. So it was settled, a couple of locals would drive us all the way through the Atlas mountains on a two-day-trip itinerary. The last stop was the town of Merzouga, where a camel owner would take us into the desert to a camp where we would spend the night. This was all nicely organized and it is a common tourist track. Planning it was relatively easy and the deal was settled within hours. We consulted the itinerary with some locals in Marrakesh and they gave us some tips to avoid scams or other kinds of unforeseen situations. Once we knew for sure the deal was on, we got ready and made the last preparations the evening before (which meant withdrawing a lot of cash during the night to pay for the trip - which is always scary).
The next morning we woke up early and met a smiley man in his forties and his wife. We introduced ourselves, made some paperwork dealing with licenses and authorizations and by eight in the morning we were already leaving Marrakech. The road out of Marrakech was quite busy, with a lot of people coming from different villages nearby to start their work shift in the city. Soon we were in the rural areas, with the beginning of the Atlas mountains ahead of us. The terrain started to shift from plainland to small hills and valleys where people would not be seen at all. In order to arrive at Merzouga we needed to pass through the Atlas mountain range.
A valley in the Atlas Mountains.
More and more vegetation appeared around us and roads sided precipices. It was such beautiful scenery. At some point we passed through a village in the heart of the mountains. The village was built in the ladder of the mountain and the villagers were casually all doing their business. These people lived somehow isolated from the world, in an age than felt closer to the 20th century.
The mountains were beautiful. Greens, browns and whites covered the rugged peaks producing such a picturesque impression. But soon after reaching the Tizi n'Tichka peak we started our descent. Not long after the mountains were behind us and we were driving in between hills which, as we drove through, the vegetation started to vanish. At some point everything was rocky and sandy. At this point the remote villages were nowhere to be seen. This meant that we were getting closer and closer to the arid desert. We were entering the door of the Sahara.
Vegetation, snow and rock in the Atlas Mountains.
After a while we stopped in Ait Ben Haddou, a town famous for the production of famous movies and series such as Gladiator and Game of Thrones among others. This clay village is a Unesco World Heritage site and it serves as a stop village along the caravan between the Sahara and Marrakech. We took a tour there where the guide showed us a bit of the fortified village. The guide seemed a bit reluctant and he lacked energy and spirit, most likely due to the lack of tourists during the pandemic and the difficulties that this brings with it.
In any case, we got to walk in between the clay houses of this city. It is important to know that some of the buildings here are fake (being built as movie props) and they are a mere recreation of traditional Moroccan clay architecture.
After having lunch in a quite fancy place in the village we hopped back on the car and headed east. We entered the big plains of the eastern Morocco, also known as the middle of literal nowhere. Once in a while the road crossed small villages. The villagers would look at the car as if we were aliens. Some of them would wave as we passed by. It was clear for them that we were tourists and judging by the look on their faces, they haven't seen some for quite some time.
After some hours we started to find ourselves in the middle of valleys eroded by small rivers over the course of the years. This was the Dades Gorges area and it was characterized by staggering red rocky walls and depressions. This place in particular was a village called Tamellalt next to Ait Ben Ali. There we spent the night in a hostel partially carved in the rock of the mountain. Being the only guests there, we had the advantage of having some sort of special treatment.
Sunrise behind the Dades Gorges in the hostel.
The next morning, after a nice breakfast, we departed at nine, relatively late. We made a couple of stops in villages and viewing points in some landmarks. It is important to highlight the big Les Gorges du Todra in Ait Baha. We stopped there for a couple of hours. We decided to go for a hike in between the several-hundred meter high walls. These cliffs were impressive and we thoroughly explored this area. At some point we found local shepherds, who were truly insisting on us giving them some money (don't even think about taking pictures of them without paying - you have been warned!). We decided to intrude more in the mountain following a pathway in between the rubble and rocks. At some point we found a man and a woman exchanging something next to the pathway. We waited and watched them perform their trade. We just witnessed an ancient feat proper of Berbers: trade. I got close to the man and asked him to take a picture. He spoke in a language that I could not understand but his smile meant yes. After that the herdsman took off and vanished following the track ahead of us. These people, like the ones living in the villages in the Atlas mountains, were isolated from the problems of the world. True Berber people live completely different lives from the people from the cities back home in Europe. They were the first ones crossing the big desserts and dominated trade like any other. These nomads know the hows and whens of dealing with the hard climate and the lack of resources in Africa.
Berber nomad following a mountain trail in Dades, Morocco.
At some point we decided to return and go back to the car, where the Moroccan couple was waiting for us. Again on the road, once the mountains were left behind once and for all, plain dusty scenery gobbled us down. After a long wait driving endless hours through these plains, a massive dune appeared on the horizon. Little by little more and more dunes showed up. That was the Sahara. These sand mountains were tens of meters in height and were so satisfying to watch. The driver put on some traditional Berber music to lighten up the mood. It was awesome.
Soon after we arrived at a barn where two camels were waiting for us. The driver and his wife left us there. Around 20 minutes later we were sitting at the top of a camel heading inwards through the desert between the dunes.
The camels wait patiently (or is George waiting for the camels?)
We started our 1.5 hour-long camel trip before sunset. We were led by a Berber at the vanguard of the caravan. He led the camel caravan by foot. At sunset we stopped and watched the sunset next to the camels. The view was amazing. The beautiful untouched surface of the sand shaped static waves that resembled a rugged bed sheet. In between them the sun already set behind a layer of haze of dust over the desert. There was silence too, the most important companion of gorgeous landscapes like this one. After enjoying the view we headed towards the campsite riding our docile camels through the sand.
Dunes at sunset
The campsite was very touristic. Hard fabric tents with toilets, warm water and showers awaited us. It resembled a luxurious hotel in the sand rather than an actual campsite. But we took that as an opportunity to rest from the backpacker-friendly riads back in Marrakech. After leaving our belongings in the tent we had dinner. The dinner consisted of a typical Berber dish: Chicken with vegetables accompanied by rice and a strongly sugared tea. After dinner the night had already clocked in so we decided to put our boots back on and go for a hike through the pitch black desert, guided solely by moonlight.
Standing in the desert at night.
After my eyes adapted to the gloom a strange phenomena occurred; the desert was so dark and the moon was so bright that it would cast shadows on the terrain. I could see the shape of my body in the ground thanks to the shadow produced by the moonlight. On the other hand, this was not enough to spot the open wells or cliffs in the desert so a flashlight came in handy. We walked towards nowhere for 45 minutes and at some point we followed the crest of a dune (a really high one by the way, rolling down would have not been fun) to finally sit down and enjoy the shapes of the dunes under the moonlight. Being there in the Sahara Desert at night, on top of a dune, is an experience that I will never forget.
