20 months late but better than never! My friend from home flew to Spain to visit and then we decided to take a weekend in Morocco. This was my first time to the continent of Africa and probably her 5th, and we were ready for a true desert excursion.
We booked through word of mouth as we had friends who took a similar trip over MBA Christmas break, though we had to make extreme itinerary cuts. We spent a LOT of time in the car with Amar. He was pretty nice to talk to and it was interesting having to speak several different languages to try to get a point across to one another!
The trip took us through the south of Morocco, through the Atlas mountains, the Sahara desert, and within a few miles of the Algerian border.
Day 1: Marrakech – Ait Benhaddou – Ouarzazate
Long. Drive. But– we did get to make and buy our own Moroccan oil products! My hair had never been so shiny. Ait Benhaddou over the Atlas mountains was really interesting because of all the random movies filmed there. Gladiator anyone? The town perched on a hill had buildings made with a dry mud which gave it all the character in the world. The worst part of this tour was the random Spanish couple who couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. We’re in the middle of a desert and I wouldn’t call the muddy smells romantic, but to each his or her own. Later on we went to Ouarzazate for the night in a brand new hotel and had the funniest time trying to get the toilet to work. Water wasn’t working, but thankfully years growing up in Florida hurricane prep and home renovations— you might as well call me Shaye the plumber. My friend literally couldn’t believe I could fix a toilet!
At dinner there were about 15 cats at our ankles begging for food, and it would have been cute if not for simultaneously being annoying. We’re both so allergic to cats it ruined the meal. We did learn what a tagine is and got really excited to say the word “tagine” the rest of the trip!
FYI the cats were not a one time thing. SO MANY KITTIES.
Day 2
Ouarzazate- Boumalne Du Dades – Todra Gorges – Merzouga
Onward to the desert! We went to this gorge and valley and saw more of the Mars-like landscape. This was also the day we got to see a rose water factory, which smelled more intoxicating than I would’ve liked. Not a ton to talk about because the climax of the day was getting to Merzouga, aka the gateway to the Sahara!
After dropping our stuff off at a hotel, we easily had the coolest experience of the trip! We got to take dune buggies out and have adult Mario Kart play time! One of my best friends flipped her dune buggy in December so we were driving a bit like cautious grandmas at first, but we got the hang of it!
Next we took an hour long camel ride through the Sahara to make it to camp by sunset. It was deafening how quiet it was out there, and how blue the sky looked against the orange sand. We had some fun bongo time near the bonfire and another tagine dinner, and suddenly the stars were out and the night grew cold. Desert cold a night is no joke.
We set about a billion alarms for 4:00am to wait for the Saharan sunrise…
http://www.hotelmohayut.com/activities.html
Day 3: Merzouga – Marrakech
In the morning I had an asthma attack getting to the top of the dunes for sunrise while Jos sprinted up the sand like Legolas from LOTR on snow or some little weightless fairy. Getting out of breath was worth it, as the sunrise looked majestic over the landscape. My favorite part was barreling down the dunes afterwards and getting back to the camels we named Puppet and Squishy. Ride or die, homeboys.
Next came the worst part of the journey– the 8-10 hour ride back to Marrakech. Omg. so. long. Also those Atlas mountain roads are so windy that even I got car sick. We were lucky to make it to a market, grab some Moroccan Doritos and beer, and get to the rooftop of our picturesque hotel in time to crack open the beers (ironically) during the call to prayer. It was my first call to prayer and it was a beautiful experience, regardless of my own views!
Day 4: Morning in Marrakech, fly back to Spain
On our last morning, we walked to a park and checked out the outside of a mosque. We later on perused the famous colors, sights, and sounds of the market. We took a pretty big step and decided it was too damn hot to wear long sleeves. Both of us walked around in leggings and tank tops. We got a lot of awkward attention, but the cat calls were more bearable than the heat. Definitely go to Morocco in the earlier Springtime.
I’m very excited to go back to Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa at that, next week! Til then, folks!
There Shaye Goes 