In the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi

The Artisanal shop
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27 December 2006. We got up at around 08:30. The breakfast was not as elaborate as in the previous hotel but still very good. Crepes, butter, jam, honey, tea/coffee, bread, orange juice. Then, we left on a small trek with our car towards a nearby lake with the hope to find some birds. Instead, we found a nice landscape and a few hasslers. We drove off and we stopped at a very deserted place where we saw some pumpkin-like plants. We scanned for fossils and walked around hassle free. Very nice! Then, we drove to the Artisanal of the area where we bought a carpet and a candle holder (260 EUR).

Barbara and sunset in Erg Chebbi
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Then, back to the hotel where the first diarrhoea incident stroke us. At about 16:00 we departed on dromedary camels towards the sand dunes (Erg Chebbi). We arrived to the camp after 1h15' (about 3 km from the hotel). Apart from me and Barbara, there were two Dutch, four Kiwis, three U.S.Americans, and three Berbers. We had a nice time and the Berbers tried to entertain us with mint tea and music while gaining some time for the dinner to be cooked. It was a good laugh. The soup was so-so. The tagine was delicious.

In Erg Chebbi and our route from Merzouga to Skoura through Todra and Dades Gorge.

"No woman no cry" in Berber style
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After dinner, people went to bed. Me and Barbara went for a walk in the darkness. Thanks to the GPS and the torch we were not afraid of getting lost. Everything was magical. Trillions of stars in the sky. But romantism was still far. Diarrhoea hit us both so most time was spent on digging holes in the sand. This didn't take the smile off our face though. The stillness/quietness of the desert is the best thing I ever heard. When we went back to bed, somebody from the nearby bed was snoring. What a night!

Amazing sand colours and shadows during sunrise
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28 December 2006.

I got up at 06:20 to watch the sunrise. Again, everything was sot still, so quiet, so nice! The sunrise was full of colours and the sand dunes were changing colours according to the angle and strength of light. Barbara got up a bit later. We walked towards the top of the nearby taller sand dune. I made it to the top but Barbara preferred to stay back and take some pictures instead.

At about 8:30 we departed towards the Kasbah. After breakfast and bill (50 MAD), we left at about 11:00. This time we saw the route from Merzouga to Erfoud by daylight and witnessed the way landscape changes (different forms of desert). Plenty of palm groves and Kasbahs too. From Erfoud we headed towards Jorf and Tinejdad. On the way we saw some small hills of sand which we think were the Rhettaras (traditional underground tunnels dug to reach the aquifer table carrying water to the surface some distance down the slope). Our first stop was Todra Gorge, where we paid 5 MAD for entrance, hassled by children for 1 MAD and took some pictures of this over-touristy place.

My camel happy that I'm not on it
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Then, we put petrol in Tinerhir and left towards Dades Gorge. This was indeed fantastic! Dangerous drive (frequent small landslides) but very nice scenery. We saw some strange rock formations, and a Gorge that had no reason to be jealous of Todra. The evening sun gave a more dramatic tone to the rock lines.

Then, we had a snack in Boumalne. After ignoring the hasslers, we went to a local shop where we had mint tea (5 MAD), 1.5 lt water (5 MAD) and bread (2 MAD). In the darkness, we drove towards our destination for the night, Skoura. We met a car accident just outside Skoura. Actually, we were wondering how come and we haven't seen any car accident yet. The Moroccan driving behaviour justifies our wonder.