Morocco — The Land of Mint and Medinas — Day 03

After the feztivities at Fez, up ahead was a day-long drive. City roads gave way to winding passages in the Atlas Mountains. Beautiful arabic music, great scenery and interesting conversations with fellow travelers.

At one point, this played on the van stereo:

Yup, that’s the Hindi song “Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai” instrumental version. I excitedly told everyone, but don’t think anyone cared ;). I had read that Moroccans like Hindi films and music. Earlier at Casablanca, I met an Amitabh Bacchhan fan, who sang a few lines. That was cool!

On the way, we passed through the Apple city and an Army HQ which meant we were pretty close to the Algerian border. Green fields with almond trees slowly gave way to dark brown, dry soil. And it was hot. Not that we were in need for one but up ahead was a huge oasis and a spot with a panoramic view.

Here we had a great experience bargaining for a fossil. A 500 million year old trilobite. It looked intriguing. And the guy demanded 150 Dirhams. We ended up getting two for 50 ;)

After a satisfying bargain, we headed to have lunch at an oasis restaurant. Berber omelet is a popular dish here. And it was delicious.

We were closing in on the Sahara desert which covers about 50%of Morocco. At one point, we took a left turn on the highway into what looked like an unlimited expanse of arid land. A lonesome tree was about the only vegetation in sight.

And then after a few mins, we spotted what looked like — Sand dunes! Bright orange, as the late afternoon sun beat down on them, and wavy like the ocean water, they were a brilliant sight. We were all in awe.

They grew bigger as we closed in, as tall as mountains of sand.

We approached a hotel called Auberge where our camel ride was waiting. It had gotten a little chilly too as the sun started to go down. We hustled to get our bags stowed away, carried a backpack for the night, and headed to where the camels were.

They were seated in two lines and looked uninterested in carrying us on their backs. The camel riders explained to us how to move forward and backwards as the camel would get up. I was the first one. And did it like a pro ;)

The camels had to be coaxed a bit like little kids into action. Soon after everyone got on their camels, off we went into the wilderness of the desert. The setting sun created the most terrific orange hue in the sky. It distracted us from a rather bumpy ride en-route the desert camp. The sun was setting fast and it made for a great view.

After about an hour of butt aching but visually stunning ride, we got to our overnight camp. We were welcomed by two traditionally dressed men — both were called Saeed ;).

Right behind our campsite was a huge sand dune. A few of us decided to climb up. It looked easy but we were huffing and puffing in a few minutes. After an arduous climb of about 30 minutes, we finally scaled the peak, and it was well worth it. I felt like I was on top of ‘The Wall’ (Game of Thrones) with a strong breeze blowing. By this time it was pitch dark, so we headed back down to the camp. Preparations were in full swing for dinner and campfire.

Saeed-I started off by asking us where we came from, and mocked all our accents. He was good! He kept us all in splits with his clownery. The multi-talented guy that he was, he started playing the Moroccan drums and both the Saeeds sang a few songs. I joined them for a couple of Hindi songs. He had never been to school, yet spoke several languages. Saeed challenged us with multiple riddles. Great fun.

He picked up a DSLR camera and taught folks how to take pictures of the stars. Oh yes, it was a clear sky and we could see Jupiter and most constellations. What an amazing sight! It had become quite chilly by now. A bunch of us continued to chat away into the night. Truly memorable.

Next morning, we headed back on the camels and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise. It was so calming to just sit (albeit on a camel) and watch the sun come up over the desert sand.

We had a good breakfast at the hotel, said our goodbyes to both Saeeds, and set out to The Game of Thrones ;). Yes, next up was Ait Ben Haddou.