The Sahara – Where you are 8 years old again

Like most people, once I found out I would be in Morocco for an extended period of time, I knew a trip to the Sahara was going to have to be in the cards. The photos I had seen of sunrise and sunset were magical. My time in the Sahara was indeed magical, but for so many different reasons.

I had been planning to spend Christmas week with my parents, but due to unfortunately circumstances (JetBlue having ridiculous mechanical issues and not being able to read a flight schedule), they did not make it to Morocco. We were all devastated, but as Laura reminded me, for all the traveling we have done, we’ve been very fortunate. Thus, began my Christmas week mantra of “when life gives you lemons, you made lemonade.”

Luckily, I was able to join the We Roam group on their desert excursion. Thirty-six hours later, I was on the 15-hour overnight bus with 16 of my fellow roamers. Several trivia games, a few episodes of House of Cards and a small nap later, I awoke to the sunrise over giant rock formations on the end of the Sahara. The bus wove through the mountains, allowing us incredible views as these rocks were kissed with the first rays of daylight. Part of me wished that we had done the drive during the day in order to see the country, but for 15 hours -it’s necessary to sleep through a majority of it.

Once we got to the Zagora, we had a delicious meal of tajine (stewed veggies and meat cooked in a conical dish) with French fries before piling into 4×4 for the last leg of the journey. It turns out that most people stay in Zagora and take part in a day trip out to the dunes, but they don’t get to sleep under the stars or experience dancing around a camp fire. The camp we were going to for the next two days would provide us with a much more unique experience and exposure to Moroccan culture.

The 4×4 drive out to the camp set the mood for what to come. It was awesome! I felt like we all slipped into a time machine and acted like we were on our first roller coaster. “Faster, faster, faster.” Followed by shrills of delight. The ride was crazy. Up and down dunes. Skidding across sand. How the driver knew where to turn is beyond my comprehension and imagination, which added to the excitement. About 45 minutes in, we noticed a movement to the right – a herd of camels was in the distance. As we watched them go by, we counted 40-50 camels moving through the desert with a few people on horses or motorbikes making sure they stayed together as a herd. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was one of those “Am I really seeing this?” moments. Seeing this, as a part of normal day life, was unforgettable and started to make this trip a once in a lifetime experience, especially as we saw one camel start to runaway from the others, but one of the herders was quickly brought him back to the pack.

Once we got to the Berber camp, people went crazy with excitement and everyone found their inner child. Several of the guys grabbed snowboards and started hiking up to the tallest dune around to try their luck at sandboarding. Others kicked off their shoes and started dancing in the sand while a few brave souls thought sand angels were a solid idea. It incredible to watch this. Living in Rabat for four weeks had been challenging for many people due to limited freedom and lack of western conveniences. You could see the stress dissolve with each step into the dunes. Across the landscapes, you only heard laughter.

The next day, most of us went for a three hour walk/camel ride through the desert. While we alternated riding four very lively camels, it was incredible to watch how this group operated together. While most of the group had been traveling together for months, I was new to the group and this was my first opportunity to spend more than a meal with most of them. I loved how respectful everyone was of your space. If you wanted a group to talk with, that was always an option, but if you felt like walking through the sand by yourself or wandering off to capture the oasis, you could do that. I’ve been in so many groups where others assume if you’re walking alone something is wrong or needs to be fixed. Not the case. Sometimes you just want to take in your new environment by yourself. The We Roam group understood and supported this. It was amazing to see all the different evolutions of this through the walk. Just as our landscaped changed from soft sand to dunes to rock to grass within a kilometer, the way people were experiencing the desert evolved as well.

Our morning walk with the camels was incredible. It was interesting to feel how the camel would lurch down the dunes and how they fall into place one behind the other. A few people were still waiting for their opportunity to ride these creatures so we went back out in the afternoon. Only one Berber guide went with us for the 3 camels. On our way out, we saw that one was tied down as he had bit one of his friends. We learned it was mating season so they were acting a bit more aggressive. This should have been a warning.

The way out was fine then came time to switch riders on the camel. One fact we all learned is that when a camel stands up, you better hold on and be prepared. To prevent people from falling off when the camel stands, the guide stayed next to the rider to provide support if needed. This meant yours truly had to hold the reins. I didn’t think much of it as we’d all taken turns walking the camels. They walk when you walk and stop when you do. But, did I mention they were acting feisty? As the camel I was holding stood up, he decided that either my wrist looked really tasty or that we were no longer friends. Whatever the reason, the camel bit. I screamed and looked down to see my jacket covered in spit. SO much spit. Still makes me shutter.

This could get into a crazy tale, and it was pretty insane, but let’s see how brief I can keep this. Once we realized that I was bleeding, the local guide ripped off a section of his turban to bandage my hand as we booked it over sand dunes to get back to camp. Once we roused the sleeping camp owners, we quickly learned that there was no medical kit as they asked “Vodka or rum?” Not to drink, but to clean my hand. I stared at them in shocked then quickly said “Vodka of course.” Sitting on the sand for an half hour while vodka was poured and pressed into my wrist, I had nothing to do but look over the desert and think “What in the world just happened? This is not how Christmas is supposed to go?” Vodka shots followed soon after – pain killers.

Around this time, as the chefs were preparing Christmas Eve dinner, the camp’s generator went out. It wasn’t their first rodeo and they quickly adapted. One trick was to bake bread by burying it in the sand, after it has been warmed. While we waited for dinner, the We Roam group gathered around the fire, listened to my tale of the afternoon and were given more vodka to stay warm. While I never got the Christmas singalong around the fire that I was hoping for, there was so much more. The spirits of everyone continued to come to life. Far away from life in Rabat, people continued to bond and laughter could be heard from any corner of the camp.

That night, the sky was alive. I never appreciated the brilliance of stars when I lived in Minnesota and now I don’t see them in Boston. As we danced around the fire, played the local drums and listen to stories from the local guides, we were enveloped in a new sparkling world. This is truly what the desert experience was about.

We Roam Orion group under the stars of Orion *Photo Cred: Sammy Smith*

I woke up the next morning with my hand twice the size it should be. Shocking – the vodka treatment did not do it the trick. This was going to be an interesting day. Of course, the generator went out overnight so breakfast was cooked on a BBQ. Christmas breakfast of tajine styled omelets, bread, sausages and octopus. After a long breakfast, we got back in the 4×4 to head back to Zagora. Wow – that was one bumpy road. While the journey was still beautiful, I felt all the bumps in my wrist. Luckily, we were all in a more chill mood and were taking in the final sights as civilization loomed ahead.

Once we got back to Zagora, I was told that we would be going to a pharmacy for them to look at my hand. Here’s how that went. We waited 3 hours because all pharmacies are closed from 1-4 in the afternoon, but in the meantime soaked hand in saltwater – oh, that was fun. Once 4:00 rolled around, we hopped in the camp owner’s Jeep and drove into town, stopping at one point to pick-up an elderly man sweeping the pavement in front of his store. Odd, but who am I to ask questions. The answer was quickly revealed – he was also the pharmacy owner. He kindly opened up the shop for us and started grabbing all sorts of random things I didn’t need. Finally, we got gauze pads and wrapping – all we needed. There was no looking at my hand though and by that point in time, I was okay with that.

The overnight bus ride back to Rabat was definitely more uncomfortable and had an interesting aroma. After 3 days of being in the desert and having sand in all crevasses, people were restless. The drive out of the desert at sunset was just as spectacular as our arrival during sunrise a few days prior. At midnight we stopped for dinner. If I were you, I’d be asking, what’s open at midnight in a country where everything closes at 9:00. Luckily, a roadside tajine restaurant, which was actually packed with people. I wish I could have asked everywhere why they were there? Desert tour or some other reason.

The shower back in Rabat never felt so good, despite the fact that there was no hot water. With my “lemonade” mentality, I decided this was a way to ice my hand. After that, it was off the Rabat ER to have someone look at this extremely large and hot hand. (Stay tuned for the next post and this experience!)