Waves of Flowing Sand

I promised a "Desert Part 2" but never delivered. Things moved so fast that there wasn't really the time to write it. So let me sum it up for those interested parties (hey there mom and dad! I am surprised you are still reading!)

We took our good old mini bus to the edge of the desert where our camels awaited. And by "camels" I mean 2 camels. There were 10 people on our trip, which meant we were two camels short.

The leaders of our trip didn't seemed concerned at all, but one of our trip mates who spoke Arabic fluently could understand them talking about how they couldn't get any more camels. After another 30 minutes of watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky, we were getting agitated. This whole trip revolved around a sunset camel ride through the Sahara. So where were our camels?

Instead of taking the time to explain whatever the problem was, they ordered us into a car. I refused and asked for my money back. Many this is a very American move, but I spent well over a day and a half in a car (almost non-stop!) and the last thing I wanted to do was GET IN A CAR. After more arguing it was clear they didn't care at all (who is surprised here?) The next bit of fun news is that eight of us, plus a driver, were getting in a 5 passenger car - 2 lucky people got the camels while we were crammed in like sausages. I will admit, my mood was not the best at this time. I tried to see the positive side, but being in the middle and not able to sit upright, it wasn't the most comfortable journey.

Eventually, we got close enough the the camp we would be staying at that they could meet us with the camels. The angry driver dropped us off, threw our things out of the car, and left. There were no camels in sight and we were stranded in the desert. So what did we do? Take pictures of course! The sun was about to set, and I sure as heck wasn't going to miss it.

            

After a picture session, we waited around, hoping for camels. After another 15 minutes or so, we saw a camel line coming in from the distance. Once they arrived we hopped on and headed in for the camp. It was dark very quickly after the sun went down, and we could soon see stars appearing in the sky. After a while I could make out the big dipper and a million other stars. Without light pollution it is incredible to look at the sky at night. I sang a bit to myself, and one of our Moroccan travelers sang a beautiful song in Arabic. By the time we arrived in camp we were all in a much better mood, but still quite tired.

They gave us a delicious meal that they would normally eat as Berbers - a bit like Ethiopian because it was a communal meal, but less spicy and more meaty with rice. It was a nice way to finish a long day and it was already getting quite cold. We wrapped up and started a bonfire, listened to music, and watched the Moroccans dance. Eventually Emily and I were too cold to stay outside any longer so we snuggled onto our not-so-comfortable mattresses and put on every piece of clothing we had, and pulled on the 6 blankets before falling into a difficult sleep. 

 

The next morning, I woke up and was a bit confused. We were supposed to have been roused by the staff, but it was the other people staying in our tent who woke us. Apparently we had been forgotten about, and everyone else was awake and running around. Emily and I blearily packed our things (but left most of the layers on) and went directly to our camels. They put us back on and we marched out - we had already missed the sunrise! Luckily we still got some lovely pictures, and enjoyed the hour and a half back to our van. We then got to look forward to over 12 hours in a van to get back to Marrakech. The highlight was the snow on the pass! We were soon back to our destination, jumped on a train to Casablanca, slept for 4 hours before flying out. What an adventure!