Morocco Part III: Journey to the Sahara

Day 1: Drive to Mhamid

We knew when we came to Morocco that we’d want to go the Sahara Desert but were overwhelmed with the logistics of how we’d make it work. During our first week, we met Sam at the learning hub. As luck would have it, he told us about a guest house, the Dar Sahara, and its owner, Mbarek, that also runs tours to the desert. We learned that our friend Natalie and her sons were going to be there with her friend, Elodie and her son, during this time and we made a plan to converge at the same time at the guest house.

The drive from Casablanca to Mhamid is 10 hours. We downloaded Aru Shah books 1,2,3 and we nearly completed the 1st book on day 1 or driving. We highly recommend it! We drove 6 hours to beautiful town of Ourzazate known for its growing film studio industry, arrived at our Airbnb and just crashed for the night.

Day 2: Mhamid – the gateway to the desert

We awoke ready to drive the next leg of the trip through the mountains to Mhamid. The scenery was absolutely out of this world. Mountains rose up with swirled reddish and brown patterns into the sky for as far as the eye could see. The road itself was brand new so luckily easy to navigate. We went straight and arrived by 3pm. We were welcomed by Sam and Mbarek and reunited with Natalie and her kids and met Elodie and her son. We knew instantly we had made the right decision! The small town and Dar Sahara guest house had a warm welcoming feeling. We made a plan to go out the Sahara the next day!

In the evening we went to a local crafts shop to buy our cheches for the trip. These are head scarves worn by nomadic peoples crossing the desert to protect from the wind and sand. We learned how to wrap them and wearing it felt like a cozy blanket. We returned to the guesthouse for dinner and took in the view and from the terrace during sunset. Dinner was a delicious harissa soup, veggie coucous and desert of bananas and orange slices with cinnamon followed by mint tea – delicious! We slept early to get a good night’s rest before heading out tomorrow.

Day 3: Caravan out to the Sahara

Each family packed one backpack of warm pajamas, layers, toothbrushes, snacks and waters. We had our hats, cheches, sunscreen and water bottles full. After breakfast, our 2 guides Ismael and Borishi arrived with the camels arrived at the gate of the guesthouse! We loaded up our bags in the woven baskets that are placed on the camels, along with the supplies for lunch. We had 5 camels, so each kid rode one and the adults took turns alternating, otherwise walked. We started out on the 2 hour ride/walk through the desert. It was warm and in the 70s so we were spared the intense heat. A camel creates a very rhythmic sway that reminds me of being on boat – the sway feels like waves and almost put me to sleep! I switched out with another parent and walked with Nishant most of the way. We could not believe we were walking into the Sahara Desert! We tried to get our heads around the scale of time and geological changes that created this unique landscape.

The guides called for lunch stop at the perfect time. We were all starting to feel the heat that increased in the afternoon. We unloaded all the supplies under a tree, parked the camels so they could also graze on the nearby tree leaves, and took a break. The kids ran through the small dunes and barren sandy hills while the guides started a fire for cooking, and we gathered wood to keep it going. We played cards, rested in the shade and drank water and mint tea.

Our guides showed us how to make sand bread! He made the dough from scratch and let it rise. In the meantime, we watched the wood from the fire burn down and heat up the sand. Once the dough was ready, he placed the dough directly into the sand pit that he had hallowed out and buried it completely under the sand! It stayed there for roughly 30 minutes, and it came out soft and delicious! The guides prepared an amazing lunch of Moroccan salad with cucumber, tomato, corn and lime dressing, a veggie tagine and chicken tagine, with desert of bananas and pomegranates. They showed us a new level of hospitality in a challenging environment that we will always remember and pay forward. We cleaned up, packed up the supplies, mounted the camels and walked for another hour.

We stopped about an hour later and Mbarek showed up in his 4x4 to take us the rest of the way by car. We zig zagged through the desert for another 1.5 hours and felt the hard gravel and sand turn into soft dunes. It was a roller coaster through the sand dunes. We made a quick stop at the oasis where we saw where Mbarek fills up his water tank for his biovac camp where we’d be staying and then we were off again to make it to Erg Chigaga by sunset.

Erg Chigaga stretches 40 km and is the largest and most untouched of the ergs in Morocco (erg is a Bedouin name for a very large sea of sand). We raced up the ridge of the 300 meter towering sand dune and were not prepared for what lied beyond it – there was a glowing sea of sand dunes for as far as the eye could see! We felt so small…and so grateful that we were experiencing this moment together.

We were the last to leave the erg and then drove to Mbarek’s biovac, the camp site in the desert where we’d stay at night. We were surprised to see a bathroom with showers and toilets and lights! We went into our tents which were very cozy with beds and blankets and rested. We were spent from running up and down the dunes all evening. We cleaned up, took in the beautiful night sky with the brightest and most numerous stars we’d ever seen, had an amazing dinner and sat round the fire signing. It is a night we’ll never forget! We were so tired from this long day and drifted off to sleep in the dark and quietness of the desert.

Day 4: Waking up in the Sahara

After a good night’s rest, we woke up with more energy, stepped out of our tent to the clearest, blue sky and dunes rising up all around us. It was magical. Mbarek brought his sandboard and we each took a turn trying to balance and sandboard down the hill. We had a blast!! The sand is so soft and doesn’t stick to anything so we didn’t mind falling a few times.

We packed up and it was time to get back in the 4x4 and head back to Mhamid guesthouse. We took an alternate route to go to a fossil site. We arrived and headed down the hill and saw lots of different colored rocks and gravel. Mbarek taught us to identify the fossils in the rocks by their greenish/gray coloring. We found some and poured water over them which really brought out their features. It was a lot of fun for the kids.

About 1.5 hours later we we made it back to Mhamid and just crashed. We cleaned up, had lunch, rested and played epic games of Uno! We were wiped out by the end of the night and had some congestion from all the sand and wind.

Day 5: Return to Marrakech

We woke the next morning and said goodbye to everyone. We made the 7.5 hour drive back to Marrakech, checked into our amazing Airbnb and took hot showers, had a wonderful dinner. Over the next 2 days, we chilled out in Marrakech, strolled along the Medina 1 more time and watched Morocco win its World Cup game to qualify for the round of 16! It was pure celebration and elation in the streets! It was the most spectacular end to our time in Morocco!