Today we had a long journey into the Sahara desert. 5 hour bus drive. We stopped at this local guesthouse along the way and had an incredible lunch. Started with a Moroccan salad which was diced tomatoes, green peppers, onion, olive oil and vinegar and spices. That was followed by a Berber omelette which was incredible. The bread they served was probably the best we have had. After lunch we soaked our feet in the little pool before we headed out.
We got on the main road and after a couple of hours we turned off in the middle of nowhere and started off roading in the dessert. It was truly amazing as u can picture driving on the wide open span and just seeing sand dunes. We got out of the car to take some pictures and so did the bus driver! Lol it was like a Chinese firedrill as the bus is just rolling along with no driver. He has a great sense of humor. We made it to our stop where we stored our luggage, put on our headscarves, had some tea and then got on the camels. We left around 4pm and the camel trip took around 1 1/2 hours. Let me just say this experience has to go down as one of my top 5 life experiences. I can't even begin to describe the beauty and depth of my surroundings. Here I am in the Sahara desert, on a camel, going to a camp to spend the night. It was surreal. I took a lot of photos along the way including some great shadow ones of the camel. The sand dunes against the bright blue sky was so picturesque and one that even a postcard couldn't capture. we climbed the hills and came around a bend where our camp was setup. Don't even think about tents. Ours were basically just some bamboo sticks with tarps and rugs for beds. Actually kind of awesome making it more authentic. Once we were settled, we took off for a little trek up the dunes to watch the sunset. I don't think anyone had any clue what was ahead of us. We went straight up this sand dune and let's just say walking in sand that is so deep is one of the most challenging things to do! This was straight up and reminded me of Kilimanjaro. We had to take several little breaks. Once we got to the top and walked along the rim even further up! We finally got to the top and sat down to watch the sunset. What lay before us was breathtaking! Red painted mountains where the sun was just hitting the peaks perfectly as it went down. Colors of yellow, orange and red lit up the sky. After, as we were starting the descent one of the girls Angela and I asked if we could just sit down and basically roll our way straight down the mountain almost like riding a sled! He laughed and said good luck not thinking we would do it. So we said lets go! Two others joined us and we basically just roles and went head down this crazy steep sand dune like little kids! Best time ever! When we got down, we had tea and then prepared for dinner. We had this little table with tiny stools setup in the middle of camp with candles. What a feast it was! Started with Moroccan soup with bread. Next was these huge tangines filled with chicken, olives, potatoes, carrots, peas. Dessert was fresh oranges. I still think there's nothing better than camping food and this took it to a whole different level. After dinner we sat around the fire listening to the locals play the drums and sing. I sat there taking in the entire scene- Sahara desert, fire blazing, local guys playing the drums, a sky full of stars, camels in the background.... This truly is what life is all about. Simplicity and adventure.