Sahara: "We take photos as a return ticket to moments otherwise gone"

The next day we were up even earlier, this time to head the opposite direction to the Sahara, outside the city of Zagora.  If you look closely, Marrakech is in the top left, Ouarzazate (our midway stop) is right in the middle and Zagora is where the stick is pointing.  All is in all, it is about 300 km, most of which is spent on tiny, super windy roads driving through the Atlas mountains.  

Its a good thing that Ray and I really wanted to do this, since it was almost 2 whole days of driving.  We left ourplace at 7:15am, hopped in a van, drove around the square, stopping as if we were going to pick up other people, but we never did.  We almost ran smack into a donkey pulling a cart and the driver was not very happy about our presence there.  Finally, we drive back to one of the first places we stopped at (still only about a block from our hotel), get booted off one van to get on another, now its about 8am.  Not sure, why we just drove around for 45 minutes, but sure why not.  Off to the camels… But first we stop at one of the many outlook areas for our first look at a small mountain town.  We were so amazed at the view! Snapping pictures, left and right.  

We continued to drive…

and drive…

Cool rocks along the way

and still more driving…

Till we made it to the fortified city of Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, thats been around for 1100 years.  There used to be 3 different tribes that lived here, but currently there is just one now comprised of 10 families, about 65 people total.  Keep in mind there is no running water or electricity.  The buildings are made from 3 natural resources  and must be redone every year since the rain washes away parts of the outside.

Here's a shot of the walls...

We had to cross a river in order to access the fort, hoping I’d have better luck than with the stairs.

Many may recognize this place from the likes of Gladiator, The Mummy, Lawrence of Arabia, Prince of Persia or Game of Thrones.  In all, there are close to 30 movies that have been filmed here, yet I have only seen one of them. Who can guess which one?

The current Berber tribe still use a traditional way in order to make prints, using 3 natural ingredients and then they wave them over a flame in order to caramelize the colors and details.  We had been wanting to get a print from Morocoo and just couldn't resist getting one of these.

Climbing to the top of the Ksar, we had an amazing view of the city below.  

And of course, Pepe ran into one of his brothers while at the Ksar. 

Back on the road… It was so crazy to actually see an oasis in person.  We’d be driving along with nothing but desert around us, then all the sudden, hundreds of palm trees would pop up out of nowhere.  

We also stopped to get some pictures at a gorge.

By the time we arrive in Zagora and make it to the camels, it is close to 7pm, needless to say, it was a long day.  We see a group of camels sitting, well more like laying, (I guess camels don't really sit) with all their legs tucked underneath them, like something you’d see a cat do, not a one ton animal.  

We literally jump out of the van, put on our head wraps to protect us from the sun, sand and wind and jump on the camels.  Once on the camel, the experience of them standing up was quite something else, it happens in 3 parts.  They stand up on their fromt knees first, jolting you backwards, then they straighten their back legs, immediately throwing you forwards and then finally they stand up from their front knees.  Nothing at all like getting on a horse.  

Check out the teal heart on the camel pad.

And then we ride out into the desert.  During the ride, we learn that my camel was named Teyti and Ray was on Haydoo (Haydoo happened to be a twin).  

 

The ride was absolutely stunning and very peaceful.  Just us, the camels,  and the sunsetting over the desert. Time to reflect and enjoy being out of civilization.  

I came to realize how stoic the camel is.  They are these huge animals, that can withstand extreme heat and wind, as well as traveling long distances.  I found myself admiring every step and how they are unfazed by stepping directly rocks or in deep sand.  Their heads barely move with each step. 

Pepe loved the camels too

Along the way, we catch up with another group, and at the back of their pack, they had a camel-in-training.  He was in the line, but riderless.  

A few minutes later, the group veers off in a different direction and I notice that that last camel had somehow freed himself from the group and just stopped, dead in his tracks while the group kept walking.  

They kept walking and walking and finally, we yelled to them to let them know about their camel. One of the guides started running to catch the lone camel. Our whole group just laughed at the poor guy having to run through the sand.  Zoom in and you'll see the man running in the background towards the camel.

To welcome our arrival at the campsite was a donkey named “Hennifey”.  Pepe of course had to go say hi to his brother.  

Here is our home for the night, a Berber tent with 4 cots.  

We all gathered around in the middle of the camp and enjoyed a glass of mint tea as the sun made his final descent into the night.  Our group was quite eclectic, consisting of people from Chile, Brazil, Madrid, Indonesia, Brazil and Denmark.  It was fun getting to know them over dinner.  Discussing what place is better: Brazil or Chile, finding out the girl from Denmark had just recently started learning arabic so we were picking her brain about the language, attempting to speak Spanish to the couple from Madrid and finding out where we should head in a couple of weeks.  

We then had the pleasure to be a part of a Berber jam session. They brought out drums and began singing and dancing.  I loved it! I even got up and joined in the dancing.  I think Ray got pictures of that.  And he even attempted to play the drum… that didn't last too long though.  

I happened to bring out my journal while they were singing, thinking I would get some time to catch up with my daily logs.  One of the guides, Ishmael, saw me writing and leaned over my shoulder to watch.  He was berber and was very interested in watching how English was written.   This of course turned into a whole night thing, bonding over language and culture.  He began writing words in Arabic and in Berber and then I would translate into English.  Fascinating the watch our words converge, since Arabic is written right to left and English is the opposite.  Over time, other people would join in our fun.  By the end, we were bantering back and forth in about five different languages: Arabic, Berber, English, French (since Morocco was a French protectorate for a bit), and Spanish. 

I even learned to write my name in Arabic! Good thing it wasn't super complicated symbols.   

Oh and the guides, loved meeting Pepe and hearing about his travels.  They really got a kick out of seeing pepe on the camels and kissing Hennifey.  Of course, they too needed a picture with the little guy. 

The next morning, I snag Ishmael for one more language interpretation.  It was my sister’s birthday and I wanted to write Happy Birthday in Arabic.  Success!!  

  

We pack up and head back across the desert and make the long trek back to Marrakech.