Our route to Marrakech took us from Fez, over the Atlas Mountains to our stop at Hotel Chergui in Erfoud. The hotel was of stucco and built in a typical hotel layout. As we stood in the lobby to register, we were served refreshing mint tea, as is the custom. I looked around – taking in the beauty of colored stained glass above the entry door. There were no religious characters depicted in the glass, just the beauty of the deep colors. The door was open, and I peered out at the view – in the near distance there was a lone shrub that may have wanted to grow into a tall tree but appeared to lack the will, and beyond that – nothing but open, endless desert. This was truly the gateway to the vast Sahara.
This was our transition point. After visiting a nearby tourist attraction and shopping, we were prepared to venture into the desert. To travel to our desert home where we would stay for the next two nights, we left our bus behind. We reduced our luggage by transferring all we would need for two nights into a backpack and leaving the rest to be transported in the bus. Yes, we would no longer ride in the bus – we needed four-wheel drive vehicles to get to our desert accommodations.
The Sahara Desert
This was actually a special part of the Sahara Desert experience. After dividing into smaller groups at the Hotel Chergui, we boarded smaller 4-wheel drive vehicles to cross the endless desert to get to our camp site. Our drivers expertly skirted or climbed dunes to get us there. As I recall this entry to the desert, it seems that the sand of the desert is different – in some places fine and in others more course; our vehicle rose and fell as our driver maneuvered over and around the dunes. As I peered through the windshield and all around us, I marveled at being in this immense expanse of sand. As we drove near to our site, I saw the camp site of another travel group, but neither operation was intrusive or even visible to the other.
And so, we traveled to our desert home for the short stay – a campground in the midst of the desert – I reviewed my many concerns. Knowing that this was to be a part of the travel experience, I’d read about how it would work yet had my doubts. How rustic would it be? Would we have to use outdoor bathrooms? Would we sleep on the desert floor? What about our meals – how would the food be provided? And, most importantly, were there any snakes around?
Desert Living
Our campsite was a well-planned community with tents aligned as a neighborhood with the tent homes across a sandy pathway from each other. The housing consisted of the tents for our individual accommodations along with larger service tents where we gathered for meals, and where – in the commercial kitchen – our meals were prepared. Our tent featured a large room with our bed, storage space, mirrors, and seating. The en suite bathroom held the utilities and a shower. We had all the comforts of home right there in our tent.
With other members of our group, we explored the campsite and that was where I selected one sand-polished stone as a personal souvenir. Perhaps this was discouraged, but I was able to transport it home. With some of the others we ventured out at night to catch the sparkling canopy of stars in the desert sky unlike any view I’d had before. A special memory is of the morning I woke early and was able to greet the sun as it rose in the desert.
There were times when the wind blew – gently. It was at those times that I appreciated the desert turban I bought during our shopping trip. I used it to block my face and eyes from the blowing sand. It was easy to image the effect of stronger winds and I was relieved that ours was only a mild experience.
A special celebration
One day we traipsed to a desert hilltop at sunset. Once there, it seemed like we were perched on the edge of the world as we looked down to view the endless desert. We were a happy band as we followed our guide to find the right spot. That is where we set out our treats and celebrated the 80th birthday of one of our group. There we were, seemingly alone in the desert, sharing wine, dates and nuts right there on the sand dunes. It was a truly special event and I’m sure she treasures the memory.
And, I was a typical tourist.
Although I shun activities designed to obviously appeal to tourists, being in the Sahara Desert was different. When else would I get to ride a camel through the desert? And so I was helped in wrapping my Sahara Desert Turban around my head, which is no easy task; then assisted in the process of mounting my camel, and then we went for a ride – along with the rest of our group. Although it was a staged travel scene of the procession of camels carrying their tourist loads, I enjoyed the experience and resulting photo.
