I wake early and take a brisk shower as Kate sleeps. The early morning desert is crisp, clear and cool. I grab a camera and take pictures as I wander the empty corridors and courtyards of the riad. I hear stirring as I return to the room to check on my injured companion, who claims she still has a headache. We clean and re-dress her injury, she pops some Advil and after she showers we make our way to the dining room for breakfast. After loading up on pastry and juice we repack, reload into the van and return to Midelt. The road is no longer flooded and the sun quickly warms the barren landscape as we arrive. Today we tour a linen co-op run by nuns. Girls of all ages are apprenticed in needlework and cloth work and we are allowed to watch and photograph them at work. We start where the older, more experienced women work large, intricate tablecloths and soon move to the room where newer apprentices work smaller items such as napkins and place mats. Language barriers don't permit the women to explain their work but many smiles and head bobs are exchanged. We then are taken to the shop where their wares are sold. Choosing a napkins set, Kate makes her purchase and we move outside where we find some of the students taking a break in the sunshine. The apprentices allow us to take their pictures and delight in seeing themselves on the small digital screens of the cameras.
After returning to Abdul's van, we're soon leaving Midelt and back in the isolated and barren Atlas mountains. Today we slowing descend from the mountains and head to the desert, along the way we cross mountains, plains and follow rivers. Vegetation is scarce as we really only see scrub and the occasional tree on the open road until we stop overlooking a long gorge with a palmerie flowing like a wide green river as far as the eye can see in either direction. Moving on we pass many small towns and villages, the highlight for me was following the long shoreline of the Hassan Andakhil Dam. The huge lake seemed to appear out of nowhere and the bright blue water shines a bright iridescence over the surrounding barren landscape. Following the water for what seems to be an unrealistically long time we eventually find it's terminus at a hydroelectric dam.
The land slowly levels as we travel and now roadside stands and building hawking "Minerals" start popping up along the motorway. We learn "minerals" means fossils and this area is filled with them. We continue through Erfoud and Rissani,passing through dense palmeries with elaborate irrigation canals cutting in every direction. Occasionally we catch a glimpse of palmerie workers with shovels shifting dirt to divert the precious water to different areas of the lush gardens. The palms are obviously in season as bunches of dates awaiting harvest hang from the high foliage.
Traveling on we are in a vast empty landscape, ahead in the distance we can just make out orange mounds in the desert as we approach our turn, where we divert from a paved, two lane road onto a desert path marked by two parallel lines of white rocks meandering off in the distance. As we follow the rocks, Abdul's cautious driving marks us as the "tortoise" to the many "hares" that continuously pass us. These "Hares" are mostly four wheel drive SUVs but the occasional motorcycle makes it way past us as well. We drive and drive but the distant dunes seem to linger out of reach. Our anticipation turns to boredom, even though we know we're moving we seem frozen in place. We open the van's sliding door and taunt passing vehicles and despite Abdul's protests we urge Mohamed to hang out the from window for pictures. Finally several kasbahs start to dot the landscape as we persist in our forward journey. Just as it seems the sun's descent will beat our arrival, Mohamed points to our destination, a kasbah sitting at the top of a prominence with a herd of camels resting at it's entrance. Mohamed urges us to quickly load our day packs for the overnight camp and leave our luggage in a room at the kasbah. As we shuffle our belongings we find Abdul settling into his room and urge him to join us in the desert. Even though Abdul pretends to contemplate accompanying us we know he'll be in a comfortable bed tonight as we camp.
After sorting our belongings and loading up on bottled water, we're given a blanket, otherwise known as a camel saddle and led to a line of dromedaries, otherwise known as one-humped camels. One by one we each lay the blanket saddle over the backs of a camel and climb aboard the kneeling beast, we then each grab the handlebars, yes... handlebars, and hold on as the creature stands. The reins of the lead camel are held by our guide, each animal in the lines' reins are held by the preceding beast and we are all riding two lines of camels led by two guides. We then begin our single file marches into the Sahara Desert. Pete has named his camel "Steve" and tells me he doesn't like his camel, I'm almost scared to ask him why. The sun sinks fast as we enter the orange dunes and soon we have a full moon and stars overhead however, a thunderstorm is slowing gaining on us from behind. Journeying on camelback deeper into the desert, Mohamed sings a Berber song under the full moonlight. The dark sky is cut by ever nearing flashes of lightning as we climb and descend the dunes.
Arriving, our guides help us off the camels, we follow the reverse procedure to dismount; hold onto the handlebars and ride the camel as as the camel kneels down to a sitting position. Our guides then escort us to camp for a welcoming cup of Berber Whiskey, or mint tea, at tables set up on carpets under the disappearing stars. As we finish our tea the rain arrives and we quickly find shelter in the main Berber tent. With the wind and rain settling in just outside, we settle in and relax by candlelight as our hosts set our dinner table. Chicken and vegetable tagines with bread soon make their way onto the tables as we gather vulture-like, lunch being distant memory. We have no tableware and eat as Moroccans, tearing off pieces of bread and using our right hand to pinch pieces of meat and vegetables in the bread to consume. Quickly leaving empty plates, our hosts clear the tables as outside the sky clears. We seize the opportunity and climb a nearby dune, some walk down, some run, and some choose to roll, others choose a combination of all three. Our excursion is soon cut short as Mohamed ushers us to the tents as the next bout of rain approaches. Sleeping arrangements are quickly decided and a heavy rain settles in outside as we make our beds inside the tents. We half expected a sandstorm but rain in the Sahara never entered our minds before this evening. As the night wears on, tent shaking winds and the occasional leak punctuate a hap-hazard night's sleep.
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