Erg Chebbi sand dunes: a night in the desert

We leave Midelt to travel to Erg Chebbi, the sand-dunes of the Sahara - via the big city of Errachidia (the capital of this SE area) and the Gorges du Ziz (120 kms of oasis). 

We stop at Oued Ziz for photos (‘oued’ = river). Just after, we pass a huge dam but no photos! (Security reasons?). In the 1970s and 80s, 120 dams were built for irrigation (and hydro) after a catastrophic drought. 

At Errachidia, the kids are leaving school (it is lunchtime) and many are riding bikes; there is a bike path which goes for kms along the main road, a real surprise as this is the first cycling infrastructure we have seen here. We are close to the Algerian border; no surprise: there are 5 military bases nearby.  

It was 19 deg C when we left Midelt this morning but by now it is 35 deg C. We stop at Aoufouss for lunch: the most delicious omelette tagine with tomato. 

At Erfoud we see fortified buildings called casa; these are like a medina: a fortified villa, but residential only (no shops). Doors and windows here are a pale green - very pretty. 

From here we pass through Merzouga, the last town before the sand-dunes of Erg Chebbi, an area 22 kms long and 4 kms wide; higher dunes rise to 160 m. Merzouga is a little Saharan village in south eastern Morocco at the feet of the Erg Chebbi dunes, in the Tafilalet Valley. For centuries this region has been a crossroads of African desert civilizations. Many kasbah inns line the edge of the Erg Chebbi.  

At about 5 p.m., we start the camel ride for the 1 and a 1/2 hour trek to our campsite. For the first 5 mins, I thought I wasn’t going to last another 5 mins! Fortunately, as we ascended the first dune, my backside slid further back on the camel and I located a ‘sweet spot’ and even managed to take some photos! It was still hot but by the time we arrived into camp, the shadows were lengthening and it was starting to cool down a little. We had a cup of tea and set off walking up a really steep dune! It was really hard work but the view at the top and the colours of the landscape as the sun set were beautiful. The group of us that walked up felt very at peace (after a lot of silly photos were taken!) and there was a real sense of camaraderie; will probably never forget this particular moment. 

We walked back down and dinner was ready: lamb tagine and vegies; we shared a bottle of Moroccan wine we’d bought in Midelt (in one of the few places you can buy alcohol) - it wasn’t that great; it’s been a very dry trip so far, with no alcohol since Casablanca! Dinner was followed by some stargazing (the stars are so bright bere in the desert!) and then some musical entertainment by a group of drummers. Great fun had by all.

And then into bed!!!! It is a very glamping-style camping!