Sand and Camels!

Hands-down, the highlight of my Moroccan experience was the time spent in Erg Chebbi, the sand dunes southwest of Er Foud. I had been so disappointed up to this point at not having seen any camels. We might have passed some during our long driving day from Fes to Er Foud, but as a good deal of this was done after dark, I was none-the-wiser. [Sidenote- this drive was incredible as we found ourselves in such a variety of different terrains throughout the day. There was also a heroic move on Angel’s part of saving a road-crossing turtle from certain death, as well as a ‘romantic dinner’ on a very dirty, busy street of Midelt, where we ate dinner to celebrate the surprising arrival before our anticipated run-out-of-gasolinery.]

By the time our truck rolled into the astonishingly lavish Xaluca hotel it was way past dark and we were exhausted. (We did take the time to explore the place before bedtime though!) The next morning we experienced another incredible Moroccan breakfast of fruit, juices, meats, cheeses and more pastries that I could even possibly try (despite no lack of effort to do so).

When we walked out of the hotel I was SHOCKED to see….. finally….. CAMELS!!! There were four babies right outside the entrance, standing there, chewing on some straw and just generally lazing about. I was beyond excited!

An hour of roadless driving across rocky desert lead us to the dunes!! Once we got close to the sand we saw the occasional evidence of human life, as well as quite a few more camels!! We checked into our hotel (if you can call it that, ‘private sand castle villa’ might be more appropriate) Café du Sud and were finally forced to slooooooowww down to the mindset of the desert and enjoy ourselves. We were given the typical sweet mint tea on the patio overlooking the dunes and offered the lunch menu: Yes or No were the options.

We were not at all disappointed- lunch consisted of a large, fresh salad and a giant tagine full of meat, vegetables, egg, possibly some cheese and a lovely spicy flavor to it all. Dessert was beautifully sliced and arranged fruit. At this point we were shown to our room- a large, cool, adobe living arrangement including several sitting areas and a private rooftop terrace with bowls of dried fruits and nuts and lined with cozy, comfy and colorful floor pillows.

Café con Leche

Late afternoon a man brought some camels by for us to ride up to the top of the dunes (which I loved but made Angel morally uncomfortable and unceasingly apologetic to the camels). I was appalled to learn that our pair of camels were nameless, and the situation was soon remedied- My darker camel and Angel’s lighter camel were from then on referred to as Café con Leche (Coffee and Milk).

 Once at the top of the tallest dune, we ran around a little in the sand and admired the smooth, flawless lines created by the wind and shadows before settling down on a blanket to watch the most awe-inspiring sunset I’ve ever seen.
The way back down found me incredibly relaxed. For dinner (another ‘yes or no’ option) we had more of the delicious tea, another even-more-impressive tagine creation with sides of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the accompaniment of several bored local teenage boys who all pulled out various forms of percussion for an impromptu jam-session. Walking back to the room, the moonless sky showed off more stars than I had ever seen, especially with no man-made light visible in any direction.

I am once again delighted by a Moroccan breakfast on Monday morning- this time enjoyed at a table directly at the foot of the dunes with our bare feet in the sand. I sat and enjoyed my sweet coffee while Angel sneakily pursued and studied a large, weird-looking sand beetle across a couple of the smaller dunes.

After a while we drove to the nearest semblance of a town on the other side of the dunes, where we each rented a 4x4. All in all, we were out for about 3 hours- climbing sharply up and flying down the drastic angles of the sand until we reached the green, palmy oasis in the center. Here we enjoyed a glass of tea and Angel made a new friend- the two of them had the genius idea of dragging each other on a snowboard behind one of the 4x4s. I watched from the shade and hoped that they didn’t kill themselves. (They surprisingly didn’t). The drive back was even more exhilarating! We had time for one more delicious tagine lunch by the pool before we had to leave. We spent the rest of the day exploring the market of Er Foud- much smaller than the one in Fes, but with just as many interesting finds. We drove for the majority of the next two days, stopping for food and random scenic views until we reached the port of Nador where we caught the 6 hour boat back to Spain and reality!