Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Geographically, Morocco is characterized by a rugged mountainous interior and large portions of desert. It is one of only three countries (with Spain and France) to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. The Arabic name al-Mamlakah al-Maghribiyah (Arabic: المملكة المغربية, meaning “The Western Kingdom”) and Al-Maghrib (Arabic: المغرب, meaning “The West”) are commonly used as alternate names.
A friend of mine was looking forward to doing this trip and although I am not wild about hot climates I agreed to go along and it was a good time and not nearly as hot as I was expecting.
Marrakesh
This is an interesting city, so much culture and religion intermingled with modern touches. You will walk out on the streets and see horse drawn carts, a few new model cars and people wearing full robes. Then you walk into your hotel with the air conditioning blasting and ladies in bikinis at the pool. Very interesting to see the two cultures mix and interact.
Just after we left Marrakesh there was starting to be some political issues in the region and you will see one of my photos in the main square, well a couple of months later, April 28, 2011, a blast originating in a café in the square killed 17 people and injured another 25. Initial reports blamed an accidental gas explosion, but officials later blamed “criminals” and “terrorists”. The café is in the top right of my photo.
Dades Valley
These villages looked like something out of the movies. Little villages that just spring up and survive with what doesn’t look to be anything around them to make a living on. Everyone appears to be very happy and come out to watch us walk through their town and often inviting us in for tea.
Ouarzazat & Zagora
You can tell that we are starting to leave the big cities and coming across small markets (souk) and villages. Some nice little hikes and surprising that people survive out here in these small little communities.
Remlia (into the desert)
We got off the main road and into the desert and immediately ran into hundreds of old Citroen rally cars leaving the desert. That was an awesome thing to see.
Ouzina
This is our first day on the camel and at first I was a little upset that we didn’t have enough camels for everyone and that we had to take turns. We would ride a camel for about an hour and then we would walk for an hour as someone else rode. We would quickly find out that one hour on a camel is about all you can handle as they are not the most comfortable animals to ride. It was not too long before we learned which camels were better suited to male riders versus female riders (and vice versa) due to the bone structures on their backs.
Erg Znigui
An “Erg” is a sand dune and there are only a few areas that are designated as Ergs and they do move a bit over time with the winds. I am starting to find the desert very peaceful and quiet, not as hot as expected but this is their winter.
Erg Chebbi
Another day or trekking through the desert and I am surprised how rocky it is. I had assumed the desert was all sand but in many places it looked more like Mars, rocky and barren.
Erfoud (leaving the desert)
Our last sand dunes and we climbed the largest one before leaving the desert. Hiking up a sand dune is not an easy thing as the sand is slipping beneath your feet so for every step up, you slide back half a step, however the view from the top is spectacular.
Erfoud
First chance for a good shower in days and I realize that I am starting to likes dates and olives with my frosty beverages.
Fès
A modern town that holds on to it’s heritage and still does many things the way that they have for years.
The market (souk) gate is blue (welcome) on the outside and green (prosperity) on the inside.
Logistics
This trip was organized by Mountain Travel Sobek and is their Morocco Camel Trek itinerary. This trip would start in Marrakesh and end in Fes including airport transportation. We would have a couple days at the start and end points but in between we would be riding camels, hiking and camping in the desert.
Surprisingly, it was not as hot as I was fearing and I did not melt. It was a good trip and I met some new friends whom I still stay in touch with.
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