Camping in the Desert

Thursday, October 07, 2010
Sahara Desert, Meknès-Tafilalet, Morocco
This morning there was 5:15 wakeup for those who would hike to the dunes to watch the sunrise. Actually, we got to see the sun rise twice--first over the mountains, and then over the dunes. It was almost as beautiful to look to the west and see the sun reflected off of the western dunes. It was a good way to start the day, but we were back in plenty of time for the 7:30 breakfast. Considering the conditions, breakfast was wonderful. There were two kinds of omlette--one with mushrooms and cheese, and one Berber style with onions, tomatos, cumin and other spices. There was also Berber pancakes with date syrup, porridge, yogurt, bread, juice and coffee.

After breakfast there was an optional lhike to visit a nearby Berber family, but I chose to stay in camp to straighten my tent and update my journal . A little later we met the hikers at the tent of the local Berber family. The head of the household was a man of 2, his stepmother, his wife and 2 daughters, and his 2 younger sisters. He also has 2 sons who are living with a cousin in a village and attending school. The family has sheep, goats, and camels, and the stepmother was spinning the camel and goat wool into yarn.   We were served mint tea and then had an opportunity for questions and answers. It was an interesting exchange but it would have been nice to be able to talk with the women. After our discussion, we were able to buy craft items made by the women.

Our next stop was the local auberge. In the mountains, this means a refuge from snow, but in the Sahara it is protection from driving sand storms. Today, it was a comfort stop and an opportunity to buy a cold drink. The structure consists of an outer wall, with rooms built around the inside. In addition to the cafe and toilets, there were a couple of dormitory type rooms and a couple of private rooms . There was also a place for animals and some storage areas. Our final stop of the morning was the local well where we met a woman drawing water. Several members of the group helped her draw the water and pour it through a filter into containers. Afterwards we helped her gather the laundry that she had washed earlier, and then load the laundry and the water onto the acks of her two donkeys. Just as we were finishing, the wind and sand began to blow much harder. It was good to be back in the vehicles and by the time we had riven the 15 minutesw back to camp, it was obvious that we were experiencing a a Sahara sandstorm. While we were out, the tents had been zipped up and the chairs were weighted down with large stones.

Walking to the dining tent for lunch made me glad that I had my scarf to cover my head and face and protect it from the flying sand. The next several hours were spent huddled in my tent or the one next door as we waited out the sandstorm. By 4 pm the whole thing was over and we only suffered minor damage. Ab said it was only about 5% of the strength of one that would have sent us to the Auberge, but it was plenty for me.

Another desert sunset and another evening of stargazing before we leave our camp in the morning and head west toward civilization.

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