Over The Hills And Far Away: Morocco: Into the Desert

Road Trip to the Desert

We set off early the next day. We quickly wound our way out of Fes and into the countryside. Little did we know that our drive would start and end in a fog. Almost at the very start, the altitude increased quickly and we were soon driving into a foggy mess. We could barely see the road in front of us. We did see one accident and it wasn't surprising. Our ultimate goal for the day was to get to Merzouga, a town right on the edge of the Sahara Desert. But, we had one important stop first. As we descended out of the fog, we closed in on Azrou in the midst of the cedar forests. This area is famous for the Barbary Apes that live there. In fact, the Barbary Apes only live in Morocco and Gibraltar. I had researched back at home and found a very handy post on Tripadvisor about where to spot the Barbary Apes. We turned off of the main road and kept our eyes open. We soon got to a small parking spot where we saw some Barbary Apes. A local sold us each a bag of peanuts. I love seeing monkeys in the wild but it is always a little intimidating. They began by gingerly taking the peanuts from our hands but soon there were monkey fights breaking out amongst them.

So nice and polite at first

Slightly more demanding

Monkey fight in the background

At one point, I had one on each side of me hanging onto my pants. One of the little devils jumped for the peanuts and I dropped my camera (which thankfully survived). I thought I was also about to lose my drawstring pants!

Right before I nearly lost my pants

With out need to feed the monkeys, done, we continue on toward the desert but not before driving past another of the top spots to see the Barbary Apes. There were loads of tourists so I was glad we had made the first stop. We were lucky enough to see a mother and baby cross the street in front of us.

Barbary Ape and baby

The farmland was very picturesque as we descended.

Field near Azrou

On the road to Merzouga

Traffic jam

Soon though, the farmland turned to a more rock and desert landscape as we snaked through canyons. It was interesting and beautiful to see the foliage along rivers.

Swath of green in the canyon

Town in the canyon

City gate one town before Merzouga

Unfortunately, we were running low on time. We had to be in Merzouga by 4:45 to take a camel ride into the desert for a camping trip. As we closed in on Merzouga, we entered a dust storm. Our vehicle swayed with the wind as we slowly crept along the road thanks to the decreased visibility.

Barely visible van in front of us

Camel crossing

We made it just in time! We had chosen Sara and Ali's Desert Palace to camp with and we didn't regret it for a moment. Sara and Ali met us at a nearby hotel and quickly wrapped our faces with scarves to protect us against the sand. We saddled up on our camels and were off on an hour and a half journey.

Eddie getting his face wrapped

Camels getting ready for our ride

I had taken a camel ride in Israel a couple of years before. And while that was fun, it was really more to just say you had done it. There was something romantic and adventurous to actually be taking the camels to our campsite. The dunes rose up to meet us as our camels carried us on. There was a peaceful silence once we got out of town.

Dunes

Camel ride

An "usie"

Sun beginning to set on the dunes

Camel tracks

We were very pleased when we finally arrived at our destination. The camp was beautiful and our tent had a proper bed. Nearby were some bath houses and they had proper toilets and showers.

Arriving at camp

Tents

We were very lucky as we were the only two guests. They gave us a beer while we waited for dinner and Eddie and I were off to play in the dunes and relax in the hammocks.

Dinner was fantastic. Tajine after tajine we stuffed ourselves until we couldn't anymore. It was really enough food for 10 people and we felt bad that we couldn't eat more.