Plunging Into a Sea of Sand

Our guide, Brahim, takes in the panorama of the desert sand

This was the day, our second day of our 3-day Sahara excursion, and our full day in the desert. We’d gotten a glimpse of the spectacle yesterday evening as we plodded across the dunes to our camp on camelback. With today dawning with clear skies, and I was looking forward to a full day of desert vistas and interesting sights and experiences.

The sun rises near our luxury camp on our second day of our Sahara excursion

We began the morning watching the sunrise (a desert camp tradition), shaking our heads at the antics of one of the travelers from the Italian group. Picture a collection of a dozen or more travelers all lined up more less together staring off in the direction of the sun, awaiting its rise. Then, just as the golden eyelid peeks above the rim, and everyone raises their cameras, one of the Italian men walks about 20 yards in front of everyone to “get a closer view” — of the sun! Never mind the nonsense of moving closer to something that is 93 million miles away! He just walked into all of our shots, forcing all of us to move up to where he was or have this random Italian dude in our sunrise pictures! Doubtless, he was from the same group that had been up caterwauling and drunken drumming around the campfire in the center of our circle of tents till past midnight.

The dunes beckon us to dive in and drive up, around, and down them in our SUV

All that was forgotten, though, when we climbed into our SUV with Brahim and rode into Merzouga. We met our dune driver and Sahara guide in town, switching to his SUV which was better equipped for off-roading in the sand. I had done this once before in the UAE, but was looking forward to it nonetheless. We took off, slip-sliding across the desert sands. We raced up sandy slopes, fishtailed to follow the thin crests of the towering dunes, and slid down steep hills of sand. We bounced along in the back of the SUV, enjoying the ride. I mentally compared it to slow-motion driving on ice and snow back home.

A line of camels seems to disappear as it descends behind a dune far away across the sands

We stopped atop one particularly tall dune and got out to take pictures. The morning sun and struck a golden orange glow from the sand. You could see our tracks and those of other SUVs climbing up and down the dunes all around us. Off in the distance, I watched a four wheeler buzz up the tallest dune in the area, then the driver dismounted to walk around and admire the view. Merzouga was one of the Moroccan towns on the edge of the Sahara where you can come, rent a four wheeler, ride camels, and even surf down the dunes. Our tour supposedly included sand surfing, but having done that (and face planted) years ago, I didn’t have any desire for an encore. I remember sand being stuck to every inch of my body after flying off my surf board and not being comfortable again till I’d showered hours later. Brahim never asked, though, and I never brought it up. “No thanks, I’m good!” as they say.

Criss-crossed by the tire tracks of various SUVs, the Sahara near Merzouga is an outdoor playground for tourists

I pulled out my telephoto lens and had fun taking pictures of various groups of travelers on camelback, seeming to rise and fall in my lens as they crested the dunes and disappeared on the other side. We would stop other times on our drive through the Sahara, and it was cool to get that 360 degree vantage of being lost in a sea of sand. As the sun rose higher, the sand lost its orange glow and turned more of a golden yellow color. I’ve always admired how the wind crafted the crests of the dunes into a sinuous “S-shape,” and it was cool to see it repeated on both large and small dunes.

One of the decorated tents of the Berber nomad encampment

Our next stop was at a Berber nomad encampment. We had a chance to look inside and even sit and enjoy a tea inside one of their tents. The younger kids were kicking a soccer ball amidst the tents, giggling and enjoying themselves. Brahim said that the Merzouga children would often come out and visit to play soccer with them. Brahim talked about the differences between the Berber and Bedouin nomads. The Berber people (about 30% of Morocco, he said) have actually been in North Africa since Classical times, interacting with the civilizations of Carthage, Greece, and Rome. I was fascinated by the Berber script, which at first we thought was Greek letters. It has a common root in the Phoenician alphabet, which explained the similarities . The Arabs (Morocco’s majority) came around 700 A.D. during the various waves of conquerors that washed across North Africa after the founding of Islam. Probably the most surprising thing I discovered in my time in Morocco was its large Jewish population. Although it declined with the establishment of Israel in 1947, during the Middle Ages perhaps 20% of the region’s population was Jewish.

Forgotten by History, a crumbling mud brick settlement from the French colonial period

History came face to face with us on the next stop, as we drove from the nomad encampment and passed through the ruins of a mud brick town. Brahim said it was from the French period in the 1800s. France controlled neighboring Algeria during that time — which was less than 20 miles away from where we were. It made repeated attempts to influence Moroccan affairs or outright control it. To this day, French is a second language of sorts in Morocco. The crumbling ruins of the town had that lost in time quality about them. It was evocative to wander among them, and think about a thriving settlement that was once here. Lives lived. People now dead and gone. It brought to mind the Shelley poem “Ozymandias,” and its vainglorious boast, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” The desert and time has a way of swallowing up empires and leaving only their crumbling remains.

A Berber grave covered by the dark stones of the Black Desert

From there, our guides took us to a Berber graveyard, explaining the differences between their burials and Christian ones. We were in the “black desert,” as this portion was called, for its dark stones. You could see each mound covered in dark stones, marking someone’s passing. We learned that two upright stones mark each burial. The direction the stones faced indicated whether it was a male or female burial. They pointed out the keepsakes that were placed on the grave, mugs or personal items, left to remember the person. The graveyard was also in an incredibly fossil-rich area, apparently. This part of Morocco was once covered by a salty sea, and our guides pointed out the fossils of shelled animals and even sea turtles.

Where there was only sand for more than 50 years, now a lake has sprouted up in the Sahara

From there, Brahim had a surprise for us. They’d altered the itinerary to include a special spot that had only very recently appeared. The frequent rains over the last month had made an area of the Sahara where it had not rained for 50 years previously suddenly transform into a lake with vegetation sprouting all around. It was fascinating to come upon this mini-oasis amidst the sea of reddish sand. The scattered green shrubs, occasional tree, and still waters reflecting the sky and clouds made for a beautiful, tranquil spot. Several other SUVs had pulled up there, and I could hear travelers marveling to each other in French and German. I wandered around the giant pool, taking photos and enjoying the strangeness of the sight. It was another of those unusual sights that you know you will remember years later when you look back upon your trip.

It was fun to wander around this surprising lake amidst a sea of sand

After wringing every bit of enjoyment I could out of the picturesque spot, I returned to the SUV and wondered how many dozens and dozens of photos I had taken so far that day. Brahim explained we would have one more stop before lunch. We drove back towards Merzouga, stopping at a collection of buildings where we would enjoy a musical performance of the Gnaoua. These sub-Saharan Africans had been originally brought to Morocco as slaves in the Middle Ages. They had their own unique form of music and still performed it during festivals and now to help others learn about their culture. We sat and watched a group of four perform several songs, and (of course) enjoyed a glass of hot tea. The serving of tea is a welcoming ritual in many Middle Eastern cultures, and we experienced it time and again in Morocco.

A group of Gnaoua musicians perform their traditional music

From there, we were taken to a restaurant for lunch. By now, we’d learned how to minimize the “mountain of food” offerings at restaurants catering to tourists. All of them have multi-course, “Menu of the Day” programs. However, you can pick and choose what to order to keep from getting uncomfortably overstuffed. Also, you learn NOT to fill up on bread and soup before the main part of the meal arrives! Interestingly, we were done with our day’s scheduled activities, at this point. Brahim asked us what we wanted to do, but that was obviously all he had for us on our schedule. We convinced him to take us into Merzouga to do a little souvenir shopping. We were successfully able to find the shirt that I was hoping to find in my size. At another sprawling store, we looked at carpets, jewelry, pottery, and more. I was tempted by, as Sam says in Lord of the Rings, “the nice shiny daggers” in their curved, jeweled sheaths, but ultimately did not buy one.

Although we did not venture far into the Sahara, it was enough to fell lost in a wilderness of dunes

We had been go, go, go since landing in Morocco a little less than a week ago, so relaxing a bit at the desert camp actually sounded nice. We bounced in the SUV back to our Luxury Camp and debarked. Brahim promised us he’d return to take us to a viewing point for the sunset. As it turned out, we’d lost our clear blue sky by then and its was cloudy when the time for sunset came. Still, we went out, hoping for a miracle, and took more photos of the dunes stretching to the horizon. Although it had not been a dawn to dusk, jam-packed full day like yesterday, it had been a fulfilling one. I had enjoyed the panoramas of the desert that day, and seeing and touching History all around me.

What a day!