Traversing Morocco's South: Into the Desert

Last Spring, I had the chance to take a week-long excursion through the south of Morocco.  When you visit the south, you get the sense that you're finally in Morocco.  When I left my hometown in April, the temperature was hovering just above 50F.  After a nine hour CTM bus ride from Fes, I arrived in Erfoud early in the morning and immediately began shedding my many layers of clothes to enjoy the balmy 80F weather.  By the time the desert trekking company picked us up around noon, it was well over 90F and by the time we got to the edge of the Sahara, it was easily over 100F, but the heat was not suffocating.  If you stood out in the sun, you'd toast in no time, but as soon as you got under some shade, it was bearable.

I'll never forget one winter in Indiana when we had a massive blizzard followed by some sub-zero temperatures.  The air was so cold then that every time I'd breathe it'd feel as if my little hairs in my nostrils turned into little tiny icicles and then defrost as soon as I'd breathe out.  Well, here in the desert the air was so dry that it felt like every bit of moisture in my nostrils was being sucked out turning that dense jungle of hair and mucus into a parched river bed, but then replenished as soon as I'd breathe out.  (Sorry if my imagery is slightly disturbing)

After a 30-minute 4x4 ride through the rocky, Red Planet-like desert wilderness on the way to the Erg Chebbi dunes, we arrived at a mud piste auberge where we all went into hiding from the blinding and unforgiving sun.  The mud-kasbah was amazingly cool.  We decided to order lunch.  The kasbah had about everything one could find in your typical Moroccan restaurant.  The server told us that they had some of the best Kalia in the region.  I'm not even going to attempt to describe it so I'll just borrow from others.  According to Morocco.com, it describes Kalia as "...a mutton or kid stew flavored with over 40 spices served with egg, vegetables and parsley" (http://www.morocco.com/meknes-tafilalet/erfoud/).   Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods also got a taste and had this to say about it:

I supposedly had Kalia in Erfoud, but my experience was not as unpleasant as Andrew's.  I do remember thinking that the meat was extremely tender and bursting with flavor.  The server told us that the meat had over 40 different spices; he did not say anything about the meat being a mystery meat, marinated in animal fat, or that it was putrid.  In retrospect, I'm glad he left the details out.  

Shortly after lunch, we took a nap.  Most of us had traveled overnight on a bus for about 8 hours or more, so it was nice to rest on a flat surface.  Our guides told us that we had to wait a few more hours for other tour groups to arrive and for the sun to come down a bit.  

After our nap, we went out of the auberge and walked a few hundred meters into the fringe of the desert dunes.  The sky was mostly overcast with just a few rays of the evening sun sneaking through the clouds .  The color of the dunes, mostly a pale beige hue at the height of the day, was now displaying a full range of rich orange shades.  I felt like a little kid walking through this vast sea of sand.  It was such a contrast to anything I had seen: the ripples in the sand, the sand hills and mountains, and the patches of desert grass at the base of these hills.  The sand was slightly coarse, but soothing to walk on.

While we wandered out, our guides began assembling our camels.  The camels grunted all the way to the mounting area.  We had two guides assigned to our group so they formed two caravan lines.  Once everyone was mounted, the guides tugged on the rope and began walking ahead of the leading camels, and just like that, our journey into the Sahara had begun.  

The hour and a half camel ride to our desert oasis was memorable in a number of ways.  The slow pace of the caravan allowed us to take in the surroundings, the changing hues of the desert landscape, the towering sand mountains, their shadows, and the rolling hills of sand going as far as the eye could see, but the pace also made the camel trek seem like it was a never-ending ordeal especially for my groin region.

That's me, second from the top

Going uphill on the camel was no problem, but going downhill put the pressure right smack on the gonads.  Ouch!  It was a relief finally to get off the camel, but just as I loosened up my boxers and pants to give my boys some room to recuperate, I couldn't help but think of our one and a half hour trek back.  The camel ride at the break of dawn with the sun rising over the horizon no longer had the same mystical allure that I had once imagined.

At campsite, there were already a number of other groups in other tents.  We saw a number of people climbing onto what looked like the knife-edge of a tall sand mountain overlooking base camp.  I climbed up to catch a glimpse of the sunset and to get a few shots of the sea of sand that extended to the horizon.  All the while, our guides were busy cooking up dinner.  They served up a number of tagines and put on a full table spread with plates and silverware.  Our group, already used to eating Moroccan-style, grabbed the xubz (bread) and began to chow using bits and pieces of bread with surgical precision to take apart the meat and grab the veggies that had, perhaps by God's will, fallen within our respective triangles of the tagine.

Once dinner was served, our guides and guides from other groups came by to put on a little drum and chant session to cap the night.  The setting was definitely magical.  The sky was pitch black, the stars were brighter than ever, the desert air was cool, and the moon provided the only light in this remote landscape.  Just as my mind was beginning to drift into the desert night, I was hurled back down when a fellow volunteer asked our guide if there was a restroom or designated place to take care of personal needs to which he responded with arms open wide and a strong roll of the 'r', "The rrrestrrroom is everrrywherrre!"

The plan was to catch a few ZZZs and then get up before dawn to catch the sunrise.  Our entire group of 11 slept in one tent.  We spoke for a bit, but then crashed for the night.  At around 5AM, our guides began banging their pots and pans to wake us up.  A few of us got up and climbed the sand mountain once again.  It was a bit chilly and windy, but the views were quite astounding.  I got to catch a glimpse of the sun as it rose over another tall sand ridge.  The sun was almost completely white.  It was beautiful.  I don't think I had ever seen the sun this clear.  I took a few shots and then scooted down the sand mountain to get a bit of breakfast--this time served inside our tent.

Soon thereafter, I reluctantly mounted another camel and just tried to focus my attention away from the ride and onto the beautiful scenery of changing orange and red hues as the sun began its ascent.  After another torturous yet amusing camel trek, I arrived at our kasbah auberge a bit bow-legged, but with all pieces intact, hamdullah (thanks be to God).  Once there, we took turns taking a much needed shower and prepared ourselves for our 4x4 ride back to Erfoud.  

On the way back, I saw a number of camels and herds of goats and some sheep grazing in the distance.  I also noticed quite a few signs advertising all sorts of marine fossils mainly of the trilobite variety.  Our drivers cautioned us that some of the shops rather than excavating in the harsh sun manufacture much of what they sell to unsuspecting tourists.

We arrived in the palm-oasis of Erfoud, most famously known for its annual date festival celebrating the harvest of a wide array of tasty date varieties.  This year the event got a major boost from the government who decided to capitalize on this abundant crop by putting up a highly publicized grand exhibition called SIDATTES 2010.  The drivers dropped us off at the Erfoud bus and taxi station.  From there, a few of us chilled out at a nearby restaurant, tried a little Kalia, and then went on our separate ways thankfully without any major bowel movement disruptions, l-hamdullilah.  

Trip Essentials:

Price

The bigger the group, the better the discount.  A lone trekker normally will pay between 400-450DH.  Our group of 11 managed to get a flat 400DH per head. Bigger groups of volunteers have been able to go as low as 350DH per person.  

What's included? 

From Erfoud, you’ll take a 4x4 ride to the kasbah auberge in Merzouga, camel trek to campsite and back, dinner and breakfast, overnight stay in their tents outfitted with spongy mattresses and plenty of blankets, and use of kasbah facilities (showers and storage).  

Who to call?

Pretty much every volunteer group has used a couple of guys who work with Sahara-Excursions.com.  Our contact is Hamid and can be reached at +212-(0)666-76-63-51.  If you tell them that you were referred by Peace Corps volunteers, volontaires du Corps de la Paix, he should honor the 350-450DH price range that he has extended to us.

How to get to Erfoud?

CTM departs to Erfoud from a number of major cities like Fes, Marrakech, and Casablanca.  Supratours also goes out to Erfoud.  They coordinate their departures based on train arrivals.  For more information, visit www.oncf.ma

BssHa on your travels!  Triq Slama!