A Desert Adventure in Morocco
 O nce in a while, the opportunity comes up for a real adventure, a journey in a relatively remote region where physical effort is required and the rewards are found daily: when you study a grain of sand, when you view the Milky Way, in the companionship of your fellow travellers, and the education you get from your leader. The Southern Morocco Camel Trek is one of those adventures and journeys.
The main feature of the trip is a 210 km trek from Zagora to Merzouga in the Sahara desert. This trip has a special tour leader - Michael Asher. Michael is an internationally-known desert explorer, author, and environmentalist. He has received the Ness Award from the Royal Geographic Society for desert exploration, and the Mungo Park Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for exploration and work with camels.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1996. With his wife, he was the first westerner to cross the Sahara from west to east, a journey that took him nine months over 7,430 km. (To put this in perspective, it is 6,700 km from Dawson City, Yukon to Halifax, Nova Scotia.) You could not ask for a more knowledgeable leader … a true adventurer who has spent many years in the Sahara living with nomads. Our group met in Marrakech.
The following day we drove over the High Atlas Mountains to Zagora, passing kasbahs, oases, and villages until we reached the end of the road. We met our camels and camel guides 10 km past the end of the road just by the Tzi N'Tafilet pass. Our ten-day journey to Merzouga was about to begin.
The highlights were: the beauty of the desert and the education of the desert ecosystem; the stars at night; the company of Michael Asher; trekking in a place relatively untouched by 'progress'; appreciating a slower pace of life and living our days by the sun and, finally, gaining an appreciation and education of a nomadic way of life
 A typical day would start with waking up at about 5:30. The sun rose each day at 6:00 and by 7:00 we would have had our breakfast, packed up and be ready to start the day. We would walk or ride our camels for four hours, with regular breaks on the hour for a rest and a snack, at a pace of about 5 - 6 km per hour. At 11:00 we would find a place to have a three-hour break. We found shade from the hot sun from nearby trees or hillsides and, on all days that we needed it, we would have a large tent put up for us.
Lunch would generally be ready by 12:15 or 12:30 after glasses of therapeutic green or mint tea with as much sugar as we needed. Afternoon treks were between three and four hours. We always had tea within 30 minutes of our arrival and the tent would be set up again. Dinners were usually ready by 6:30. Evenings offered a good chance for all the participants to talk about the day and share stories and philosophies. Every night we slept under the stars. The last sight each night was the Milky Way and shooting stars.
The desert was, for the most, part uninhabited. We may have seen four or five settlements the whole time. We met Berber nomads and visited their tents. Often we would come near herds of camels or goats. We walked through mountain passes, on plains, 'bushwhacked' though wadis, and walked on top of dunes. We found fossils.
We drew our water from wells. We spent one day in a mini sandstorm. Most days we enjoyed a breeze to keep us fresh. We all kept our heads and parts of our faces covered to protect us from the sun. To our great surprise there was a lot of green. Vegetation consisted of an oasis of palm trees, grasses, and shrubs, desert melons and a few trees.
We had a cook and seven camel men with us. They were responsible for our meals, teas, setting up the big tent, packing and unpacking our gear, tending to the camels, ensuring our comfort on the camels, and making sure we were on track as we walked. I have never seen a group work so hard and so seamlessly in my life. Sleeping tents were provided, two to a tent unless you had paid the single supplement.
Four of us set up the tents on the first night, but none of us used them. We all slept under the glorious stars. The meals were far better than I expected. Every morning I would look forward to oatmeal porridge with fig jam spooned in to sweeten, plus breads, cheeses, tea and coffee.
Everyday we would have fresh bread made in the sand under a fire. Lunch was usually salads of lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, corn and red onions with tinned sardines or tuna. This was when the bread was made, so it was always fresh and warm. And at dinner we enjoyed harira soup, pastas, vegetable stews, couscous, rice and eggplant dishes with oranges, apples and even chocolate puddings for desert..
 (I know you are wondering, so I will explain that bathrooms were "bush style" with the request that we burn our t.p. No digging was necessary … we were told our business was the business of the dung beetles and other insects! And we had lots of water and soap with which to keep clean. In fact, I was surprised how easy it was to stay clean for such a length of time without a bath or shower.)
The camel men made the experience for the group. You could tell they loved what they were doing. Who wouldn't be happy living in the desert at peace, sharing your knowledge with an appreciative group?
The camel men became friends and the camaraderie was wonderful. We walked with them and even though the majority of us spoke no Arabic other than "sukran" and "salaem alekum", and no Berber, we communicated in broken French (on both sides), smiles, and friendly teasing. These guys would also spend a large part of the day teasing each other and laughing as well.
The Sahara is wilderness but our route took us within striking distance of roads and settlements if an emergency arose. It was possible to see a snake or scorpion but the real possibility of trouble could have been dehydration. We had to drink 5-6 litres of iodine-treated water each day (for me that meant a few gulps every 15 - 20 minutes).
It was suggested we have one pack of re-hydrating salts in one of our litres of water each day. There were quite a lot of flies around in the day and moths each night, but we got used to them. The highest temperature we experienced was 32° and in the evenings it went down to about 12°.
Canadians can't really practice riding a camel! But the guys made them comfortable and were always friendly and concerned about safety and comfort. Spending eight hours per day of physical activity over a period of nine or ten days in a desert environment is not easy. One needs to be pretty fit. The youngest guy on the trip (mid 20s) was, in fact, the least fit of the bunch. He led a sedentary life with an office job working in the UK and he found it the toughest, but he did it.
At the end he said he had walked more those ten days than he had in the past ten years. I got fit by doing the 'Grouse Mountain Grind' a total of 35 times between May and October, plus biking and swimming. It took about two days to get into the routine of the trip and after that we really enjoyed the rhythm of the desert, especially with Michael's help.
Our group was 11 in number: six from the UK, one Korean, one from the UAE, two from the US, and me. Our ages ranged from 26 to a fellow traveller who celebrated her 80th birthday on day seven! The cooks made a special dessert that night to mark the occasion. This lady has travelled to Afghanistan, through most of Arabia, trekked in the Himalayas, and hiked in South America.
I learned a lot from her, including the importance of a "can do" attitude. The end of the trip came too soon. After big hugs and handshakes with our new friends the group realized that we had all accomplished something momentous and important. We also realized how lucky we were to have such a great experience in the desert, learning and sharing. Our trip ended after a day and a half in the Erg Chabbai and Fez was a nine hour drive away.
 Morocco is a country that is changing and modernizing at a fast pace. Each day in the Sahara we would see a few jeeps or a specially-outfitted overland truck. More often than not they would stop and take our picture! We were part of the attraction for them because we were doing the journey in an authentic manner. I think in five to ten years the trek we did will be paved over. So go as soon as you can!
No reservations required. The Kings Arms offers breakfast with the citizens of the Revolution, Saturdays and Sundays, as well as meals throughout the day. Reservations recommended. In addition, there is the Raleigh Tavern bakery (try their great cinnamon buns!), the Museum café and many other options. Merchant's Square features 40 unique shops and restaurants as well.
This is the place to pick up a souvenir of your visit: everything from pewter to local peanuts, clothing, crafts, etc. You will need an hour or two to tour the many shops offering so many different things!
This trip - the Southern Morocco Camel Trek - was organized by Trek Escapes of Vancouver. 14 days from $3,780. Full details at www.trekescape.com, trip code AMC in the trip-finder box.
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