Merzouga | HANNAHVIOLIN

Time for another installment of “Morocco Uncovered” recaps. For previous posts, please read these.

Day 7: It was still dark when I headed over to breakfast. The restaurant was in a different building than we were staying: we were all staying in one building but the hotel was spread out, and there was also a campground on site. It was kind of funny to see all the RV’s. And I would be very nervous about the campground bathroom, though I have no idea. It was quite cold for any sort of tent camping for sure, I didn’t see anyone doing that but I don’t know.

The front door to the building we were all staying in.

This was a screencap of my weather app, taken the night before. WINTRY MIX!?!

The sun was up after breakfast, sort of, and I took a few pictures of the grounds.

Another part of the hotel. There were a few other groups staying here, and they must have been in this area.

Outside the building. Lots of cool vines! You can see an RV coming through as well.

It was cold, and started raining as we set out. We had a long driving day ahead of us. We were headed for Merzouga to spend a night at the desert. We made a rest stop at a cafe and I got a nice coffee with milk. I paid 5 dirhams to use the toilet, because I didn’t have smaller change.

We made a few scenic stops along the way: one was a stop at the largest palm tree oasis in Morocco and perhaps the world.

We stopped at a buffet for lunch and enjoyed some nice chicken, lentils, and other Moroccan specialties such as couscous.

The rain continued and made us doubt ourselves: we were heading for the desert, to ride camels, IN THE RAIN? What are the chances?

We made another stop to buy scarves (for those that wanted) for our desert ride. Of course, it wouldn’t be too dusty with the rain, but still fun. I bought a nice purple and black one for 150 dirham.

And then finally we turned off the highway, and drove along the sand for 10-15 minutes. It was very bumpy and there was no discernable road, though there must have been a route the driver was following? It was hard to tell. We got the desert camp, our home for the night, and it was still raining.

We decided as a group to postpone the camel ride until the next morning in the hopes the weather would improve. We got assigned our tents: this was the one night I had to share, so Sabine and I shared a tent. They gave us tea and snacks as well, and then we had some downtime. It was cold and rainy, and then the power and water weren’t really working–the tents had bathrooms, but you needed power for the water, so that was frustrating, as there wasn’t a non-water bathroom option.

inside the tent when the lights were on.

You can see the tents on the side here, the black boxes.

We took a walk out on the dunes then as a group. The camp was set up right at the edge of the sand dunes, and it was really beautiful even in the rain.

You can tell it wasn’t raining that hard, it kept alternating between heavier and lighter rain. But not what you would expect for the desert!!

We hung around camp a bit after that, and waited for the water and power to start working again. No such luck, so we ended up walking to a nearby hotel for dinner. We were served soup, salad, chicken tagine, and of course, oranges, apples, and bananas for dessert. But we got word during dinner that the power and water were ON, and that was exciting.

After dinner our hosts plus Aman played some drums and sang around the fire. I hung out and listened for a bit as the rain had stopped, but it seemed to be starting up again and I turned in to bed. It was cold in the tent, but warm enough under the very heavy covers! Note: I finished my book that night, was reading “The Frozen People” by Elly Griffiths and really enjoyed it.