Conquering the Camels - Driving the Desert


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Africa » Morocco » Meknès-Tafilalet » Merzouga
February 22nd 2011
Published: March 11th 2011
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Long day ahead of us today to drive from Fez to Erfoud, and Merzouga if we can make it that far, and the next day we drive to Dades Gorge. Luckily, Enis enjoys driving. I can't drive a stick shift so all the driving is up to him. I just read the map. We ate breakfast and the older gentlemen from our hotel lead me through the maze that is the medina to a money changer. The he lead me back through the maze to the car where Enis was waiting and we were off. It was already 10:00, so not the early start I had hoped for, but we had to change money. I knew that if I started paying for things in USD or euro, I would spend more and be more likely to be ripped off. So, after fueling up, we were off.

Or were we? The car was sputtering and coughing pretty badly. Did he put the wrong fuel in the car? We hoped not. Our plan was to ignore it and keep driving. Good plan, eh?

The first place of interest we drove through was Ifrane. Unlike every other city, town, and village we had seen, Ifrane was clean. Spotless. It looked like a Swiss village, which was exactly what the French intended it to look like after building it in the 1930's as a refuge from the summer heat of Fez. We took a few photos and a wrong turn, and soon righted our wrong and kept going. I made the mistake of telling Enis it was market day in Azrou, a Berber village, and that the LP said this was a good place to buy Berber kilims. So we stopped. We stayed way too long. We bought four kilims and one pillow cover. Well, I bought four kilims and one pillow cover, but three of the kilims were for Enis' carpet shop in Selcuk. Business, as usual. He did the same when he visited me in China. Spent hours and hours looking at and negotiating the price of carpets, and then wanted me to buy them. I didn't in China. And he has to pay me back for these... The Moroccans are not savy bargainers and don't care to take too long. If you look at something and say you like it, they assume you will buy it after minimal bargaining. We
JimmyJimmyJimmy

Nice profile pic. I love the way his lower lip hangs so elegantly.
got an excellent price on our kilims, had lunch at a very local restaurant where I really did not care to see the kitchen, and we were on the road again.

Not much to report until we reached Erfoud. We didn't stop again until we got there. It was about 8:30 and Erfoud was small, so we found Hotel Canne using the map in the LP that I did manage to steal from Riad El Pacha. It was 180 MAD a night for a double, but once again, I wouldn't go barefoot in the bathroom, nor would I use the shower. Other than that, it was totally fine.

We had a good sleep and got up at 6:30 to get an early start on the short drive to Merzouga. We followed the signs and pretty soon we ran out of road and were needing a 4wheel drive. Enis thought we could make it, but I insisted we turn around. After about an hour wasted we were on the right road and made it to Merzouga before 10:00. I liked this village that exists solely because of the Sahara Desert tourism industry. We had breakfast a cafe and it
Ismail's FeetIsmail's FeetIsmail's Feet

He treks barefoot.
was decent, and the owner took us to Le Lac Sahara where we met our guide, Ismail. We took a 1 1/2 hour ride in the desert and agreed on a price of 200 MAD each. I actually thought it was a little high, but we didn't bargain. We had some mint tea and peanuts while they prepared the dromedaries. Camels actually have two humps. Ours were dromedaries because they only have one. Ismail told us that. I had no idea.

We got on the camels without any problem and started riding. We were at the edge of the Sahara but the sand dunes were still impressive. Neither of us had ever ridden a camel before, so we were pretty stoked. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Ismail was really funny and he could speak Berber, Arabic, French, Spanish, and English. He is 19 years old and has been a guide for 3 years. He told us he wouldn't get paid for today because we weren't spending the night. He also told us that on overnight excursions he only makes 5 euros. We acted appropriately shocked and expressed our disapproval. But I didn't believe
Ismail'd ShoesIsmail'd ShoesIsmail'd Shoes

Ismail took right back where we started. His shoes mark the spot!
him. I had no doubt he didn't make a lot of money, but this seemed a bit extreme. He is also the cook on the overnight excursions. At any rate, he was a great guide, he made us laugh, and we were really happy with our ride in the desert.

Afterwards Ismail and another guide who didn't speak much English showed us some fossils they had collected and polished. They were really beautiful. They told us that's how they make money was by selling these. We were going to tip him anyway, but not as much as he was asking for the fossils. But, for some reason, we really liked this guy and gave him 200 MAD for a beautiful fossil. I honestly didn't want it, and the other guide didn't do anything for us that I knew of, but we bought the fossil and Enis gave Ismail one of his most prized possessions - an Ephesus t-shirt.

It was a gorgeous day and we were soon on the road again. We were staying in Dades Gorge tonight, but first, I wanted to see Todra Gorge before it got dark. We managed to get there without getting lost and took the turn to the Todra Gorge which was the opposite direction of Dades. We took pictures and kept driving. There were loads of people living in the gorge and we really did not expect that. Once we got away from the people and further into the gorge, it looked remarkably like Arizona. It was really beautiful, but really long, so we turned around and drove out before it got dark.

We had an uneventful drive to Dades, but when we got there, I realized we had at least another 27 km to our hotel. In the dark. Through the Dades Gorge. We were tired and grouchy, but kept going. We were just about to give up and just stop somewhere since I hadn't left a credit card number with my reservation, and then suddenly there it was in front of us - Kasbah de la Vallee Hotel. It looked really nice on the internet, so I was happy to have found it.

What a crushing disappointment to find out it was a tour bus hotel, had a crappy bathroom in our room, and just an average room that was too small. But they did serve dinner late, so we had Moroccan couscous that was cold and a beer that was reasonably priced, and then went to bed. I was really ticked off about this hotel. It was 70 USD a night and not nearly as nice as the one in Fez, near the medina for only 65 USD a night. What a rip off. If you're not with a group, I don't recommend it. And if you are with a group, I stil don't recommend it.

We ate yet another breakfast of bread and coffee, with no electricity in the hotel, and then went for a walk up the gorge past our hotel. It was beautiful, but it looked like the Todra Gorge, so we turned around after about a kilometer and drove out of the Dades Gorge. We got some good photos, but we had a long drive ahead of us today so we didn't stop much in the gorge, although we got some great photos. This one was much easier driving than the Todra, but it was still pretty populated.

We didn't drive far before reaching Skoura. We hadn't planned to stop there, but I was reading about it in the LP and it seemed interesting. Skoura is known for its old earthen houses that are still in use or still in good condition. It is also known for the Amerdil Kasbah which has been the setting for several movies. So after taking some photos of the earthen houses, we drove across a dry riverbed to Amerdil Kasbah. A new addition to the original Kasbah is lovely hotel, also earthen and built in the same architectural style of the Kasbah. Very beautiful. There was a young man sitting outside the Kasbah studying and he told us the entry fee was 10 MAD each and the guide would be 50 MAD. I knew we had a choice to use the guide or not, but he made it sound like we didn't, but in a good way. It was still cheap and he was friendly and spoke excellent English, so he asked us how long we would like to spend on our tour. We said about 30 minutes. The guide was great and totally worth it. It made the visit much more meaningful and interesting. And he was funny.

There are many Kasbah's you can tour between Dades Gorge and Oarzazate (war-za-zat) and we only saw two, but I believe Amerdil with a guide is probably the best. It is featured on the 50 dirham note and the LP says the owner will give you a tour, but that is not the case anymore, although our guide said he was part of the family that owns the Amerdil Kasbah, which I could believe. He was clearly educated and well, to put it not so delicately, not poor. But he was interesting and very gracious, something we did not experience much of from the Moroccan people we met.

On the road again our next stop was 40km later in Oarzazate where we visited the Taourirt Kasbah which has been in many movies and is well restored, although I have my doubts that the restoration takes the Kasbah back to its original splendor. We paid 20 MAD each to enter, but no guide. This kasbah is really huge and some of the rooms have ornate ceilings and windows. Some just have white walls. This kasbah does have some amazing architecture and interesting features, but none of the 'used' look of the Amerdil. It looks very movie-ish. I think it is worth seeing though.

After the kasbah we had a lovely lunch at Restaurant 3 The thanks to the LP. And then we were on the road again after using their clean bathroom, which was a rare find in Morocco. We drove and drove and drove until we reached Agadir. Kudos to Enis. It was 10PM and we finally found a reasonably priced hotel that wasn't completely gross - Hotel Letour de Sud. For 230 MAD, we got a nice double room and a shower I would go barefoot in, but no breakfast. It is not in the LP, but it was a good deal.

Tomorrow, a lot less driving! Yeh! We are off to Essaouira and I am really excited to see this town.


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Pizzeria Restaurant des DunesPizzeria Restaurant des Dunes
Pizzeria Restaurant des Dunes

in Erfoud. Great pizza and clean bathrooms!


12th March 2011
Photo 28

A fine looking camel ;-)
14th March 2011

Fine Camel Specimen
Yes, he was a fine looking camel. I just felt terrible that he had a rope tied around his lower lip. He had trouble keeping up with camel who was in the lead so the rope was constantly rubbing and pulling his lower lip.
4th October 2011

awesome!!
REALLY REALLY cool!! I hope I get the opportunity to get over that way!!

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