http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Morocco , Mekn s Tafilalet , Merzouga en-us Mon, 16 Nov 09 22:21:14 +0000 Mon, 16 Nov 09 22:21:14 +0000 Some of us got up at 0530AM to see sunrise over the dunes. It wasnrsquot terribly exciting because it was somewhat cloudy but since I was up I figured that I would tackle a 140m high sand dune that didnrsquot look very far away. The entire trip took close to an hour but it was very rewarding to reach the top Got back just in time for breakfast which consisted of dates olives flat bread http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-397871.html Today was a LONG driving day 800 1900 because we had to make it all the way to Merzouga. We made a few stops along to way to be wowed by the scenery as we drove over the Middle Atlas mountains and to stretch our legs. Ifrane aka Little Switzerland was one of the stops. Built in 1929 for French expatriate diplomats and functionaries it was so named because it looks like a Swiss town with http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-397870.html I definitely wanted the tyedyed one.......................The long awaited trip was upon us. It is spring break for the school here in Morocco so we had decided to hit the road to the Sahara desert. Camels Kasbahrsquos the oasis possibly a quad rental but for sure a camel camping excursion in the Sahara. The journey began around 5am on Sunday. Travelling in a caravan of cars from Casab http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-395821.html DAY 6We take a fantastic drive this AM about 5 hours towards the mighty Sahara Desert. We see the rocky mountain to lush palmeries valleys with date palms fields and orchards.Our excitement builds as we see the huge sand dunes in the distance that get closer and closer to the right of us but on the left there is a storm building with dark blue clouds and lighting in the distance.A contrast for http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-393476.html The Gite Chezyoussef is a family home located in the center of the ancient village of Merzouga. Is about 80m after the door you turn left. The lodge is built of the same architecture and the authentic charm of the houses in the village and has 04 rooms equipped with shower and toilet a large dining lounge a small lounge and the terrace around a small garden. The house is a h http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-369575.html Chez Youssef Gite Restaurant Bivouac Merzouga centre 52202Emailyoussefmeskouryahoo.fr chezyoussefgmail.comWebsite httpwww.chezyoussefmerzouga.tk GSM 00212 66 36 71 74 Tel00212 35 57 89 04I speak French English Spanish Arabic Berber and a litlle Catalan. See you in Merzougaincha allah http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-369574.html We appologize that we haven't written for the last few days. Mom and I have both been pretty sick and no easy way to blog. My seven year record of no puking flew out the window yesterday... hopefully that means I will be good for another seven yearsWe ventured off into the high dunes in Merzouga for a trek with the camels and we had a great time. We watched the sun set as we slowly made our w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-338375.html 10 Sep an all day drive through the spectacular scenery of the Middle Atlas and High Atlas mountains as well as the cedar forests before arriving on the edge of the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert in the village of Merzouga. En route we stop to see a pack of hungry and extremely lazy monkeys on the roadside.By the time we checkin to our auberge and climb the sand dune behind our rooms we hav http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-325895.html hey evrybady i am from sahara desert guid samebady need to know about camels treks and about travling in desert i am here http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-315336.html Here are some short videos that I took from my camera in Morocco... http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-304356.html Who would have thought that it'd be hot in Africa's Sahara Desert in the summer Somewhere somehow Peter and I neglected that minor detail when we set off with our little rented Renault. Holding tight to our budget we also neglected to investigate the car rental personnel's look of curiosity when we said 'no' to the more expensive car with AC. It's difficult to explain how hot 50 is but t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-293593.html It was a fun experience sleeping in a tent in the desert and the optimists in us say that not too many people will have slept through rain in the desert however we were both glad that we were only there one night. We woke to our alarm at around six and we dressed hastily in order to catch the sunrise. We were a bit annoyed that our guide didn't wake us but it didn't actually matter because it was http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-251110.html We woke this morning and waited with another English guy for the hotel owner to take us to a minibus which would take us to the desert. The minibus was massively overloaded with things on top and inside the bus. There were also twelve of us getting a lift but being the only westerners we were stuck on a bench at the back of the minibus.We were dropped off at what we were told was Hasi Labied but w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-251106.html I like to think I got to the Sahara Well I'm not a long way from it. Erg Chebbi has plenty to offer and is much more than just an intro to the desert experience beautiful fine golden sand the highest dunes in Morocco friendly accommodation...It was worth it delaying my trip from Todra to come to Merzouga with Rosa Jorge and Abdul. After getting my bike's wheels stuck on the track and splitti http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-233512.html Woke up early in the morning for the sunrise. Was disappointed with the view of the sun rise guess I was expecting something different again all what I saw was the sun rising from a dune and then saw the sun rising from another dune it was really useless. I think whatrsquos important is to see the sun rise from the horizon and thats not what I saw.I kept walking up a dune and noticed there were http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-228610.html I woke up around 8am and took a shower. Had mint tea and had a chat with the owners son. I said what I can afford is Dhm550. He said the lowest is 650 and then after bargaining it became 600 and then I said come on I am a student from Sri Lanka I donrsquot have much money and that he wouldnrsquot have to spend much money on food because I'm vegetarian and lets do this for 550. He said let me g http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-228602.html The guy at the reception told me that there is a tour for 2 nights 3 days where they did the two gorges near Tenehir and the Marzhouga desert which was costing Dhm1050 or Dhm850 without a camel ride. The French couple was doing it and they required a 3rd person. Even though I heard from the French couple yesterday that they had met travellers who said it was good I felt the price was a little stee http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-228551.html It has been a whirlwind of activity since the last post. We finished up our Sociology and Arabic courses with a pretty brutal final exam in Arabic and a quite lax one for Sociology. We spend the previous weekend studying and making last minute stops to shops interesting sites and Marjanemdasha very large supermarket that gave us a little slice of the huge supermarket scene we were accustomed http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-214557.html You know when you are at the edge of the Saraha desert. The sand dunes seems to rise up out of nowhere and there are camels waiting all lined up waiting for you Getting on a camel is a b305t of a balancing act but once you are up there it is a very cool experience. We headed out about an hour before sunset and as we headed out to the camp the colors of the sand change from yellow to orang http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-189831.html while sipping our mint tea and brainstorming our next destination we met a spaniard emilio the great who too was touring much of the world. he was nice enough to share his thoughts on seeing the high atlas mountains of morocco and the world famous sahara desert. it took all of two minutes for us to redirect our compass to eastern morocco. due to perilous cliffs on either side of usthe twisti http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/Merzouga/blog-183910.html