To the Sahara - DAY 1

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An 8AM departure for my highly anticipated trip to the desert. I am travelling with a join-in group, which in this case consists of 4 other young women and myself. Our driver is Ibrahim, and our chariot is a Land Cruiser. The rear driver door does not open from the inside; the front passenger door does not open from the outside. There seems to be an inordinate amount of duct tape holding on the side mirrors. But how bad can this trip be, right? Morocco is about the size of the district I live in back home...

Ibrahim immediately tells me that he used to be a truck driver, and knows this road like the back of his hand (a phrase he finds very very funny). I am not at all concerned, so wonder why he felt the need to tell me this - but all became clearer much later.

The plan is to drive to Ouarzazate and through Skoura for an overnight in the Dades Gorge (and this means a drive through the lush Valley of the Roses). Day 2 we visit Todra Gorge before driving onto Merzouga where we meet our camels and head out into the desert for the sunset and an overnight camp out.

Day 3 is a mad dash long drive back to Marrakech.

Ibrahim seems relieved to find out I am Canadian. He thought my name was Jewish - although he quickly goes to great pains to assure me that this would have meant nothing to him since he is a Berber and they are very accepting people.

I will let the photos tell the story of Day 1. I was NOT prepared for the beauty - and I FOR SURE was not prepared for the drive through the mountains...I did not take alot of photos through the mountains, because I was hanging on for dear life.

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Photos

Starting out
The Mountains in the distance

Hairpin
(done on 2 wheels...)

Ait-Ben Haddou
Stopped for lunch, which tells you how intense the scenery changes are. Movies (like Gladiator) filmed here.

People
I do not generally take photos of folks, but snapped a few discretely from the car

Near Dades Gorge
See that the moon is almost full...