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Published: July 20th 2007
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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 re-direct our compass to eastern morocco. due to perilous cliffs on either side of us,the twisting roads at elevation and a driver with an almost spastic pedal foot..we enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smell of 3 fellow passengers sharing their lunch on the floor of the bus. On arrival to the dusty desert town of Ouarzazate at nearly midnight, we quickly found that bus schedules were not in our favor and would be staying two nights. we did meet some great people..again running into emilio (can´t shake that man) and many locals always up for sharing a cup of tea. Ouarzasate which is becoming famous for it´s outlying areas ideal for hollywood films. the stunning scenery and minimal bureaucracy made it the filming location of movies such as Gladiator" (2000), directed by Ridley Scott, and "Alexander" (2004), Oliver Stone also:"Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), directed
by Franco Zeffirelli; "Jewel of the Nile" (1985), Lewis Teague; "The Living Daylights" (1987), John Glen; "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988), Martin Scorsese; "The Sheltering Sky" (1990), Bernardo Bertolucci; "Kundun" (1997), Martin Scorsese; and "The Mummy" (1999), Stephen Sommers.
we rented a taxi driver coupled with the standard early 80´s mercedes with sheep skin dash guard to the hillside kasbah of Ait Bennhadou where we climbed the intricate system of hallways and steps in the attempt to reach the top. wandering into a local man´s house, he was proud to show us his memorabilia from his time as a set builder and extra in the movie "Gladiator" which is a personal favorite of mine and every other guy in the world..i could understand his excitement. we sipped tea and listened to his daily life via the universal language of pantamiming. No words were needed though when he showed us his rooftop terrace built of mud and sticks showcasing the billion dollar view that was the surrounding mountains and riverbeds at afternoon sun...amazing!
The next day we were on another travel day enlisting a bus, two taxis, and our swollen feet to arrive in merzouga on the outskirts of
the sahara desert near the algerian border. after an hour of negotiations with some kids, we had purchased a guide into the desert for just the two of us with dinner, tea and all the stars we could take in included. we boarded our camels in the 50 degree heat (celcius) after a short safety presentation..kidding..not even close. our guide didn´t speak a lick of english only his native hill people dialect of berber. again we spoke with our hands and many smiles as this man had our lives in his hands and as we discussed how easily it would be to "disappear" out there we wandered deeper into the desert. now, one would think the sahara would gently transition but it´s not really the case. the sands nearly start and stop on a defining line and then carry on seemingly forever. the awkward gait of our camel took some getting used to and the smell of riding second in the caravan was something i could never get used to.. (really, the smell of a camels flatulence is not to be messed with) but the scenery was breathtaking even with the intermittent sand gusts and rain showers. It took all
of 5 minutes to be completely surrounded and disorientated in this harsh but beautiful land. we had camera cramps from snapping photos left and right but resigned to the fact that nothing could capture the beauty we were taking in....absolute awe. we arrived at our site after a couple hours with aching inner thighs and bruises on bones i previously never knew i had, we limped away from our camels and threw ourselves up the dunes anyway possible, there is no efficient or cool way of ascending these things and they make a wimp out of you in 3 minutes. once perched atop a nice dune, we looked out over the peaks that reached out to the horizon. the burnt orange unlike any sand i´ve sank my feet in kept both of us in silence while we absorbed the moment. We were called back with waving hands by our guide who prepared us a typical moroccan meal of vegetables, flat bread, and chicken and gently sprinked sand throughout the meal but it was delicious. fresh fruit was dessert and we layed back to watch the shadows grow till darkness. the heat doesn´t really allow you to sleep in the large
tents and so we slept on our wool blankets doubling as camel saddles in the day. the shooting stars and occasional sand gusts kept us busy most of the night so sleep wasn´t part of the package deal. Twice we shined our light out into the darkness to identify the surrounding sounds only to find hobbled camels hopping around with 3 able legs..needless to say, their range was short. rising in the morning, we sipped tea and watched the sunrise from a nearby dune top. we were not the lone people out here as you look out and see ant size nomads who make their homes here waking up as well. This was definitely one of the highlights of our last 8 months.
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Patty
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Wow
That's all i can say!