On Friday I headed south to Merzouga. Supposed to be a 5+hr ride, but the roads have been improved.
Enroute saw TWO versions of the Grand Canyon. Again could not stop to take photos of the great scenary. This is just a hint
The iffy roads appear at Rissani, but once out of the city smooth tarmac again.
Rode in, and almost out of Merzouga. But the tarmac ended. I was about to dial-up Booking-dot-com when Ali appeared on his 50cc. He promised me an authentic experience, one night in the desert and one in the hotel. So I gave it a try. By the time we had ridden to the place, I was wishing I was on Ali’s bike. No tarmac, just some hard-packed gravel and lots of sand. But praise be Allah, I did not fall over.
Mubarrek then took over the price negotiations. We ended up at a quarter of his starting price, but I am still unsure if I have a “good deal”.
15mins later I joined the camel train
My advice: Don’t ride camels! But if you do, MAKE SURE YOU ARE SEATED AS COMFORTABLY as possible, BEFORE the camel stands up!!!
We watched the sun go down
Then followed the camels down to this camp
Had supper and an evening of chat.
Nice couple who work at this NICE hotel in Holland.
A crew from China, Ghana and Brazil who were over in Maroc during their holidays from school. Part of the AIESEC volunteer programme.
Hassan was the dutiful host. And after supper, we sat around the campfire for some music and star-gazing 🙂
Late to bed and up before 7am to catch the sunrise.
The return trip on the camel was more comfortable then the first.
Still not a recommendation to ride! hahahaha
We then had breakfast and said our goodbyes. I am staying here to rest and recover.
Head towards Marrakech on Sunday.
ps: how is my new navigation app NavFree? Still undecided. Does a good job of planning a route, once it accepts your destination. Am still working on the options, which are not intuitive. Time-frames for the routes can be very pessimistic