We arrived at dusk at a small field where a caravan of four camels sat waiting. I've always imagined camels to be white so I headed straight for the largest white camel there and called her "Patsy" (her Berber name is actually Behir but never mind!). I strapped on my large red travel bag, loaded with toiletries and make-up (whatever for!) and climbed up onto Patsy's saddle as elegantly as I could. Screams (mine!) pierced the cool air when the camels rose up on their hind legs. But I recovered quickly enough and settled in for the 6 mile ride to the camp.
It was an exhilarating ride into the desert as night fell. The sights and sounds of the town began to fade as stars came up overhead. We rode in pitch darkness for about an hour and I couldn't see anything! Still, I wasn't at all worried as the guide was leading our camels with gentle clicking sounds to show them the way. Finally, the halt order was given and we clambered down from our camels and made our way to the waiting tents using lights from our cellphones, to the amusement of the Berber guides.
The tents were a sight straight out of my Arabian Nights picture books, laid out with carpets, mattresses and blankets of red, green and gold! Our hosts, Hassan and Muhammad, entered to welcome and serve us black tea before disappearing into the darkness to bring us a dinner of chicken and vegetable tagine.
A magical night followed...which you can read about here - no PG rating required ;-)
The next morning, as we peeked out from our tents, we were greeted by the most beautiful sight. Skies of lilac pink sat above sand dunes, with black and white Berber tents dotting the landscape.
It was very cold that morning and seeing that breakfast had been laid out atop one of the dunes, we quickly made our way to the tables and helped ourselves to the hot coffee and tea (trust the Malaysians to be the first ones to spot food even in the desert!)
We waited for the sunrise and here it is in pictures...
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