merzouga to ar rachida

saturday: had a great trip into the desert yesterday eve with mustapha. we lollopped off on our camels
at a slow walking pace for about an hour, headed for some largish dunes; when we were quite close
mustapha got us off (quite a tricky process) and we walked on our own to get some good pics etc. of
the sunset – gorgeous it was.
p climbed the largest dune near to us for some far-reaching views the other side, not all sand as far
as the eye could see, but pretty good!
even saw some desert foxes darting along – lucky that was!
when we got back to the camels mustapha had a little jewellery sale going on!, so after a bit of bartering
we bought a necklace and set off on the return journey….it was really amazing, totally silent and in semi-
darkness, we imagined ourselves in a desert caravan trekking across the lonely sahara…..!!
our camels, omar sharif and bob marley (!) were the best; no growling, no spitting in fact no bad behaviour
at all….we had slightly aching bottoms when we finally got back to the van, but not too bad! (camels are
the new fav. thing!).
almost as soon as we arrived back our dinner was brought to us, delicious soup, a berber speciality, followed
by the best chicken tagine we’ve had so far (lots of juice), and then oranges with cinnamon – it was really
good!
the italians and french motorhomers parked quite near to us lit a bonfire close to their vans, someone was
playing music, and they were all singing along....it was rather nice, and fitted in well with the desert
surroundings! : )
then an earlyish night for us as we’d decided to move in the am, keep up the momentum!
headed to small site at ar rachida, about 2 hours away.
pretty new roads all the way, so made good time and arrived in the ziz valley to find camping tissirt – right
up our street! - v. small site (16 vans), in the palmerie, with lovely facilities and a great chilled out vibe.
mohammed, the guardian, made us some thyme tea and took our details, and washing, and now we are
just relaxing for the rest of the day.
well, p is mending one of the doors in the van which has succumbed to all the bumping along we do; the
catch has fallen out!
there is v. limited internet around here, so can’t do any of the usual stuff, which is rather nice : )
off for a strole through the palmerie in a mo….
hard to believe that a week today we will be on the ferry, and back in spain : (