A Night in the Sahara and a Day with the Locals

On Wednesday, we made our way towards Merzouga and the Sahara Desert. Upon arriving at our hotel, we quickly put everything we needed for a night in our backpacks and then headed off to meet the Amazigh (Berber) guides who were going to take us to the Berber tents. We each got a camel of our own and went off on a two-hour camel ride. The Sahara itself seemed unreal to many of us. It is just so naturally beautiful that we couldn't really believe that we were IN the Sahara Desert riding camels! When we arrived to the Berber tents, we were quickly escorted to the large dining tent where some musicians were playing and food was being served. Several other tourists were in the tent as well, enjoying the experience. At one point, after everyone ate their meals, a large group of us got up and danced with the Berber musicians. It was so much fun to share in that. After the dancing, the musicians asked Abdel if any of us were musicians... Our two conservatory majors, Joey and Mark, were pulled to play drums with the Berber musicians. A few others tried it too. There was a point that Cheryl and I were talking and we realized that Joey and Mark were STILL playing. They were doing a really good job of playing along.

After dinner was finished, most of the other tourists went to bed but the Berber people joined us at our table and Abdel told us that we were their guests and they entertained us but now they were our guests and we were to entertain them. So, our group started singing for them ... Everything from the Cups Song to showtunes! It was so much fun.

The next morning (bright and early at 5:30) we all got up and made our way back to the hotel. We showered and had breakfast before getting on the road towards Skoura where we would be having dinner with Abdel's family. We stopped on the road a few times to see gorgeous panoramic views of the mountains and valleys that surrounded us. At one point, we stopped and bought a few souvenirs and rose water products. Our first stop in Skoura was one of Abdel's sisters houses where we had mint tea, dates, mixed nuts and vanilla wafers. We sat in their gorgeous tea room (with our shoes off) and enjoyed each other's company for a good while. After that, we went towards Abdel's parents' house where another sister of his was preparing dinner. We were shown how Moroccans make their tea (and took very detailed notes) and were taken to the tea room where we got to meet Abdel's brother, father and niece. Our travel guide, Ardwan, translated for us and we talked with Abdel's father about our trip and how honored we were to have the opportunity to have dinner with all of them. We all agreed when we were served the herrera soup that our dinner there was the best of all the places we have been so far. After the herrera, the main course was brought out -- cous cous. Two HUGE platters of cous cous to divide between us all. The food was delicious and we tried to devour as much of the food as we could.

After dinner, we were invited upstairs to receive henna tattoos from a local professional. Overall, the  experience was probably one of our favorites because we got to do more than just see the sights. We got to interact with the people for an extended period of time and seeing how welcoming and kind and generous Abdel's family was and how happy they were to see him was just heart warming. Honestly, we felt humbled to be invited into Abdel's home and to spend even a brief evening with the people he cares for the most. It was easy to see where Abdel has gotten his generous nature from.

Today, we get on the road towards Marrakech and we're all upset about it because it means that our time in Morocco is coming to a close. We're truly starting to understand how coming to another country on GCP is more than just going on vacation because I can honestly say that I have never experienced a melancholic feeling about leaving a place after a vacation. We have been so, so, so blessed on this trip and we're going to not worry about how little time we have left and instead enjoy the moments we will remember for a lifetime.