Magical Morocco #3 (Sahara Desert)

The bus view from Marrakesh to Tagounite

The Mud Castle in Tagounite

Sahara  is the largest hot desert and the third largest desert in the world after Antarctica and the Arctic. The Sahara covers the large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Lybia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.

Mr. Ikhlaf, the Berber man, our driver in Sahara

From Marrakesh, we took bus and spent almost 9 hours to Tagounite before heading to Sahara. It's really a long and winding road, ups and downs literally with deep valley, mountain, huge rock and super blue sky around us. Some of us got dizzy and threw up but still the view are totally awesome. All magnificent views are here. You name it.

In front of our camps where we ate and enjoyed the stars and music at night

Our camps.  No worries, they're equipped with mattress, blanket, electricity and a clean toilet.

When we arrived at a small city, Tagounite, we felt kind of flashed back to the year of 1970s. Tagounite is a dusty city, surrounded by very simple terracotta houses and shops however for the fresh fruits (they have the best oranges !!!) and vegetables, Morocco is the best. Up until now every time I order orange juice, I always feel disappointed since there is no orange juice as fresh as the one in Morocco.  Most of Morocco fruits and vegetables are exported to European countries.

Love this pic! (Credit to Mica)

In Tagounite, we stayed in a mud castle owned by a very kind host, Kamal. This was a very special place for us since we shared one big room and slept there altogether. The most 'adventurous' part was the bathroom, it's far from the main house, no electricity so it was a total darkness and you could hear the dogs were  barking all night long. Creepy? Everyone just stayed in the house waiting until the morning came before we decided to go to the bathroom with several of us #BackpackerAbal-abal hahaha...

Yay...we made it. At one of the high sand dunes in Sahara

The next day, we got on in a four-wheel-drive car. These 2,5 hours drive were so challenging. Rocky, dusty, hot, everything covered by the sand. But nothing beats Sahara, the sunset, the sunrise, the sand dune, the view, everything are beyond belief. Never thought that I could visit this place, stayed in a very comfortable camp, slept under millions of stars while enjoying the Berber (one of the ethnic groups in Morocco)  sang and played Morocco musical instruments. WHAT A ONCE IN A  LIFETIME EXPERIENCE...!!!