Day 1
A very early morning starting with the chaos of tour groups. I was escorted to a tour van near my hostel for pickup. After arriving at the main tour station, where all tours are operated, I waited for around an hour along with various other families and travelers while the company organized everyone into 15-person busses. My bus consisted of 8 Spanish tourists, one young Italian couple, a Belgian father and his two daughters, one Slovenian solo traveler, and myself.
After driving for a couple of hours and two stops at cafés along the mountain pass road, we arrived at the first major stop of the tour, Ait Ben Haddou. Ait Ben Haddou is an ancient city that has survived since the time of the early Berber communities over 3000 years ago. This city has been used countless times in the last century, as a location for films. Notable movies and television shows shot in the city are Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, the last crusade, and many more. However, the most exciting part of this city was the history. The people here developed a technique going back to the beginning of the Berber people in this area. They used green tea and sugar as a medium for sending secret messages and communication along this old trade route from Timbuktu. To read the message one must apply fire to heat up the parchment or hide of an animal to see the message. Nowadays, the native people use this technique along with indigo and saffron to create the art you see scattered about the city. A truly beautiful art form that originates specifically from Ait Ben Haddou.
We left the city at 3 pm after a long and relaxing lunch. The bus trip continued into the beautiful valley of Ait Ibriren. We spent the night here at a hotel and got some much-needed rest.
Day 2
In the early morning, starting at 6 am we ate breakfast and continued on the bus at 8 am. We arrived mid-day at Tinghir. Similar to Ait Ben Haddou, Tinghir’s history dates back thousands of years. However, this city still practices the same nomadic lifestyle passed down through many generations of the Berber. There is no school, women are taught to make carpets (from goats and camels) and clothing from an early age while the men tend to animals for food, primarily goats. Polygamy is still practiced in this village, as the ratio of men to women is ~1:50. This city provided a true glimpse into the past and how different some people choose to live. They do not want change, although change has come. Thus, the city is separated into the new and old areas with many families sticking to their roots in the old city.
After lunch next to the beautiful Todra Gorge. We continued east towards the Sahara. We reached the edge of the Sahara at 7 pm and were promptly put on camels to begin the hour and a half trek into the desert. There was one camel in the pack that was fighting the handler and clearly did not want to carry anyone or go back out into the desert. Everyone was scared and didn’t want this one. However, I stepped up and took him. The guide and I named him Ferrari because he really wanted to go faster than everyone, but I pulled up the rear of the group. The sand of the Sahara was something I had never seen before. (Find my quote in notes). After pictures and trekking through the desert, we arrived at a grouping of small tents prepared for us to spend the night. We talked and enjoyed each other’s company through dinner, we were served camel which was interesting morally and taste-wise. After dinner, the guides started a fire and played traditional music into the night. I passed out by the fire and slept for a few hours completely exhausted.
Day 3
We woke up at 4:30 am to eat breakfast, get back on the camels, and begin the trek back through the desert. Our driver Ishmael was waiting for us on the outskirts of the desert. We loaded up the bus and started the drive back to Marrakech. After a long 11-hour drive back to the city plus a few café stops, we arrived in Marrakech at 9 pm. Relief came over everyone, as we were getting dropped off at various locations throughout the city. However, the Belgian family, the Slovenian, and I were the last stops. Ishmael was going to help the Slovenian get his bags from the back of the bus when he opened his door and boom. He hit the elbow of a man on a small motorbike. The wife of this man gets off and starts screaming at the top of her lungs at Ishmael. 10 seconds later the man who was hit comes over and pins Ishmael against the driver’s side door with his forearm against Ishmael’s neck. At this point, we are in the middle of the city and the hundreds of people around us start looking and a few are getting involved with the potential fight looming to happen. The police are called, Ishmael hands his stored pipe to a friend and I believe starts making something up that something broke in the van. Nevertheless, the Slovenian left immediately and the Belgian family and I went to grab our bags and get out of this situation. We thank Ishmael, say our goodbyes, and I made the half an hour walk in under 20 minutes just wanting the peace, quiet, and cold shower of the hostel. I arrive at the hostel, shower, and go the bed embracing one of the best nights of sleep I have had in recent memory.