Rock the Kasbah

Our journey to the desert began with a bus from Marrakesh with all Moroccans over the High Altas mountains which only a few days prior were closed due to so much snow..Tichki Pass was scary to go over as it is over 4000m of a mountain, such a contrast to the palm tree laden desert...after a death gripping bus ride we actually made it to a town called Ouarzazate, (where it's at), according to the locals, the Hollywood of Morocco. Apparently Hollywood has built a studio here where Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and other movies have been filmed.



Note the palmaraie where villagers have their animals feed on the grass, an old kasbah in the background.


Here is where we met an older French couple who were headed to Tinghir, the halfway point to the DESERT, our destination. We wanted to ride camels in the Sahara. Jün and Bridgitte offered us a free ride with them, of course stopping all along the way to see the 1000 kasbahs which are tightly knit communities made of mud and straw and palm wood where people live and function since time can remember. On this trip we were fortunate enough to have our first camel ride for 20 Dirhams, 5 minutes each. (rip off) Of course, we stopped along the way to have mint tea laced with absyinth, a native plant of this region. Everywhere you go you must sit and sip mint tea with everyone, do not question it, just do it, because it is the tradition and you will hear many stories, fact vs fiction is up to you to determine. And everywhere you go someone will probably try to sell you a beautiful Moroccan rug. We met a Peace Corps volunteer in Tinghir who hooked us up with a guy named Matt from Florida whose host dad organized desert tours in Merzouga, the famous dunes of the Sahara.....