The Sahara

JG: We rented a car for two days and drove out to the Sahara desert. No a/c in the car and temps north of 40°C. You haven't lived until you've driven in downtown Marrakech - at one point, I changed lanes to pass a mule, and later in the drive we had to stop for camels crossing the road. It was a grind, but we arrived in the early evening, rode camels out to the desert, slept in tents, and watched the sunset and sunrise. The desert looks downright supernatural. There and back we stopped at Aït Benhaddou (ruins of a 17th century fortress city, and where they filmed a portion of Gladiator) and the Dadès Gorge. Spectacular all around. 

SS:

Rock the kasbah...Rock the kasbah...

(Just google it: kasbah) They are beautiful ancient fortresses built throughout Morocco. The kasbahs are simply fascinating cities made of dried mud, clay, stones and straw. The famous Aït Benhaddou was the site where the movie Gladiator was filmed; building in the arena right in front - see photo. The locals told us all the stories - for a price of course. 

Along our journey we can across the natural Dades Gorge. Amazing scenery along the winding roads as we transitioned from the Atlas Mountains, foot hills and gorges towards the flat land before reaching the desert. 

The delightful Sahara Desert.... this is one of those things that you see a postcard of and think to yourself how majestic it would be to do that. At least that's what I thought, but I never considered the difficulty in actually getting to that moment. Hours driving in unbearable heat with no A/C to a remote location. Two hours, each way, riding a camel through the desert (which is not that comfortable!) and heavy winds blowing sand in every crevice just to sleep in put-together blankets they call tents. But once you have those moments of the sunset and sunrise, you realize how special it really is and worth every inconvenience that you soon forget about it.