The Road to Zagora

2008, 3.20-21 Draa Valley, Morocco

After spending a couple of days in Marrakech, Nate and I ventured off on a two-day tour through the Draa Valley of Morocco. We got up early in the morning and met up with our tour group--a van of about 15 or so people from various places around the world. People spoke French, Spanish, English, and Arabic, so it was interesting to hear bits and pieces of people's conversations and learn a little bit about who they were and where they came from. Our driver was a very quiet, gentle man with obvious skill in driving as he took on the steep, sometimes bumpy, and ever-winding mountain roads with the large van in which we traveled. He spoke Arabic and French, so I relied on the basic knowledge of French via my experience with Spanish and the help of other people in the group to understand where we were and what was going on.

From Marrakech, we traveled towards a city named Zagora and the Sahara Desert. I couldn't believe how curvy and steep some of the roads we traveled were. We stopped for a few breaks along the way...


took in the beautiful scenery...

An oasis outside of Zagora--there are youth playing soccer near the edge of the sea of palm trees

passed an oasis or two...

Palm trees, sunshine, and beautiful flowers

...and took in the impressive scenery all around us. Once we arrived in Zagora, we mounted our camels and prepared for the ride to our campsite just on the edge of the Sahara Desert. The camel was a good mode of transportation, a little awkward with the camel's long strides and humped back, but a very fun experience.

On my camel, ready to go

Silhouette and a camel head

Sand blowing at dusk

As we traveled along in our caravan of foreigners and camels, it was quiet for much of the trip. I tried to capture every moment in my memory. I was stunned by the beauty of the desert with wind blowing sand across the dunes and desert ground like slithering snakes, the sun setting behind us slowly as we loped along deeper into the desert, and watched the bright white full moon rise ahead of us over the mountains in the distance. It was a powerful experience.

As the sun continued to set on the horizon, we made our way to the desert camp. When we arrived, we dismounted our camels and were lead to a tent. Here, the group sat down on mats and mingled while our tour guides got organized and prepared dinner. We had some time to sit and relax, rest, or wander around the campsite (not much there, really, besides camels, tents, sand dunes, and a donkey wandering around). Nate and I chatted with one of the guides and got to know a little bit more about the people with whom we were traveling.

It was soon dinner time and they served us a large clay pot full of couscous, vegetables, and chicken. We sat on the floor of the tent at a short table and shared our meal with two young women friends from Australia who were living in the UK and working. They were very nice and made for good company. The food was delicious and very filling.

A few of our guides playing drums in the tent where we ate dinner and socialized, and in the background the Australian young women with whom Nate and I shared dinner.

One of the younger guides danced and clapped his hands to the strong beat of the hymn-like music in unfamiliar Arabic words that the older guides played. It was very enjoyable and engaging.

After the wonderful dinner and entertainment, the group was tired and most people decided to head to their own tents and have some down time before going to bed. Nate and I wandered outside of the tent around the camp site and check out some of the dunes by the light of the full moon. It felt very surreal, almost like magic.

In the middle of the night, I awoke to the winds blowing one corner of the tent door open. As I wrestled with the flapping tent door and tried to secure it, I could hear sand thrash the outside of the tent as the wind continued on. I was able to improve the door situation slightly and returned to my bed. Looking up at the tent ceiling from my mattress pad, I could see the full moon above through the thinning canvas material. I noticed the feeling of sand in my mouth and teeth as I dozed off into the depths of sleep.

In the morning, the guides woke us as the sun began to rise. The group gathered again in the tent where we had dinner the night before and enjoyed some breakfast. I wandered a bit around the sand dunes, taking pictures and enjoying the last few minutes of my time in the desert.

Desert camping

Saharan Sunrise

With the rising sun at our backs, we were soon on our camels, traveling in our caravan, loping back towards the van and Zagora. We reached the van, dismounted the camels, and were then on our way back towards Marrakech--an approximately four hour drive headed northward.

My ride and his friends

Along the way back to Marrakech, we stopped to have lunch, to take pictures of the scenery...

Architecture in Ouzarzarte on our way back to Marrakech

...and to do maintenance on our broken down van. As we were maneuvering around the winding mountain roads, we were headed down slightly around a curve and heard a loud noise from beneath the vehicle. Our calm driver slowly pulled over as best he could with limited space available and the mountain edge to one side of us. Without a word, he got out and checked the vehicle.

With some confusion, patchy translation, and a few minutes of theorizing within the group of what was happening, it was determined that something had supposedly happened to the axel. I saw the driver cross the street to pick up a few medium sized rocks and return to the rear of the vehicle. After several minutes, he returned to his driver seat, started the engine, and put the van into gear. We rolled about ten feet foward and then heard the same noise that we had heard the first time. About half way along our return journey to Marrakech, it would appear we were out of luck and about two hours away from anywhere we wanted to be. As we sat there, people began to alight from the vehicle, gather their things, and wave down other travelers journeying along the road to hitch a ride back to Marrakech. As the group rapidly decreased in size, including the number of people who spoke both French and English--in other words those able to communicate with the driver, we had to make a decision.

Before too long, nearly everyone from the group was gone. Thankfully, our driver hailed another small tour group traveling in a mini-van back to Marrakech who had two seats available. Nate and I jumped at the opportunity and were soon heading towards Marrakech with a new travel group dominated by four Germans who spoke very good English and their also English-speaking tour guide. We were very happy that they were kind enough to give us a ride. I had lovely conversations with several of the group members and enjoyed the last couple hours of the winding roads, desert sands, mountain views, and palm tree oasises.

Eventually, we made it back to Marrakech and without any more challenges. It was quite a relief. Back in Marrakech, I saw the two men get dropped off who had shared our tent with us in the desert the night before and was glad they made the return. I am assuming everyone else made it back safe and sound. Nate and I thanked the tour group for the ride and the company and were dropped off near the tour bus stop next to the Djeema el Fna. We had made it.

Looking back, it is fun to remember the impressive scenery, riding camels, sleeping in tents, the world travelers I met, the feel and taste of Saharan desert sand in my mouth, and the magic of the whole Moroccan desert experience. The trip to and from Zagora was one incredible journey. But we weren't done with Morocco, yet.