The Skoura Oasis is one of the largest in Morocco, with about 14,000 palm trees. A few families live in the oasis and tend the wheat that grows beneath the palms.
Monkey-fingers, a geological formation on the rock cliffs that rise above the Dades Gorge.
A tributary of the Dades ran in front of our
hotel in a small Berber village called Marhaba. On a walk through the town we were greeted warmly by every resident - from small children to old women - and were asked if we would consider moving there. We watched women harvesting wheat in the tiny plots near the river, and children gathering water from the stream.
Through these desert gates you can see the snow-capped Atlas Mountains.
A boy kisses Brendan's hand in the Todra Gorge, where locals come to play in the cool water on warm weekend days.
We stopped for lunch in a small desert town, where we watched women in beautiful traditional dress walking along the road.
Dead wells look like giant molehills in the landscape.
We could see the dunes rising out of the earth as we approached Merzouga.
Brendan dressed as Lawrence of Arabia as we drank mint tea and prepared to set out on our camel trek.
As we began to climb the dunes, with only a tiny bottle of water per person, we had no idea how far we were going or when we would arrive at the campsite. Although the dunes are only a small island of sand, you have the illusion of being completely lost in the Sahara. When we stopped for breaks, we took shelter in the shadow of scraggly desert brush.
One of our guides.
We watched the sunset from the top of a dune, where we could see other desert guides relaxing with a huge tour group of Moroccan teenagers.
A desert bird perches on top of our tent.
Our campsite included one cooking tent, one eating tent, and four tents for sleeping. We watched the moon rise around a fire pit in the center of camp. As we fell asleep we listened to the wind rustling the patchwork carpets and the dunes from inside our candle-lit tents.
The camels are allowed to graze on desert grass. One of their legs is tied up to prevent them from straying too far.
The Skoura Oasis is one of the largest in Morocco, with about 14,000 palm trees. A few families live in the oasis and tend the wheat that grows beneath the palms.
Monkey-fingers, a geological formation on the rock cliffs that rise above the Dades Gorge.
A tributary of the Dades ran in front of our hotel in a small Berber village called Marhaba. On a walk through the town we were greeted warmly by every resident - from small children to old women - and were asked if we would consider moving there. We watched women harvesting wheat in the tiny plots near the river, and children gathering water from the stream.
Through these desert gates you can see the snow-capped Atlas Mountains.
A boy kisses Brendan's hand in the Todra Gorge, where locals come to play in the cool water on warm weekend days.
We stopped for lunch in a small desert town, where we watched women in beautiful traditional dress walking along the road.
Dead wells look like giant molehills in the landscape.
We could see the dunes rising out of the earth as we approached Merzouga.
Brendan dressed as Lawrence of Arabia as we drank mint tea and prepared to set out on our camel trek.
As we began to climb the dunes, with only a tiny bottle of water per person, we had no idea how far we were going or when we would arrive at the campsite. Although the dunes are only a small island of sand, you have the illusion of being completely lost in the Sahara. When we stopped for breaks, we took shelter in the shadow of scraggly desert brush.
One of our guides.
We watched the sunset from the top of a dune, where we could see other desert guides relaxing with a huge tour group of Moroccan teenagers.
A desert bird perches on top of our tent.
Our campsite included one cooking tent, one eating tent, and four tents for sleeping. We watched the moon rise around a fire pit in the center of camp. As we fell asleep we listened to the wind rustling the patchwork carpets and the dunes from inside our candle-lit tents.
The camels are allowed to graze on desert grass. One of their legs is tied up to prevent them from straying too far.
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