When a Camel falls over does it hurt?

April 12.13, 2009

Zagora, Morocco

The Sahara Desert

What would a visit to Morocco be without seeing the Sahara? We decided that a quick visit to the land of camels and Berber tents would be fun. So at 7 am, we loaded into a van with six others and headed toward the Atlas Mountains looming in the distance.

Eight hours later, after winding on a narrow two-lane road up and over the mountains, we pulled into Zagora. Just like everything else on the way the buildings are all made of thick mud walls. Zagora has a small river passing through it so the palm trees and crops around the city are a splash of green at odds with the greys and browns of the rock we have been looking at all day.

Our driver, who spoke rarely and then only in French, stopped the van next to a bunch of camels and motioned for us to get out. The Berbers with the camels, all kneeling, motioned for us to grab our gear and stand next to a camel. I have to tell you that, up close, a camel makes a moose look good.

We crawled onto the blankets on top of the camel and eventually one of the Berbers would come along, bark a word at the camel and up it went. (Word of advice here – when they get up hold on tight).

We spent the next hour riding into the desert. The swaying isn’t bad but there aren’t any stirrups and a camel is pretty wide Lets just say that you feel stretched by the time you get off.

We stopped amidst some small dunes out in the desert. One tent for all of us. It is a wide low tent made of old rugs with a small table inside along with sleeping pads, tough cushions and itchy blankets. No water and the toilet facilities are as close as the next dune but it sure feels authentic.

At dark the sky is filled with stars and a Berber brings us some “Berber whiskey” (Berber tea). A little while later soup, bread and Moroccan stew follows. We sleep through the desert night in the clothes that we came in, huddled under the blankets as the desert night gets colder.

We are awaken at dawn for a breakfast of bread and tea and the ride back on the camels.

Close to the end point we had a small problem. Lana had mentioned, before the ride, that she would probably get the camel that would run off into the desert since something like that always happened when she got on any kind of animal. I asked what could happen with a camel?

What happened was it fell over.

Right in the middle of the group, her camel suddenly went over like it had been hit by a truck. As it fell she hit her leg on the ground with the camera in between the ground and her. So now, she has a really enormous bruise and we need a new camera.

The camel is fine.

Another eight hours to Marrakech and directly to the train station for the overnight to Tangier. Still in the same clothes.