Day 1 of Marrakesh - Sahara - Fes Tour

We debated about spending the time and resources to get to the Sahara desert on this trip. It took three days of driving to get from Marrakesh to the town of Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara and then one long day of driving to get to Fes where our flight would depart.

In the end, even though it was a short visit to the desert itself, we enjoyed the scenery and various stops along the way and I'm very glad we did the trip. We chose to book a private tour (with Légendes Evasions) and it turned out to be just the right plan for traveling with children as we could stop when they got restless or car sick from the windy roads. Of all the tour companies we contacted, this one replied recommending a four day tour instead of three day tour so it wasn't such long travel days for the children. They also recommended staying at a hotel next to the desert rather than in a tent as it was regularly getting down to 0 degrees Celsius at night and even the heaters in the luxury tents don't abate the cold very well. We were happy to accept this advice and didn't feel the need to spend a restless night wearing all our clothes inside our sleeping bags while the kids likely complained about the cold.

Here's a summary of our trip:

Day 1: Marrakesh to Ouarzazate

We began with an early breakfast at the riad and they helped us walk our luggage a few blocks to the closest parking spot where we'd meet our guide, Ftah. We'd be riding in a 4x4 that fit only seven people and all our luggage was tied onto the roof rack. Even, so it was a bit tight inside with a few bags for food, water and books. We headed out of Marrakesh and quickly became accustomed to the countryside - olive trees, plowed fields, small villages with earthen houses fading into the arid hillsides. Christine enjoyed looking out for the colorfully painted schools (these were the only buildings besides the mosques that were painted). We headed up into the foothills and up and over part of the High Atlas mountains. We encountered very few other vehicles on the road, though we occasionally passed someone on a donkey. We also noted that the buildings were very boxy - all were square or rectangular with flat roofs. If we thought it was arid as we left Marrakesh, we soon learned as we crossed the mountains that the other side.

We stopped for lunch near the UNESCO world heritage site of Ait Benhaddou. It is a fortified city full of kasbahs along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. After a signficant rain damaged the town, most villagers moved across the river into more modern housing. However, with the UNESCO designation came funds for restoration and improvement and many tourist tours stop here as they pass through the mountains. There have been dozens of films shot here as well; the full list can be found here.

We hired a guide who described the history of the area and the traditional method of the earthen clay construction. They mix hay, dirt, water and manure and then form bricks that dry in 1-2 weeks.

The river that runs nearby is brackish, with lots of dissolved salts from the soil, so they can only grow a limited number of crops that can tolerate the salt (I think alfalfa was one he named...but not sure I recall correctly). All other vegetables have to be traded for from other towns.

On the way we had also seen lots of rose bushes (and associated shops with rose perfume and soap, etc) but since it was winter, these were leafless and barren-looking. This was an interesting visit and certainly quite picturesque.

Unfortunately, Thomas was starting to feel ill and was flagging

quite a bit. We had thought the windy roads were affecting him, but it turned out to be a mild stomach virus. He was a champ going around with us so we could all visit (a piggy back ride from Dad helped!). We arrived by late afternoon into quite a large, sprawling city of Ouarzazate and were ready for the hotel's yummy tangine and a good night's sleep!