We set off to Rissani on an evening bus at 21.00 (CTM,
a decent state-owned company, air-conditioned, clean buses). It’s about 440 km,
so it’s best to travel at night. It usually takes about 10 hours (ticket: 140
dhs). But during Ramadan about 2 a.m. the bus stops for a main meal which lasts
for over an hour.
We arrive to Rissani on Thursday, September 20, at
8.30 am. This is a transfer point to hotels that offer trips into the desert.
CTM buses arrive at the bus stop in front of the company’s office at the main
square. (If someone chooses a private bus from Fez, they’ll reach the new
station, about half a kilometer to the north, behind the Arc de Triomphe.) From
here we’ll go to a small town called Merzouga, lying next to the desert, and in
fact to one of the tiny villages in its vicinity - they all use the name
Merzouga.
If you book a hotel in advance, it usually offers a
shuttle service from the town. That’s what we did.
Merzouga - night in the Sahara
It’s worth knowing that there are plenty of hotels offering
trips to the desert. All are similar like two peas in a pod. The usually offer
three kinds of excursions:
- diurnal - back and forth, usually with a dinner;
- nocturnal - you start off before the dusk; after
reaching the place a guide prepares a dinner, then you can chat with him or
walk around; you spend the night in a tent; return early in the morning;
- nocturnal - with a visit to a Bedouin family, plus
dinner; return in the morning.
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| When going to the desert you must be well prepared |
There’s no problem with booking a desert trip through
the Internet, you pay on the spot so it’s not a risky operation. Keep in mind
that many hotels have the same owner. You can book a trip in one and be taken
to another. Don’t worry too much about that because the hotels offer the same quality
of services (of course not counting luxurious ones) so it’s not so important to
which one you’ll be brought. Don’t expect fraud – they just take you where it’s
most convenient for them at the moment.
We made a reservation at “Auberge Sahara” (www.aubergesahara.com).
We paid 300 dhs (about 25 euros at that time) per person. The price included a
double room with private bathroom (with hot water), dinner in the desert and
breakfast the next day at the hotel. In other hotels prices were roughly the
same. Finally, we land in “Ksar Kabiha”.
Night of 20 on 21 September we spend in the desert. It’s
really an unforgettable experience. But... the first and the last time.
Riding a camel may look impressive on the photos and it
may have a lot of romanticism, but after an hour you don’t feel your bottom.
Along the way we “admire” heaps of garbage, a ravenous dog runs after us
probably hoping that it’ll have a treat. But when we get there, we know that it
was really worth it. So peaceful and quiet…
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| Riding a camel is a very romantic experience... |
Our guide is trying to convince us to take a different
route, to the Bedouins, but we paid for a lone trip and we stick to it. On
site, while cooking dinner for us he tries to direct the conversation to grass,
and drugs in general, but we immediately reject this topic. Not very happy, he
leaves us with a dinner, asking if we want to eat it outside on a blanket, or
rather in a tent. Well! Only a fool wouldn’t want to have a dinner in the
desert, under the stars. We didn’t bother to pound our asses riding a camel for
such a long time to spend an evening in a tent now.
After a quarter of an hour we’re no longer sure of
that. A wind starts to blow, it seems as if a sandstorm was about to come. We
barely manage to hide in the tent. That night we’re not given a chance to
sleep. Wind is blowing like crazy, sand seems like flour and it’s getting
everywhere. We’re getting angry and start to wonder what we’ve come here for…
Semi-conscious, we wait for a morning. It comes with
the first rays of the sun, and with it a good mood returns to us. Sunrise in
the desert is a truly memorable experience. We run here and there like mad, take
dozens of pictures, not able to enjoy our eyes with a view we know only from
the movies. Hard to believe that such a steady and monotonous view can have such
magnetism and can give so much blissful peace...
But all good things come to an end and it’s time to
get back. In the hotel room all is covered with red dust. What the dirt! No,
it’s not dirt, just sand, it’s gotten everywhere. We wash ourselves three
times, we try to clean our luggage. Three days later we are still cleaning our clothes
and all parts of our bodies…
In the morning (Friday, September 21) we take a way
back to Rissani. Unfortunately we have to spend here about five hours because
there are but a few buses. We wander about aimlessly. The town is ugly, dirty
pink-colored buildings, just outside the city - a landfill. Piles of trash
everywhere. We luckily find a decent restaurant. It turns out that the owner
has worked for many years in Spain. This is evident in decor, dishes, toilets
(European type), cleanliness and lack of hostility toward white tourists who
want to eat something during the day...
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| It's amazing how much beauty you can find in just a sand |
Tinghir
In the afternoon we take a bus to Tinghir. This small
town is a good starting point for mountain hikes. We’re not into this and we
treat it as a transit place.
The bus is owned by a private company, without air
conditioning, perhaps older than the oldest inhabitants of Rissani. We’re not
sure whether to pray for a happy ending, to close our eyes not to see sharp
bends in the mountains of the Atlas or rather to keep them wide open to admire
the views which are breathtaking. The trip takes about 4 hours (ticket: 45 dhs).
Every now and then a young assistant to the driver pours some water into the
radiator. We pray that nothing bad happened. Our prayers have been heard. The engine
stops dead about 200 meters before the final stop but we happily got there.
Tinghir is a small town, in which nothing really
happens. There are: a market, small park, a few pubs and cafes. We ask a hotel
receptionist if there is any chance to have a beer in this place. He shakes his
head saying that it’ll be difficult. But look! After three minutes he returns
with two small bottles. He requests 10 PLN (2,5 euros) for each. In local
prices it’s a total rip-off, but we can’t resist. That’s exactly what we
needed!
During an evening walk in the city a guy stops us, hearing
a strange language (that is Polish). We talk for a while about his work in
Spain, his family in Morocco, and then he invites us to tea. Suddenly two of
his colleagues turn up, they say they’re curious to learn some things about Poland.
After about half an hour they take leave and our new friend offers to show us
the former Jewish district. Expecting a trick, we hesitate but what do we have
to lose? We enter narrow alleys, dark and moist, but close enough to the town center
so we have no fear.
Our guide suggests us to enter one of the houses where
local women make carpets, rugs and the like. We’re not interested but
eventually succumb. All in all there’s nothing else to do here. A woman weaves
a small carpet, a dozen others, already finished, lie on the floor. She shows
how they are made, our guide explains in the Tamazight (a common name for the
Berber dialects used in Morocco alongside Arabic and French).
After a while, they start with what we feared: an
attempt to encourage us to buy a carpet. Of course, first question is naïve: Do
you like it?
- Well, yes, it’s nice.
- Would it fit in your place?
- No, I don’t have such a decor.
- Well, we have a broad selection. Look, maybe this
one, maybe that one…
- No, no, I don’t want to buy anything. Apart from
that, I can’t take it to the plane.
- We’ll send it to you...
We say impatiently that we’re not going to buy
anything, and this ends our visit. After leaving the building our guide vanishes
immediately, and with him our just started friendship...
Next morning, Saturday, September 22, we set off for Marrakech
(CTM bus, ticket: 100 dhs).