Expedition Report Morocco 6.1

Marrakech-Safi | Ait Ourir | High Atlas | Erg Chegaga (Desert)

Dear all,

I'm on the road again, unfortunately without Mahin, but with lovely people and their support vehicle, named Brandy the fire engine.

Originally, we wanted to travel from Morocco through Western Sahara and Mauritania to Senegal, but the Covid virus is also affecting us here passively. As a result, one person has to return due to staff shortage and we have to change our tour. But: it's really beautiful everywhere here and above all warm, and as always the motto is: the journey is the destination!

We've met friendly people, breathtaking expanses, and unique landscapes.

We set off on a three-day tour over the High Atlas to reach Erg Chegaga in southeast Morocco. With 25 liters of water, enough food in the fire engine 'Brandy', which has 4-wheel drive and is well equipped for the desert (thanks to Martin and Petra), we ventured into solitude. 100 km from the nearest Moroccan city and 20 km from the Algerian border, without any infrastructure, we arrived in the sea of dunes. For two days and two nights, we were surrounded by sand, sun, and ourselves. We watched the sunset, slid down the dunes, and cooked delicious food.

36 degrees of heat and dryness, along with a sandstorm, took us from the dunes to a desert camp where we found shelter and had a wonderful stay.

We really enjoyed the camp on the edge of the dunes, finding refuge from the storm and rustic accommodation, always with delicious tea in front of us.

With baking bread in the embers, making a bonfire, and scraping Spätzle from a board in the desert, we spend our time and enjoy this unique sea of dunes that radiates so much warmth and tranquility. Well, okay, except for the few hours when we felt sandblasted by the sandstorm :)

The two young men from the camp admired our maps and modern navigation technology, and I admired the different worlds we each live in.

After four days, the always reliable rolling Brandy (the fire engine) safely guided us over 30 km of off-road tracks to the west - it really plowed through any terrain without mercy. What a great vehicle :)

The above text was written in several stages over the past week. Meanwhile, I (like the other people in the travel group) have returned to southern Baden after a few eventful departure days in Morocco, and I'm currently acclimatizing. Events are happening so fast that it's hard to keep up with "digesting" and assessing the situation.

In this spirit, take care and stay well.

Warmest regards,

Vanessa

ps: I'll be sharing the second part of Morocco with the bizarre mountain formations of the Anti Atlas and beautiful oases soon - keep you updated.