Today we woke up very excited as we were embarking on a two day excursion through the mountains and into the desert. We woke up 5:30am, ate breakfast at our hostel and headed towards our minibus. We weren't given an itinerary so we we had no idea of what to expect or when to expect it. Lets just say that our destination was much further than we imagined. To arrive at the zagoura we had to cross the Atlas Mountains - which held the most breathtaking views. From Marrakech to the zagoura it takes about 5-6 hours, but it took us a bit longer because we made a few stops along the way. Our first stop on the way there was in an old city called Ouarzazate. Ouarzazate is at an elevation of 1,160 metres (3,810 ft) in the middle of a bare plateau south of the High Atlas Mountains. To the south of the town is the desert. The town is mostly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and buildings for which the area is known. There are currently 8 families living in the town (including our tour guide and his grandma), with no running water or electricity. It's very strange to think that in 2013 there are still people living an 11th century lifestyle, by choice. Our tour guides parents and sisters all live in the city but he has chosen to stay in the old city and take care of his grandma instead. The Ouarzazate area is also known as a popular film-making location. Many popular movies such as the mummy, gladiator, prince of Persia, and game of thrones have all filmed multiple scenes here. It is also on the list as one of UNESCOs world heritage sites. The cities building are built from hay and mud so whenever it rains (not very often) many buildings have to be repaired. UNESCO helps pay for some of these reparations. After the old city we continued through the Atlas Mountains, stopping at various locations to take pictures of the beautiful scenery. Eventually, we made it to the Zagoura, the bare outskirts of the Sahara desert. Upon arrival, we mer our tour guides and camels who were patiently waiting for us. The whole camel experience was quite interesting and lots of fun. The camels are all lying down and as soon as you hop on they begin to stand up and from there it's quite the ride. Most of them are quite uncomfortable as the seat is place directly on top of the hump. My camel was pretty cool but Tanya's camel was angry about something and wouldn't stop grumbling the whole way there. Apparently he was separated from his best friend and this made him upset. As we walked deeper into the desert we could noticebaly feel it gettin hotter and hotter, the wind felt like being blasted with a blow dryer. We rode the camel for about an hour and a glad until we reached our campsite. It wasn't as 'deserted' as I expected... There were very sturdy tents with cots inside them, bathrooms, and a larger 'common' tent where they seved us dinner (chicken tajine) and dessert (juicy watermelon). Afterwards, everyone sat around and listened to our hosts play some traditional Moroccan music. When they were finished they made a great effort to interact with the crowd; they brought us their instruments and encouraged us to play and song some of our own songs. As we sat underneath the moonlight and gazed at the stars we got to know our guides a little better. We asked them about their life here and want they do on their time off and how they perceive the outside world. They have no idea who Justin timberland or Justin Beiber OR the Beatles are .. But they seem quite content with their lifestyle. They believe in ghosts but they don't believe in aliens. And I course they are all very religious. It was interesting talking to one of the younger guys about how religion is can be quite confusing, with so much to believe and think about. I handed one of them my phone and he had a ball playing fruit ninja for a while haha. Tired from our lengthy travels we headed to bed at a reasonable hour. We had to be up very early to head back with the camels before it got to hot.
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