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Day five, October 26
Merzouga to Nkob
Plan:
After the sunrise (5am!) there is time for further exploration of the dunes before we branch west for an exciting drive across the lunar desert mountain range of the Jebel Sahro, partly on tarmac and partly on desert piste. The journey of about 300km goes through remote territory and there is very little in the way of civilisation for us to stop for. Surprisingly, even here, there are some oases, and in the spring they are pretty with apricot blossom. The semi-nomadic Ait'Atta tribe come here in the winter to graze their flocks and we may see their black tented encampments.
Eventually we arrive in Nkob where we stay overnight in a kasbah, sympathetically converted into a beautiful and atmospheric hotel. There are hand wash basins in the rooms, as there would have been of old, but facilities are shared. Surrounding the hotel is a traditional moroccan village that there will be time to explore. There is also a fine swimming pool from which to enjoy the excellent sunrises and sunsets.
I woke up several times during the night because of that braying donkey... but finally woke up at about 6am in time to watch the sun rise. Many people climbed the sand dunes to get a great view, but I stayed wrapped up in my sleeping bag and sat up to watch it. What an amazing thing to witness, being in the desert on a sand dune, where I had just spent the last 6 or 7 hours sleeping under the night sky...
I prepared to reboard the same dromedary that had thrown me off the previous day for the trek back to Merzouga, but the dromedary seemed to sense it was me again. He had the saddle set up on his hump, but turned onto its side to have it slide off and went back to his upright seating position... I took that as a sign, and requested a different dromedary for the return trip... I was fine on the new dromedary, and Paul, who rode my original beast, had no problems whatsoever!!
We had breakfast and some of us a quick shower at the auberge before reboarding the Land Rovers for the drive back to Erfoud where we met up with Said and the minibus again.
We stopped for lunch in a small town where Andrew, one of the group members, spent some time in a fossil shop haggling for local fossils. Apparently that area, west of Erfoud and on the southern road, is known for its fossils. We continued to Nkob where we stayed in the Kasbah Baha, a kasbah that has been restored into a beautiful inn. We arrived there at about 4pm, and many of us had the shower we'd been dying to have since our stay in the desert! (well, those of us who didn't shower in Merzouga that is...)
We were lucky to have arrived when we did, as there was another Exodus tour, the bikers, who arrived within an hour of us, meaning that the kasbah was overbooked. They ended up sleeping in the lounge areas and in bedouin tents just outside the washrooms...
Upon arriving, we were all amazed at the apparent luxury of the place! The rooms were immense - a two-bed bedroom was made up of a large room with a smaller adjacent room. A large double bed was in the large room and a single bed in the adjacent room. There were windows with amazing views of the town, and there were beautiful rugs everywhere.
There were lounge areas that had artifacts on display. There was a pool, a large shower and toilet area, and a museum - I don't think anyone went into the museum though, we were too busy taking photos and swimming after the spiders were taken out of the pool! There weren't, however, any hand wash basins in the rooms, but the view from the terrasse more than made up for anything!
Lucy, Andy and I went for a walk in the town before it started to get dark. We were taunted by children in the main street - or were the children taunted by us? They were asking us for the usual dirham, candy or pen, and Andy asked them for one of their bicycles. One of the children hesitantly agreed, and Andy took off on the bike! It was funny for a few seconds, then the other two children started to panic and went after Andy on their own bikes! It got darker and darker, and we got lost in the side streets on our way back to the Kasbah Baha. We thought we might have to give a dirham or two to someone to give us proper directions back, but we managed to find our way somehow!
We all had dinner outside by the pool - more tajine! which, by the way, I think is very delicious!! We were regaled with jokes and remarks by Ali's brother (Ali was one of the dromedary guides in the sand dunes) after dinner. Where did he learn all his elephant jokes?... Because Nkob frowns heavily on drinking, wine and Heineken were not made available to us this evening.
Last modified on November 9, 2000