Sahara Desert Trek
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This was a 6 day itinerary designed and organised by Berber Treks. Our 7 participants were from all over the UK and were trekking across the desert in order to raise money for charity. Our journey started with a rather interesting flight from Gatwick to Marrakech where the pilot attempted to landed twice and pulled back up again at the last minute due to bad visibility! We were reroute to Casablanca and after 2 hours the weather cleared and we were able to try again, the result was a successful landing. The adventure continued with a 4x4 journey to Ourazazate over the Tizi n Tichka pass. It was best not to look down the step sides of this mountain pass!The following morning we visited la maison de pottery for an interesting demonstration of how bowls were thrown and painted ready for sale in the souks and then continued our journey past M'Hamid into the desert. Our camel drivers awaited us to carry our large luggage and we walked approximately 2 hours to our camp at the Bougharn Dunes and saw a beautiful sunset.The next day the weather wasn't quite so kind to us and a sand storm began. It was good because we had sech t wear which are the traditional scarves worn by the Tuareg people. Once wrapped around our heads they kept the sand from our faces. Fortunately we were able to stop for lunch inside an old school building and arrived at our Chigaga camp early evening. The wind was so strong that night that the group opted for staying together in the dining tent in the style of the Tuareg people.Day 3 of the trek and the wind had subsided so we took our breakfast on the top of the dunes in the sunshine. Our journey that day took us over the highest dune in the area and then over smaller dunes and flatter rocker areas. The quote of the trip must have been from Ann who said, "I didn't realise we'd be walking on sand dunes all the time!!!" (perhaps try reading your itinerary next time Ann!)On our final morning of trekking we got up early to see the sunrise on the top of the dunes and then returned to camp in time for breakfast. We then had a long journey back to Marrakech over the mountain pass again.