New year, new us. Woo! Not really. Our alarm went off at 7:30 (wayyy too early for vacation) and by 7:53am our driver, Abdul, had shown up to our hostel. We were not ready (he said he'd arrive at 8am) so we hurried along and by 8:10 we were in the car and ready to start the next phase of our Moroccan adventure. Abdul introduced us to Driss, our would be driver for the rest of the trip. After about a half hour or so of driving Abdul got out and left us to continue on. Our first stop was at the atlas mountain lion. Driss stopped, told us that we should take a photo with the lion and suggested we also get some coffee from the shop. Mark and I didn't know why we were taking a picture with this lion but since that was the sole purpose for the stop we figured it was important. We tried to ask Driss and even though he is super nice he only speaks some English so he wasn't quite able to articulate why the lion is significant. (Mark and I have come to learn that the statue was carved by a WWII prisoner of war who wanted to commemorate the last atlas lion left in the moroccan mountains).
We stopped at a few more viewpoints on our way to lunch.
The lunch spot was hectic and crowded and ordering took an incredibly long time.
After lunch it was back in the car for, you guessed it, more driving!
While driving we passed many nomadic berber campsites. We finally reached Merzouga (about an hour after we were supposed to arrive). I was really nervous that we wouldn't get to do our camel trek because we were so late but the owner of the hostel told us to quickly pack our warm things into a small bag, to go to the toilet and to then be ready to leave. The owner wrapped our heads with scarves and then sent us with a guide named Omar. When we first spotted the camels I noticed that their legs bend and fold like ours. Camel legs however are way, way longer than human legs. In order for me to mount it, the camel was resting on all fours in a sitting position. Once I was on, the camel stood up, front legs first and then back legs, which caused me to feel like I was shooting up so high and fast! Omar was not very friendly so there was no conversation during the one and a half hour journey to our campsite, which was fine by me because I enjoyed taking in all of the sights around me. The farther we went the more vast the sand seemed. Everywhere I looked as far as I could see was covered in sand. The ride was quite bumpy (so much so that we couldn't even watch the go-pro video of our ride without getting queasy!) As bumpy as it is, it's really quite impressive how well the camels walk up and over the sand dunes. While they walk they make funny gurgling noises and drool, A LOT. The sand became even more impressive as the sun set over it. We reached our campsite right before darkness fell over the desert. Getting off the camels is even crazier than getting on because they go from a full upright position to one set of legs being fully bent while the other set is still straight which caused me to tip really quickly backward and then forward.
Once I was safely on the ground I wandered into our campsite which consisted of dozen or so sturdy blanket tents surrounded by a loosely constructed wood and wire fence.
The floor of our tent was covered by a rug and a large air mattress. There was a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling but it was not lit. The campsite grew dark quickly so instead of sitting in our lightless tent we opted to see in an open tent with tables for tea. We met a group of German girls who were traveling for the holidays so we chatted and played cards with them while we waited for dinner. Around 9pm our berber guides served us a delicious spread with salad, lamb tagine, homemade bread and mixed fruits for dessert. It was absolutely lovely.
After dinner we sat around a campfire and listened to the guides sing and play drums. After a few songs they even let Mark and I have a go (not with the singing, only the drumming).
After the music subsided and everyone decided to head to bed, Mark and I took a walk outside of the camp. The sky was amazing and huge and so beautifully lit up by the stars. I wouldn't let Mark take us too far because I was afraid of getting swallowed by a sand dune. I turned around and the next thing I knew Mark was down on one knee proposing to me. All I could say was, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Is there a ring? What does it look like? I can't see it!" I kissed his face again and again and in that moment I was so incredibly happy. Everything was beautiful and perfect (after Mark shone his phone light on the ring so I could see it that is 😉) My mind was racing. I couldn't sleep at all. "When did you get the ring? Weren't you afraid of losing it? Why did you choose to propose right now? Where have you been hiding it?" So. Many. Questions. We took so many pictures and in all of them we are both just so incredibly happy.
I was so nervous about losing the ring that I wore my silicone rings on top of it to "sleep". Unfortunately, Mark had just cleared his mind by getting rid of the ring, but in doing so, had sent mine racing. Mark fell asleep almost instantly while my mind went every which way from imagining our life together to wondering when I'd be able to tell my friends and family. It didn't help that the desert air was frigid (1 degree Fahrenheit to be exact). In bed I was wearing my winter coat, hat, gloves and three pairs of socks. I had to crawl out from under the blankets not once but twice to use the toilet in the middle of the night. Each time I worked up the courage, flung out of bed and made a run for it. To get to the toilet I had to exit the campsite and continue on for about 50 yards or so. Then I had to scoop out buckets of cold water from a huge tub in order to make the gravity flush toilet work, all while making sure that the shiny new addition to my left hand stayed put. Mark and I got up early (again!) to watch the sun rise. The sun came up slowly, over the course of an hour and a half, and while it was beautiful, it was really, really cold.
At this point my feet had become icicles. Mark and I headed back to the campsite. I saw that the German girls were awake, so I headed straight to the tea tent to tell them the good news. I was just so, so excited about my ring that I had to tell someone and since I didn't have reception to call my family or friends this random group of girls would have to do. They 'ooh-ed and aah-ed' over it which allowed me to revel in the moment just a little bit longer. Mark and I were excited to sand board and ATV, but first we needed to find some food. Unfortunately, a good night's sleep hadn't done anything to improve the mood of our guide and he began ordering us to get our things as soon as he spotted us. "But what about ATV-ing? And sand boarding?" "Did you not hear me?", he said. Mark and I reluctantly climbed atop the camels. The journey back wasn't nearly as exciting because it was incredibly cold and our legs still ached from the ride the day before. When we arrived in Merzouga my camel dismounted abruptly and I ended up flying forward. The owner ran up to steady me. My legs felt like jelly walking from the camels to the main hostel and when we arrived I was so happy to sit down to a delicious looking moroccan breakfast.
Our driver was waiting for us and once again we were off. We were sand filled and cold but we thawed in the car as we drove. We stopped at the water canals which are deep holes in the ground (much like wells). We were able to turn a crank and pull the water out of the canal via a bucket.
I told Driss that Mark and I didn't want to go to a crowded tourist hot spot for lunch but instead would prefer something local. When we stopped at a viewpoint for photos Driss asked one of the vendors for a recommendation. He directed us to a beautiful restaurant with only a few tables on a secluded terrace, tucked away inside the town. Here we ate a most delicious lunch including: olives, a berber omelette, bbq chicken with potatoes and fruits with chocolates for dessert. To top it off, we both enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice to drink.
After lunch we continued on our drive through the desert.
We arrived at our hotel around 5pm. I was so excited to call my mom and Candace to share our exciting news. After speaking with them Mark and I both took long, hot showers (we splurged on a hotel for the night and it was totally worth it!)
and got dressed for dinner. The grounds of the hotel were massive so we did a little exploring on our way to dinner. There was a HUGE pool with a view that was absolutely breathtaking. We imagined how nice it would be to stay here in the summer months. Dinner was a huge buffet spread including soups, bread, an assortment of cold salads, veggies, potatoes, pasta, tagine, cous cous and a delicious chocolate banana desert. After trying a little bit of this and a little bit of that, Mark and I sat by the fireplace to enjoy post dinner coffee and tea before heading to bed in our warm, heated hotel room.
