Fwd: Sunrise in the desert

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From: Gmail <ahannem01@gmail.com>
Date: October 3, 2014 at 10:18:16 PM GMT+1
To: Blogger <ahannem01.adventureofalifetime@blogger.com>
Subject: Sunrise in the desert

Woke up at 7am by Ahmed's clapping to get up the dune and see the sunrise. Absolutely breathtaking. We then headed back to camp for typical Moroccan breakfast of breads jams and jellies then packed up our things said good bye to the Berber camp and were riding our camels back to Ahmed's house to shower. Absolutely worth the multiple day drive and the trip to say we camped overnight in the Sahara.

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We had asked Ahmed about takin a quad (atv) into the desert. He said it was very expensive and he had never done it. Matt was excited about going through the dunes super fast. So we followed up and Ahmed called his buddy. 65$ for the two of us on one atv and a guide so we don't go flying over a dune. Sold. Ahmed graciously drove us to the house and translated for us. Then we were off. Went up and down some pretty intense dunes but I never fell off. Matt got our atv stuck once on the way up a super tall dune "only because the guide stopped up top and he had no where else to go" definitely worth the money. Was absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking to cruise so fast through the dunes. Ahmed waited for us. We said our goodbyes and told him we would review him on trip advisor and tell all our friends how awesome he is so when thy make a trip to Sahara desert they use him.

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We then set out on out 6 hour drive to ourzazate. En route to Marrakech the Atlantic Ocean and Casablanca. We stopped at an afriqua for lunch. Each ordered a kabob (beef in a Moroccan Dutch oven) and fries. They were tastey and continued our drive. Until andrea had some stomach issues which enabled us to stop about four or five times along the way. There are some interesting toilets here. More like holes in the ground with marks for your feet. Anyway. Staying hydrating.

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We stopped in skoura a town about 45 km from ourzazate to check wifi and look for a place to stay and things to do. Skoura is a small town with a palm tree oasis. We drove through it along the gravel road and said next! Into ourzazate to try and find a hotel and what we want to do the next few days. Pulled into ourzazate about 745pm (after leaving merzouga at noon). Found a place for dinner with wifi and started researching. The atlas filming studios are here where they film a lot of desert movies. And the kasbah is gorgeous. Decided to stay in ourzazate. The oscar hotel inside the atlas movie studio had rooms for 40$ a night. So we decided to drop in. Got an upgraded suite complete with balcony and breakfast for 54$. Boom. Plans for tomorrow, check out the kasbah and drive 6 hours to el jadida a Portuguese port town about 1 hour south of Casablanca. Hang out on the beach for a day and then start our trek back to USA.

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