Even though my great grandmother was from the Sahara, we never went there. So you can imagine how much I have wanted to visit this magical place here!
One of the things I love most about my trips is when things happen unexpected and turn out to be even better than what I had in mind. We were picked up in a comfy 4×4 from the airport and started our journey right away. Via the high and snowy Atlas Mountains, the stunning oasis filled with palmtrees and little villages, we drove to Zagora. On our way we had a lunch in a small village, I wasn’t too sure about that at first, but it was delicious!! Our first stop where we would spend the night was at Riad Lamane – a beautiful paradise on earth surrounded with cacti, palmtrees and happy birds singing. Because of the fact that we went in February, it was freezing! The staff at Riad Lamane took good care of us and made us some warm soop and traditional Moroccan chicken tajine. We were so tired of the long road that we went straight to bed after our dinner. The next morning we decided to do a quick photoshoot before leaving to Erg Chegaga..
After our little photoshoot and breakfast we went straight in the car on our way to the real Sahara! It felt like a road trip – we laugh, sang and even danced a bit. We were glad that our driver was almost just as crazy as we were and we even got him to sing and dance along!
When we finally arrived in the sahara, the driver told us that we might run into a Nomad family. I actually that the chances weren’t that big that we would because Nomads are always on the move… But then we saw this little tent, and a woman, and the cutest baby nomad girl I have ever seen (not that I’ve seen many, but I bet she’s the cutest ) We had the unique opportunity to meet them and chat with them in their home. The family that lived there existed from 3 generations of Nomads. We were welcomed by the two eldest – a husband and his wife and their two grandchildren 6-year-old Mohamed and 2-year-old Khaddouj. What touched me the most, was that even it was shown that they had so little, they invited us in their tent and shared their tea with us. This old man, I am not sure how old he was but he was probably around 90 years old, poured our drinks smiling…
After our visit we had to keep going so we wouldn’t miss the sunset in the sahara. We arrived at our tents and I truly felt as if I was a Nomad myself lol! It was absolutely freezing – no electricity and no connection or whatsoever. This might sound terrible to some of you, but it was actually a great experience that makes you realize how much time we spend on our phones, not actually enjoying life and especially the miracles of nature which we take for granted but are far from. After exploring the camp, trying out some sandboarding with loads of #FAILS, a photoshoot during sunset in my dress that makes it look at if it was 30 degrees when actually I was freeeeeeezin’, we had the most amazing campfire! We made music, sang songs and even learned the locals some Dutch songs.
The next morning we woke up early and hit the road again to arrive in Marrakech around 9pm. I have always wanted to pay a visit to Aït Ben Haddou, a beautiful old village where parts of movies like Kingdom of Heaven and the Game of Thrones were filmed. It looks so unreal! Love how people still live here.
Going up in the village we discovered this stunning place with a view over Aït Ben Haddou. We had some sweet Moroccan mint tea and enjoyed the view. What’s a better way to end the Sahara trip?
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