Morocco – Day 4 – Stephenson Family

Camping out under the sky had us up at the crack of dawn for the sunrise.

Desert Sunrise

It was nice to see our little set-up in the daylight as when we went to bed it was quite dark and none of us had flashlights.

Sleeping Arrangements

Entire Camp

The kids were excited to finally get to play on the dunes. They set out first thing to head to the top.

Kids on Their Way Up

Hannah and Dallin were the first ones to the top. Caleb soon joined them.

Hannah and Dallin

Others stopped about half-way up, while even more of us didn’t even attempt it.

Scott & Shannon

When it was time for the kids to come down, it was at a full-out run.

Dallin, Hannah, Caleb

There was some falling on the way down . . .

but they always got right back up again . . .

Caleb, Hannah, Dallin (love his face!)

only to fall again.

Caleb just went head over heels the rest of the way down. He had sand in his ears, hair, pockets, etc. At least he had fun.

Breakfast in Camp

Breakfast was much simpler than the night before. We had bread with jams and soft cheese and juice. We had to get going before it got too hot.

Somehow, as we were leaving, little bedoin kids appeared out of nowhere to sell their wares. Cami became the proud owner of this cute pink camel.

Back on the Camels

Caravan Out of the Sahara

Cami’s & My Shadows

We learned that one of our children gets ‘camel sick’. Poor Hannah couldn’t take the rhythm of the camel’s walk and had to walk on her own. She took her sandals off and walked barefoot right alongside the guide the entire way back.

Hannah Trekking Back

Once we got back, we couldn’t hit the showers fast enough. We had sand everywhere – in cameras, bags, clothes, hair, mouths, etc. We got packed up and headed off in our bus once again.

Desert Well

Of course, there were random stops along the way, like this desert well tour.

Under the Dry Well

After the underground tour, they took us into their tent to look at their odd collections.

Various Treasures

Fossils

The boys were most impressed with the knives in the collection.

Admiring the Knives

It was back on the bus again as we went on the twisty, steep roads. Many of the kids were hit again with car sickness.

Atlas Mountain Road

More random stops included this road-side stop to see the green land snake through the desert where the water source was.

Dades Gorge was another quick stop for pictures, even though our guide had planned a hike. I’m sure he thought we were ‘party-poopers’, but it was hot, we had sick kids, and we were already chugging water like there was no tomorrow.

Dades Gorge

Our last little stop was a rock formation called ‘Monkey Fingers’. Again, no explanations, just the name and ‘take pictures.’

Dallin & Caleb with Monkey Fingers

The striations on the rocks were up and down rather than sideways. I can see where the name comes from.

Monkey Fingers

Finally, we arrived where we would be spending the night – a kasbah, ‘castle.’ When the driver stopped the bus and told us to get out, we couldn’t see anything but the dirt road and trees. All of a sudden a man emerged to welcome us to his kasbah. We picked up our bags and followed him through the trees where we finally saw the kasbah.

Chris Carrying Bags to Kasbah

The location was one of complete seclusion, which is nice. However, from a business point of view, I don’t know how many people would be able to find them, unless they were with a tour.

Loved the Colors & Textures

The guests for the night included our two families and one other couple. We took up all the rooms, as far as I know. Each family had their own floor, with 2-3 bedrooms, then the couple had a large room on the ground floor.