A well-earned rest this morning after so much partying and all those
late nights (or should I say early mornings!) This afternoon we are
heading in convoy to the desert - once the temperatures have dropped a
little. I'm so excited - I absolutely love the desert - the dunes, the
isolation, the tents - and the journey there is somewhat spectacular
too!
After nearly 2 hours of bumping and sliding along the alternately hard ground and soft sand of the desert floor, we arrive at the camp. This is a different camp to where we have stayed before, the final part of the route being lined with old tyres and the 'gates' being palm fronds, supporting two pieces of material which form a 'fence'! A creative bunch, these desert people!
Our car is one of the first to arrive and we are met by some of the young men who run the camp as well as by Bobo and Tine, the newly-weds. There is music blaring out from a DJ installed in the 'corner', European-style this time, in stark contrast to the previous traditional Berber music to which the lines of men and women were dancing and drumming in M'hamid only last night!
The sun is now beginning to set, so there's just time to throw off our shoes/sandals and run up to the nearest dunes barefoot in the cooling sand to watch the sun disappear for the day. Some of Tine's family decide to hitch a ride to the foot of the dune on the camels that await.
Perfect sand dunes await us - unsoiled by human steps. It as if they have been just created for this moment in time.
As we return to camp, the mood has changed. It is beginning to get dark and neon balloons light up the rugs laid out on the sand. There are drums, both djembe and bendir lying on one rug alongside the krakebs, castanets traditionally played by the Gnaoua tribes. The men of the desert take their places and soon are playing haunting melodies as well as lively traditional songs of love and happiness. They clap and sing, taking their cue from each other so as to harmonise. We Europeans are mesmerised as we clap and sing along. These young men are proud of their heritage and love to share it with others.
Interspersed with the traditional singing and dancing is the music played by the DJ and acrobatic feats from the young men. Everyone dances together - there is a real sense of family and fun which prevails throughout the evening and on into the night. I can't remember the last time I danced to 'Coward of the County' by Kenny Rogers :)
One thing that I find very moving is how at one point all the men, both nomadic and European, are dancing together, moving around the sand doing the same sort of 'free-style' dances that are often seen at weddings - all in a spirit of fun and camaraderie. The women sit and watch - and laugh!
About 11 pm food is served. As usual, I am amazed at the quality of the food provided - chicken tagine, salads of all varieties, rice dishes, followed by fresh fruit and sliced sweet melons. The young men serve us and ensure we take plenty of food, wishing us BisaHa (Good Health). We sit at long tables with banquettes and eat by candlelight. Once fully satiated the musicians start up again and more dancing continues. It is 1 am when a fire is lit to combat the distinct chill in the air. We all sit around the fire on low Berber stools, gazing into the fire and seeing only silhouettes of families and friends. As I look across the sand I can suddenly see something white in the sky...it is a Chinese Lantern - and across a dune I see more silhouettes of people letting more lanterns loose into the night sky. It is a feast for the eyes as one after another they ascend and finally disappear somewhere over the dunes.
It is 3 am when we finally decide that all the partying has finally taken its toll on us and we really ought to try and get some sleep. We head for our tent....but the music continues till about 5 am - and tents don't have walls! We listen to Bobo making a speech and the hardcore revellers still singing and dancing to the loud beat of the music.
It is 7 am when I wake up and decide to go for an early morning walk on the dunes. It is beautifully tranquil as I tiptoe past the debris of the night before and the bodies strewn all over the sand; the sun is just rising and bringing a lovely hue to the colour of the sand. Not for the first time I thank God for the beauty of the scene around me - it is glorious. I idly inscribe my name on the sand as if to mark that I am really here at this momentous event.
All too soon everyone is awake and a wonderful breakfast is somehow produced of hard-boiled eggs, yoghurts, bread with jams and piping hot coffee - all served with a smile of course! And then soon after off we go in convoy again, taking a different route out of the desert across the dry salt lake named Lac Iriqi. We feel we have grown really close to all these people of the desert having spent so much time with them during the wedding celebrations and we've made friends among the other guests too - we are sad to leave. We promise, however, that one day we will return....maybe for the birth of Bobo and Tine's first child.... ;-)
It
is about 5 pm when we are all ready to set off. Only family and close
friends are making the trip to the desert. We feel very privileged to be
counted amongst those. Drivers arrive in their 4x4s to pick up the
family from the hotel and, after our farewells to the lovely staff, we too
set off on our 2-hour journey to our desert camp for the night.
Everyone is competing to take on the driving - it's a special experience
to drive in the desert, negotiating the dunes without getting stuck in
the sand!
After nearly 2 hours of bumping and sliding along the alternately hard ground and soft sand of the desert floor, we arrive at the camp. This is a different camp to where we have stayed before, the final part of the route being lined with old tyres and the 'gates' being palm fronds, supporting two pieces of material which form a 'fence'! A creative bunch, these desert people!
Our car is one of the first to arrive and we are met by some of the young men who run the camp as well as by Bobo and Tine, the newly-weds. There is music blaring out from a DJ installed in the 'corner', European-style this time, in stark contrast to the previous traditional Berber music to which the lines of men and women were dancing and drumming in M'hamid only last night!
The sun is now beginning to set, so there's just time to throw off our shoes/sandals and run up to the nearest dunes barefoot in the cooling sand to watch the sun disappear for the day. Some of Tine's family decide to hitch a ride to the foot of the dune on the camels that await.
Perfect sand dunes await us - unsoiled by human steps. It as if they have been just created for this moment in time.
Swirls
of cloud create patterns in the sky high above the dunes...I could just
stay here all night watching the clouds, gazing at the blue sky and
observing the final rays of the sun for today - but I have a party to go
to!
As we return to camp, the mood has changed. It is beginning to get dark and neon balloons light up the rugs laid out on the sand. There are drums, both djembe and bendir lying on one rug alongside the krakebs, castanets traditionally played by the Gnaoua tribes. The men of the desert take their places and soon are playing haunting melodies as well as lively traditional songs of love and happiness. They clap and sing, taking their cue from each other so as to harmonise. We Europeans are mesmerised as we clap and sing along. These young men are proud of their heritage and love to share it with others.
Interspersed with the traditional singing and dancing is the music played by the DJ and acrobatic feats from the young men. Everyone dances together - there is a real sense of family and fun which prevails throughout the evening and on into the night. I can't remember the last time I danced to 'Coward of the County' by Kenny Rogers :)
One thing that I find very moving is how at one point all the men, both nomadic and European, are dancing together, moving around the sand doing the same sort of 'free-style' dances that are often seen at weddings - all in a spirit of fun and camaraderie. The women sit and watch - and laugh!
About 11 pm food is served. As usual, I am amazed at the quality of the food provided - chicken tagine, salads of all varieties, rice dishes, followed by fresh fruit and sliced sweet melons. The young men serve us and ensure we take plenty of food, wishing us BisaHa (Good Health). We sit at long tables with banquettes and eat by candlelight. Once fully satiated the musicians start up again and more dancing continues. It is 1 am when a fire is lit to combat the distinct chill in the air. We all sit around the fire on low Berber stools, gazing into the fire and seeing only silhouettes of families and friends. As I look across the sand I can suddenly see something white in the sky...it is a Chinese Lantern - and across a dune I see more silhouettes of people letting more lanterns loose into the night sky. It is a feast for the eyes as one after another they ascend and finally disappear somewhere over the dunes.
It is 3 am when we finally decide that all the partying has finally taken its toll on us and we really ought to try and get some sleep. We head for our tent....but the music continues till about 5 am - and tents don't have walls! We listen to Bobo making a speech and the hardcore revellers still singing and dancing to the loud beat of the music.
It is 7 am when I wake up and decide to go for an early morning walk on the dunes. It is beautifully tranquil as I tiptoe past the debris of the night before and the bodies strewn all over the sand; the sun is just rising and bringing a lovely hue to the colour of the sand. Not for the first time I thank God for the beauty of the scene around me - it is glorious. I idly inscribe my name on the sand as if to mark that I am really here at this momentous event.
All too soon everyone is awake and a wonderful breakfast is somehow produced of hard-boiled eggs, yoghurts, bread with jams and piping hot coffee - all served with a smile of course! And then soon after off we go in convoy again, taking a different route out of the desert across the dry salt lake named Lac Iriqi. We feel we have grown really close to all these people of the desert having spent so much time with them during the wedding celebrations and we've made friends among the other guests too - we are sad to leave. We promise, however, that one day we will return....maybe for the birth of Bobo and Tine's first child.... ;-)
Wow. Would love to have been there. Hang on a minute, I was!
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