This was the trip moment I anticipated most - that moment we'd already spent 20 hours of bus travel to experience. At this point of the trip, we had pretty much hit the end of the road (at least the paved one) in Erfoud, Morocco. Hallelujah! It was time to leave the minibus behind for a day and go deep into the lifeless (or so I would have thought before) Sahara Desert. We loaded into a pair of Toyota 4x4s and began the almost 2 hours cruise into the Sahara Desert.

The desert began gray, flat, and rocky. On the edge of the desert were tons of towns children holding up, simba-style their Fennec foxes, which they had so proudly caught and charge tourists for photos with the ugly-adorable, native nocturnal desert predators. Along the drive, we could see for miles. The view barrier came in the form of the mountainous Algerian/Moroccan border and the only signs of civilization were huts for tourists to go fossil hunting. There countless fossils to be found in the Sahara, as it once once covered in water and later a lush region where agriculture and life of all sorts thrived.

As we drove deeper and deeper into the desert, I grew more and more shocked how often we saw several nomadic families. A simple canvas and woven tent, a donkey, and maybe a camel, were all these people had in tow. I wondered what they thought at the site of us cruising through their otherwise solitary environment. I could not fathom how they managed to survive in these dry conditions. I would not make it a week out there.

Well, I could make it a week in one of the hotels out there because even in the emptiness of the Sahara Desert, people have found a way to capitalize on tourism (can't blame them) and the only signs of modern life out in the desert are the large, square hotels that blend right in with the desert sand and offer all sorts of desert experiences. Our desert experience was about as authentic as they get. We were escorted on camels by three Berber people to their camp two hours further into the dunes of desert, where we would stay the night. There are other experiences, like renting ATVs, but they are frowned upon as they destroy the natural formation of the dunes.

Then, it was time to mount the camels, which we were clearly excited about (flash forward to the following morning when our legs were not thrilled to be thrust across the saddle again).  Once my nose adjusted to the camel stink and I accepted the presence of the flies (is there any warm part of the world those boogers aren't around?), I enjoyed every second of the ride and was amazed at how well the camels handled walking on even the narrowest dune ledges. Their long, bendy legs are just so well suited for desert trekking. The dunes are an insane sight to see. They seem so untouched as the wind cleans up any visible animal tracks over each night. Speaking of animal tracks, there were a ton! I wish I had some sort of night vision goggles with me to perch somewhere and watch for them come sun down because during the day, you just feel so certain that there's no form of life around.

The sand in the dunes is so soft - unlike any beach sand I've ever run through my fingers. It is so fine and pure and red orange color is just gorgeous. We found a dune to walk up and get comfy just in time to watch the sun set in the distance before making our final arrival at the Berber camp that night.

What are your desert dreams?