Morocco (February 2020): (2/3) Days 2, 3, and 4 of trek

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Day 2 of trek (from waypoint 013 to waypoint 031, 17.5km):

Path followed on Day 2 (red line).

[Reminder: To access the GPS-recorded waypoints first click here to download the morocco-2020.kmz file and then open this file in Google Earth.]

Left: One of our dromedaries enjoying the morning sun at camp 1. Right: Bada and Hada loading that same dromedary.

[Bada and Hada were very careful that the dromedaries would not run away during lunch stops and at camps, as it would then be almost impossible to retrieve them. One of their techniques was to bend and strap with a rope one or two of the front knees (as in the photos below). Another was to attach together the lower parts of the front legs with a short rope. In addition, at night they tethered the dromedaries to a metallic stake driven deep into the ground.]

Throughout most of this Day 2 we headed south. We first crossed the riverbed of Oued Draa in reverse.

Shadow pattern in the sand in the early morning.

Mound of sand created by tamarind trees. As a tamarind tree grows bigger, it retains more and more sand brought by the wind. The tree and the mound keep growing together, until the roots of the tree are not long enough to reach the underlying ground. Then the tree dies and the mound is progressively blown away by the wind. In the photo below, several mounds may have merged over time to form a bigger one.

[These tamarind mounds are similar to those I saw during a desert trip near Kerman in southern Iran. See here.]

Soon we reached the decaying ruin of a large adobe building (waypoint 020). Bada told us that a long time ago the area had been home to several Jewish villages, but that one summer many people died of a mosquito-borne disease due to the proximity of Oued Draa, causing the surviving population to move elsewhere. The structure (perhaps a granary) shown in the three photos below was probably bigger and stronger than the surrounding houses and therefore have stood up longer.

Broken pottery on the ground in the area around the building.

Oumar and I later traversed an impressive area of high dunes (erg). As it is difficult for heavily loaded dromedaries to cross such dunes, which often have a steep side, Bada, Hada, and Mohamed took the dromedaries along an easier route (and went much faster than us).

Burial tumuli between dunes, where stones are available.

A necropolis of tumuli.

We eventually retrieved Bada et al., where they had stopped for lunch and had already pitched our large tent (waypoint 027). They had been joined by two men from Magag, who came on a motorcycle (!) and left us after lunch.

Making bread in the desert:

- First the dough (already prepared when I arrived) is flattened upon a thin layer of flour and shaped into a disk.

- Then the disk of dough is delicately moved and buried into a mixture of hot ashes and sand. Due to lack of wood, the ashes were made by burning small dead tamarind branches and quickly mixing them with sand to retain their heat longer.

- After a surprisingly short amount of time the cooked bread is recovered and cleaned with a knife, ready to eat.

Enjoying the bread during lunch in the tent.

Hada gathering the dromedaries after lunch before moving to camp 2.

Dromedaries are definitively useful, but they can also be quite nasty and make load rumbling roars.

Bada telling Oumar how he plans to reach camp 2. Not an easy task in a landscape where distinctive features are rare.

On the move toward camp 2.

Entering another field of extremely beautiful dunes.

We eventually set our camp in a gorgeous location at waypoint 031, well protected by dunes on all sides, some 8km from the border with Algeria. The following two photos were taken from a high dune south of the camp.

Dunes around the camp.

Sunset seen from the top of a dune.

Day 3 of trek (from waypoint 031 to waypoint 041, plus side-trip via waypoints 042 to 046, 23km):

Path followed on Day 3 (red line for the main path between waypoints 031 and 041, light blue line for the side-trip south of camp 3).

Early morning with full moon at camp 2.

Dunes lit by the rising sun around the camp.

Again, for most of this day Oumar and I followed a path different from the one of the dromedaries. For the entire day we headed due west.

Soon after leaving the camp we passed by these small individual graves, probably more recent that the tumuli that we had seen before.

Still more dunes.

Later in the morning the wind started picking up, as can be seen in some of the pictures.

We later walked out of the dune area and entered a bleak flat land (hamada) where the wind blew even stronger, but fortunately into our back.

Soon our path intersected that of the dromedaries and we all walked together to camp 3.

Reaching the Ras Rich well.

We set our camp 3 near the well, next to a couple of tamarind trees.

Bada serving tea in the large tent.

Hada and Bada in the tent.

Late in the afternoon, I climbed with Oumar the modest Jbel Rich south of the camp. Some 140m higher than the camp, the flat top of Jbel Rich boasts beautiful dunes, most of them on the edge of the surrounding escarpment. The late afternoon and evening colors were particularly beautiful.

View toward the north from Jbel Rich just before sunset.

Sunset seen from the top of Jbel Rich.

Oumar descending from Jebel Rich at dusk.

Day 4 of trek (from waypoint 041 to waypoint 061, 23km):

Path followed on Day 4 (red line).

This day was similar to the previous one. We moved further toward the west and traversed a series of dune and hard flat sections. Unlike on the previous days, we moved all together most of the time.

Tamarind with long roots.

Hada feeding the dromedaries with nutritious grains at camp 4. Because of their long necks, dromedaries need to lift their heads to swallow food.

Our camp 4 at dusk, again next to a tamarind tree. The small building visible in the background (above the tent) is a Moroccan military fort. (The border with Algeria is about 13km south roughly on the crest of the dark mountain range in the far background.)

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