Merzouga and the Red Dunes of the Sahara

We took the scenic route to Merzouga thru Goulmima instead of the main road and this was only an extra 70 km for a total of 204 km. This is about as close to Algeria as we will get.

The power to the entire town is off 1 day per month and this was the day. This meant no power for the gas pumps. Luckily we all had enough to get to the next town 60 km away and they had power.

This route takes a cross road to Erfoud, which passes thru a number of small villages.

We saw out first camels today including a baby one.

We drove towards Merzouga and finally saw the big dunes of the red Sahara.

We stopped in the town for some lunch and to make a plan. We had considered camping, but its 30 plus degrees.

We backtracked to the next big dunes and to the Kasbah Mohayut recommended by our rider friend Eduard who lives in a small village nearby.

We settled in and then decided to hike out onto the dunes for the sunset.

It is so touristy, but we had to do the camel ride to the dunes for the sun set and it was worth it for sure. Getting up at 5 am we boarded our camels and set out in the pitch black. The number of starts was unreal.

We “parked” the camels and walked up one of the big dunes. Our driver brought a Berber blanket to sit on since the sand is really cold.

We had some fun skiing down the dunes. The only small incident was when Sara was trying to get back on her camel it decided to stand up and tossed her off. Just a bell ringer, but no serious damage.

This afternoon the guys unloaded the luggage and set off for some riding on the dunes. Dan is an expert with his 450 Yamaha, but this was the first time in the dunes with the 800. As Orvar says Daniel is a pretty incredible rider.

It was nice to meet up with Eduard and Simona for dinner tonight and to get route advice for some off road riding from and expert in Morocco. http://www.ridetoroots.com/