By Norma Hopcraft
The Sahara is a dry plateau not necessarily covered with sand dunes, Aziz, our group's guide, told us. In fact, he insisted we were not in the Sahara yet.
But for the last full day we'd been bussed across a dry plateau. When we had stepped off the bus for a break, our footsteps sent up puffs of dust. We'd been parched even though drinking lots of bottled water.
Then we came up to some sand dunes. I got my first camel ride, my first 4x4 drive on sand dunes, my first night ever out under the desert stars.
In my opinion, we were in the Sahara. You can decide for yourself from the pictures.
The sand dunes ahead of us said "Sahara Desert" to me. I was there, in my opinion, in this mystic desert, the setting of thousands of stories.
A troop of camels rested on dry ground from their labors carrying tourists.
My first ever camel ride! What a hoot--I had to hang on tight while the camel got lurchingly to his feet.
Tuareg tribesmen handled the camels. They traditionally dress in blue robes.
A profile of my camel. I admired the sand-filtering fringe on his ears and his eyelids.
Some people rented ATVs to go out onto the barren dunes, in the distance.
My shadow, hanging on for dear life on the rocking camel, trying to fire off some shots without blurring.
Our Touareg guide helped me with this shot. Looks like I do too much sitting and writing ...
Camels are tall! I was way up in the air. The gait of a camel is uncomfortable, and so was the saddle. I couldn't imagine crossing the whole desert like this, day after day.
When we got back from our 30-minute camel ride, both the camel and I were relieved.
Our driver of the 4x4 took us out to our desert camp for an overnight. He was dressed in the traditional blue bubu (robe) and turban that doubled as a scarf. The Tuareg are known as "Les Hommes Bleus du Sahara". They are renown as fierce warriors. They also live in a matriarchal society. The women are in charge. I saw one man in blue veil himself with his scarf, covering his nose and mouth, as a sign of respect for women when I passed him in a narrow passageway.
Our driver took us over sand dunes like a roller coaster. He was playing Tuareg music on the radio, an artist named Tinariwen. This musician won a Grammy for World Music. His genre is known as "Desert Blues," and it sounded great as we swooped through the Sahara. He's available on Apple Music and probably Spotify. I play his music all the time, now that I'm back from Morocco. He's a great favorite.
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