Desert for dessert

Up and off at the crack of dawn. We had to meet down the street from the hotel. When we arrived there were about 20 minibuses and loads of tourists milling about. Somehow there seemed too be some order in the chaos. We climbed aboard our allocated bus and set off on the first stage of a 12 hour journey. Which initially took us up and over the snow capped Atlas Mountains.

Stopping on occasion to quickly get a picture before being marshalled back into the buses. By this time we had formed a convoy of buses heading in the same direction on the same route.

We eventually got disembarked at a world heritage site. The film setting for numerous films including.

Gladiator

Lawrence of Arabia

Raiders of the lost Ark

Jewel of the Nile

Mummy 1-5 and Game of Thrones

The town is made of mud straw and poo. It was worth the vist and our guide was one of the Berbers who still live in the old town. A new town has been added and that has electricity and running water so most people have moved there. They all continue to live off the tourism and film industry. Numerous shops in the town that we were shown around and lunch was offered there as well.

Back on the bus and we continued onwards towards the desert. The landscape became increasingly barren.

We stopped once more on the way and we're again in the company of storks.

Arrived in the dark at the hotel which was enormous and surprisingly good.

We wandered off quickly for a walk and stumbled across this which we certainly weren't expecting on the edge of the Sahara.

Tomorrow we are up early once more and drive 3 hours into the desert before taking a camel ride to our overnight camp.

Looking forward to this as it's a lifelong dream to spend a night in the Sahara and ride a camel there too.

Not sure we will be connected tomorrow but stranger things have happened!