In Merzouga there is desert as far as the eye can see. Yes! This is where we have to drive in sand.
However, the locals have also found that you can spin gold on crazy tourists who want to go out and drive in the sand. A Moroccan approaches us and would very much like us to book a trip with him, then he will probably give us a trip at full speed around the sand dunes.
There is no experience he does not have. He has even raced Paris-Dakar, so we will go out and race with him.
He's just smart enough for our temperament so we decline his offer. After all, we are there to drive in our own car, and then he otherwise follows us in his car and keeps asking if we want to go now?
In the end we shake him off and find a way out into the sand ourselves. Here we play a bit, but when the sand gets too loose, only Johnny thought it was fun to drive in, so Sus is quick to sign up as a photographer, so Johnny can be a playboy.
It's merrily out there and we have a pleasant afternoon in the most beautiful countryside.
As the sun is about to set, we drive back to the small town and find a kasbah where we can spend the night.
The reception offers mint tea and tells us that we can book a Bedouin who would like to show us the sun rising over the Sahara on the back of a camel.
It sounds nice so we would like to try it.
We have to get up early to make our appointment with the Bedouin and reach the sand dunes before the sun rises.
At 3 o'clock the clock rings and we get ready, but there is no Bedouin in sight. Has he forgotten us?
After an hour the Bedouin comes with his 2 camels. We had just misunderstood the timing.
We look in awe at the two animals. You have heard stories of people falling over the camel's head when it stands up. Well placed in the saddle, made of loose blankets and straps, we hold on well. At least we won't be laughed at.
The Bedouin makes the camels stand up and that is an experience in itself. No embarrassing scenes, we are still sitting there, and can calmly trudge out into the desert, in the dead of night.
When we get to the big sand dune, he suddenly asks the camels to lie down, and then we are told that we can just go up to the top and enjoy the view and watch the sun rise.
The Bedouin takes the saddle off one camel and unpacks it all, and then he has a bed where he can sleep until we come back.
We start walking towards the top (92m), but have to face the fact that it is a bit of a challenge to walk steeply upwards in loose sand. Su's stupid knee didn't think it was the best idea we've had on the trip, and puts an end to the game halfway, but Johnny has to fight his way to the top.
The sun slowly comes into view in the haze. What a sight. It's really beautiful.
We sit and enjoy the spectacular view. There are also some small beetles crawling around in the sand. It's really incredible that there can be life here.
When we come back down, we just have to wake up the Bedouin, he will quickly pack it all up again and turn all the blankets into a saddle, and then the trip goes back again.
We enjoy the afternoon and have a look at all the pictures we have taken.
In the evening they serve the most delicious tangine with beef, dates, almonds and spices. It just tastes so good. It has just been munching on the grill/oven for half the day. Tangine is a clay bowl with a top hat, in which you can make concoctions. The food then simmers for a few hours and becomes really tasty.
We drive from Merzouga and head towards Marrakesh. There is the Ouzoud waterfall.
It is also on the to do list, but on the way there we are unlucky enough to destroy the cooler.
We come driving in a slightly hilly landscape and just think, it's strange how hot the engine gets. Good thing it's a hot day, but still. The pointer moves up into the red field and we drive into the side.
We jump out of the car and open the bonnet. A metal retainer has wriggled free and has been flung into the cooler, which is then leaking. Out in the middle of no man's land.
Well, we have to start fixing the problem. Johnny has to take it all apart and take out the cooler. Fortunately, we have a model that can be repaired, and Johnny knows some good bush tricks. So we are hopeful. Time passes and the sun sets, so it will be a repair in the light from Sus' mobile phone, as the flashlight has temporarily disappeared.
After a few hours of work, it is all assembled and ready to be filled with water again. However, it is still leaky, so the water just flows out. Well, now we know the routine. Take it all apart again, out with the cooler, and patch and glue again. It is now 3 in the morning and we are very tired. It is very dark as there are no lampposts or anything. So it's a bit scary when you can hear that it's puzzling and you can't see what it is.
This is where we get the brilliant idea to check if the cooler is tight before we mount it and reassemble it all. Fortunately, it is. And we are finally ready to drive on in the middle of the night.
We must have found a place to sleep, because by now we are pretty tired. Further down the road, a car stops across the road with its hazard lights on. We stop and Johnny rolls down the window and asks if we can help with anything.
Arabic is not our core competence, but it doesn't sound like they are saying "no, it's great to see you, can you help us?" It sounds more like they are skewed by substances and probably don't have completely clean flour in the bag. With renewed adrenaline in the body, we quickly drive away from there. It looks like they're following us, but we rush onto the toll highway and pull into a rest area, where we take a nap next to the trucks.
When we wake up, we have to make a plan, because Sus has to fly home from Casablanca. Dare we bet that the car's radiator will last so that we can reach the waterfall, or should we drive to Casablanca so that Sus can come home by plane?