We were met at the airport by Mohammed aka Haj who drove us to the camp. He was such a treasure and he told us all kinds of information about the area as we drove. His family is from the last city before the desert, so he saw a lot of friends while we were driving. It was great! The drive takes about an hour and a half on roads and an hour and a half through the actual desert over all different types of terrain including rocks, clay and sand. Beware of wild camel crossing – ha!

Upon arrival at the camp, my boyfriend, Bachir, greeted us with wine and snacks. Bachir isn’t usually in charge, but Bobo, Nick’s Moroccan buddy in the camp, was on vacation for a week, so Bachir was in charge of him during his absence. I have to say he killed him. Not only was he there for anything we could possibly need, but he was fun to hang out with and encouraged me to do things when I was scared (which I absolutely needed!). He even helped coordinate a photo shoot on the last day!
After welcome drinks, Bachir showed us to our tents. You pay per person so as there were three of us we could have taken three tents if we wanted but we preferred to be together so we took two. We had just enough time to settle down and reach the big dune for sunset, where we met the other campers. I think my favorite part of it all was the community feel of the camp. Instead of walking back down the dune, you have the option of sand surfing. Fantastic!! After dark, we went down to a small seating area where we had some wine and got to know each other. Next we headed to the fire where we started talking politics as it was right after the midterm elections. Luckily we were all on it, so everyone got along great!