SAHARA DESERT

In 2019 in a pre-pandemic society I traveled to Morocco, spending three chaotic days on a tour of the Sahara. While I normally can’t fathom the thought of being on any kind of guided tour where I’m talked at and perceived as a tour person, this really was the ideal way to venture into the Sahara desert. I just..really don’t have it in me to brave the ten hour drive from Marrakech and understand what’s happening.

Anyway, here’s what I saw along the way.

While in the Atlas Mountains, it was proven to me that my love of gas stations truly knows no bounds or borders. I can always find home in a travel stop.

Aït Benhaddou is one of the more popular stops on the way to the Sahara, which means I was fighting for my life to take photos without a sun visor in my way.

Next stop was at the Atlas Studios. Technically speaking, this is the largest movie studio in the world in terms of space it takes up in the desert. Morocco has an impressive role in film production, providing the backdrop to many classic films. Well, or just popular ones like the absolute nightmare film The Hills Have Eyes. Yikes yikes yikes.

Every single bathroom stop on this journey provided such an opportunity for me to be annoying. It was so inspiring to not even be able to just use the restroom without a whole production.

On day two of the tour, the group was led around the town of Tinghir which felt a little fucked up since people are there just trying to live their lives. But anyway..

By the time we made it to the edge of the Sahara, it was early evening on day two. Which meant we were immediately put on camels and sent to our accomodations for the night. This tour’s end game was glamping, though with the travel time and packed agenda you don’t get much time to really soak up the glamp energy.

The quest to get there is, well, a quest but it’s well worth it. Some of my favorite memories take place here during a year that arguably was one of my personal worst, and for that I’m grateful.