Day 11 Sahara to Gorges

Woke up at 6:30 in prep for our 7 am camel ride. We got on our camels and were led by two guides to the top of dunes to see the sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful and the camel ride was once in a lifetime experience. Interesting, but probably not to be repeated. When we got back, we were served breakfast in the tent compound. Then back to Erfoud to meet with Rachid and continue the tour. The drive towards Quarzatate and the gorges was absolutely stunning. This must be the most beautiful part of Morocco --- red mountains with clay-colored villages clinging to the slopes and surrounded by the greenery of the oases. We passes many little towns with most of the buildings being pinkish-clay color, but surprisingly, most of the doors are turquoise green. We stopped at the Todra gorges to admire the view and take pictures and then drove to the city of Dades, our home for the night. We checked into the hotel (a big Kasbah on the hill) and then walked all the way down to the city center. It’s definitely not an attractive city. We met a young Berber man who showed us his bakery, which unfortunately was out of bread. Then we discovered another bakery that was just baking a new batch so we walked around the city market and came back when the bread was ready and hot. Delicious.