I spent a month in the Sahara Desert

I spent a month in the Sahara desert and all I got was a backpack full of sand.

I mean maybe spiritually I got more from the desert than I am giving it credit, but physically I am coming back with a sunburn and enough sand to get flagged at customs.

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The desert was mesmerizing from the moment we arrived. The first morning, I was in shock at the sand dunes surrounding our camp. Since we arrived at night, we didn’t get a full view of the dunes until morning, but it was spectacular! I couldn’t believe how remote we were, sand dunes stretched around the entire camp, and from within, there was nothing to see but sand. On our last day, a massive sandstorm gave us and our suitcases a final dusting, as if the desert wanted to leave its mark on us one last time.

Jordan in one of the common areas at camp

It does feel kind of crazy that we spent almost three weeks in the Sahara desert. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel nearly that long. After the whirlwind of seeing fifteen different cities in a little over a month, I needed the stillness that the desert provided more than anything.

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Our extended stay in the desert was possible through a volunteering program called WorldPackers. We stayed at a bivouac in the desert town M’Hamid El Ghizlane that was basically in the middle of nowhere. In exchange for three hours of work per day and five euros, we got a place to stay, three meals a day, and a chance to meet countless travelers making their way through the desert.

The day to day experience kind of blended together, no day in camp particularly stands out. The only real variation came from the different people who passed through. Every day I stuck to a pseudo routine: Wake up. Eat breakfast. Do two hours of work. Play chess. Read. Eat lunch. Siesta. Another hour of work. Read. Journal. Dinner. Fire. Bed. Wake up. Over and over again. And you know what? It never got old. Every single day was refreshing.

grabbing plants for mbark’s goats as a part of our daily work

And the work was never that difficult. I mean sometimes it was physically hard, pulling plants out of the ground, plants that had worked really hard to grow long taproots to reach the water deep within the desert. But that was it—never mentally straining. The rest of the day, we could mill around camp, maybe hike the nearby dunes, and just do whatever we wanted.

And the days were really nice. Ever since we left the UK in December, it felt like rain and cold weather were chasing us everywhere. The desert was the one place we knew we’d be safe from the rain—except for one night when there was a lightning storm and a slight drizzle. The sun was warm, but if you needed to cool down, you could find shade with a nice breeze.

The one extreme weather phenomena we experienced quite a bit of was the sandstorms. I don’t think it was bad enough to be considered a sandstorm, but on days where it was very windy, the wind would pick up the sand and throw it everywhere. On the last day we were in camp, it was so bad that everyone had to stay inside. Even a quick trip to the toilet meant sand in your eyes and nose!

natural orange filter

Almost every evening (wind conditions permitting), I hiked into the dunes to watch the sunset, either alone or with whoever was willing to join me. It was a bit of a climb, but the views at the top were unmatched. Watching the sun set over the sand dunes is not something I will soon forget.

The days were amazing, but the nights were maybe even better. It was a little bit chilly, but everyone at camp would gather around the fire pit and just reflect on the day. Sometimes we‘d chat, and sometimes the staff would play music, and sometimes we would just sit in silence, in awe of the stars. With no big towns nearby, the night sky is hard to beat. You could see galaxies with the naked eye while counting satellites and shooting stars.

tea by the fire with a nomad

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Even though I probably could have, we didn’t spend all our time at camp. We went on a few excursions, and my favorite was probably our trip to Erg Chigaga, a national park with the largest sand dunes in Morocco. The dunes here were massive, making the already impressive dunes at camp look tiny! I think the dunes in Erg Chigaga reach up to 50 meters, while the ones by our camp were 20, maybe 30 meters on a good day. We climbed up the largest sand dune in the area, and it was so hard, I thought I was in decent shape, but turns out, sand dunes will humble you fast. The view from the top though? Worth every single gasping breath.

The rest of the day was also great, the dunes were about 60 kilometers from where we were staying so we had a nice little drive and on the way saw an oasis! It was super cool to see the water bubbling out of the ground and the little frogs swimming around in the water and the green area contrasted with all the golden sand surrounding it.

On another day, we went on a camel ride. Sure, it was a total tourist trap, but it was fun nonetheless. I will say, it was a bit scary when the camels went down large sand dunes, and the next day, I could barely walk from the saddle soreness. Would I do it again? Probably not, but I’m glad I tried it once.

We also explored the town of M’Hamid, where we wandered through the original adobe (mud-brick) settlement. Mostly abandoned now, it’s home to just a few families of dogs. Still, it was fascinating to see the layout of the old town and get a glimpse of how life used to be in this area.

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Jordan and I had already been in Morocco for about two weeks before we got to the desert, so we had already learned some Moroccan customs, culture, and food. But during our time in camp, we were fully immersed in it. Every day, we spent most of our time with Mohammed, the camp everything man, and Hassan, a friend of Mbark’s. We ate almost every meal with them, talked with them by the fire, and hung out during the day. We did our best to learn any Arabic they were willing to teach us, but mostly, we just soaked in the famous Moroccan hospitality.

And the food. The food was so good. I got so used to eating tagine cooked vegetables and chicken with bread every night and bread with oil for breakfast. I think there was a stretch of a week where maybe we had tagine for every single lunch and dinner, and I wasn’t complaining and neither was my stomach. In fact, on our last night, we ate some fried Western food, which my stomach hadn’t had in over a month, and boy did I pay for it the following day. I think it may be the sickest I have ever been in my life. And the next time I ate a chicken and vegetable tagine, I did not take it for granted.

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Although we did a lot of really cool things while staying at the camp, I think what I will miss the most is the people and just being at camp. Immediately the staff that we met were so kind to us and made us feel so at home. And the three different volunteers we met in the desert quickly became close friends. Camp had such a relaxed atmosphere that fostered deep connections between everyone. The friendships, the stories, and the simple, slow rhythm of life there will definitely be missed.

xx abby