3: Next Stop - The Sahara Desert!

The next leg of our journey is a familiar one; the landscape flattens out and the dunes of Erg Chebbi come into view.

Last time here the sight of dunes like this was a first for both of us and it was a jaw dropping sight. Since then we've seen other, bigger and more extensive dunes than those of this part of the Sahara but this desert will always have a special place in our hearts and its splendour remains undeniable.

We stop for a coffee and admire a luxury hotel that we won't be staying at - but it never hurts to dream!

We aren't great believers in trying to replicate past experiences and we're trying for the most part to visit places in Morocco that we haven't been to before. That said, there is a very special camping opportunity at Auberge la Tradition where we stayed before and where we know we can camp right at the very edge of the dunes. Mubarak is there to greet us....

....he makes sure we have prime position....

....a fire pit, wood and meat for Janette's birthday barbecue. Exactly the same spot as we celebrated her birthday with a barbecue two years ago!

We decide to take a 4x4 trip into the desert today, we are a bit unsure as we fear it may be very touristy and a bit tame but we have a great time.

We visit an oasis where we sit and drink mint tea - we're lucky that this is low season for tourism and so we're by ourselves. This place is peaceful and feels very secluded.

We then drive out to the other side of the dunes towards the border with Algeria. There is a small graveyard out here, each grave marked by a plain standing stone. It's a bleak place standing as it does on a stony plain with no softening features to the landscape at all.

We visit the nearby nomad village which may seem like a contradiction in terms. Our guide explains that the 'village' is not permanent, the nomads will stay here while there is accessible water but when that dries up, they dismantle the tents and move everything to a new place.

The framework for each tent is covered in a heavy fabric woven from camel wool which helps to keep things warm in winter and cool in summer - although we can't imagine there's much escape form the 50 degree summers they have out here, or the near freezing nights in the winter. Life must be hard.

Lunch is cooked for us in a clay oven over an open fire - it's a Berber Pizza which is a filled flatbread. We go for the vegetarian filling which is very tasty.

It's washed down with the obligatory mint tea.

We travel back across the dunes and head to the final stop on our tour - Lake Merzouga. There are usually flamingos here but we don't see any. The lake is often totally dry and it's certainly not full now but it is still enormous and very beautiful with the mountains as a backdrop.

One of Janette's Christmas presents was a jigsaw of Regent Street at Christmas and we persuade Bernd to help us. We sit there as the sun sets and darkness falls and progress is painfully slow - no doubt Bernd wonders why he ever got involved!

Anyway, cheers and Happy Birthday to Janette!