Camel rides through the Erg Chebbi sand dunes (the Sahara Desert of Morocco, Africa).

One of the things we knew we wanted to do in Morocco was to ride camels through the Saharan Desert.

We opted to do the 2 hour sunrise ride instead of the overnight adventure. Price-wise the overnight adventure is a better deal. It includes overnight accommodations in a Berber tent, dinner, breakfast and entertainment. Our neighbors did this. The quoted price was $50 each but they got it for $40 each.

We opted for the sunset ride that cost us $18 each. The kids were all old enough to get their own camel.

We rode into the desert with a couple guides and our new friends, Alex and Alize as well.

Even though it was called a 2 hour ride, we only rode the camels for about 20-30 minutes into the sand dunes and the same on the way out. Which ended up a good thing because riding camels for two hour straight would have been hard on our bodies.

Once we got deeper into the dunes, our camels all sat down and we got the chance to take photos with them while they rested.

Ava brought her birthday polaroid camera for a couple shots as well.

Then we climbed up from our camels resting area to the top of the dunes around us.

Plenty of time to run around and make sand art.

Dan and our new friend Alex.

Yeah for family photos.

And yeah that we didn’t get spit on by camels.

Dan and me. Parents need photos too.

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I grew up hearing stories about my grandmother and great grandmother living in the Sahara as refugees during WW2. So I always associated the Sahara with that moment in my family’s history. But here I am now, adding to my family’s story in this beautiful desert.

These one-humped beauties are actually called dromedaries. There are 3 species of camels and these have the highest population of all three. And look at its footprint in the sand. They have very large feet for keeping them from sinking and for not making any sounds either.

Say cheese!

Climbing more dunes.

The colors of the desert at sunset are amazing. An unbelievable experience,

Shenanigans. This is why we chose to pay for a campground… showers!

Especially for the little guy who always gets sand all over his scalp.

I guess I should mention there are camel turds everywhere on the camels’ path.

We weren’t the only ones out here for camel rides.

The sun is about to set and the colors are getting even more intense.

Time to head back to our camels.

Ready to get up, camel?

Going up and down the dunes was quite the experience. It feels like you could fall off but no one did.

Thanks for the ride, friends.

Thanks for following along,
Marlene