From the Sand to the Sky

When many people talk of their ideal dream vacation, words like “warm sun,” “sandy beaches“ and “cold cocktails” float from their lips as they gaze dreamily into space, imagining their blissful escape to paradise. While my own favorite travel experience certainly did include a large amount of sun and sand, there were no beaches or cocktails to be found for miles around because I wasn’t on a coast or an island; I was in the Sahara desert.

From Merzouga, Morocco, a town on the edge of the desert, a boy led my friend and me out to the camels and helped us onto them. That’s right, we would be traveling into the desert by camel. The camel squatted down so I could clamber onto it but then it stood by jerking its hind legs up first, then picking up its front legs one-by-one. Believe me when I tell you this feels similar to riding one of those mechanical bulls, hold on tight.

Soon, all signs of civilization were left behind. After about an hour, we came around another dune and our camp site made of gorgeous, colorful blankets on stick structures was suddenly laid out before us.

As a welcome, we were given a cup of tea. Now, this tea isn’t just your typical Lipton. This is basically 1 part water, 1 part loose leaf tea, 2 parts fresh mint leaves, and 10 parts sugar. Scalding hot but fresher than a pine tree and sweeter than cotton candy, this stuff is delicious and it’s served everywhere in Morocco. This could very nearly be my travel discovery alone, but it was trumped by just one thing. Or should I say one million?

That night while the firelight glinted, the boys sang and played traditional music. But my eyes could not be peeled away from the sky.
The desert might be a barren place with little life above ground but the phenomenal view of the universe is unparalleled. The night sky, unobscured from any light for miles around, revealed millions of twinkling stars.

Normally, I can easily pick out a number of constellations: the big and little dippers, Orion’s belt, etc. On this night however, there were so many stars I could no easier count the grains of sand beneath my feet than I could pick out any familiar constellations from among the starts twinkling above me.

How strange that I had to come so far from home to discover something that had always been right above me. This view alone made my experience worth it.

So debunk convention. Forego the expensive, gaudy trip to Paris. Go instead, to the home of the starry Arabian nights.