The Desert

Alright, I'm going to try again to finish writing about Morocco.  From Fez we traveled all day to the edge of the Sahara desert.  After a long drive that literally drove off of the roadway into seemingly nothing, we  clamored onto camels and headed into the soft, red sand dunes.  In about an hour, as we watched the sun set, we arrived at the Berber camp where we had dinner and spent the night.  We had, predictably, a tagene that was great, had an adventure not finding the toilet, and were entertained by some of the Berbers who played traditional drums around the camp fire.
The sand there has the most inviting texture and temperature.  Instead of cold and wet, the deeper I dug into it, the warmer and dryer it felt.  Burying my feet in it was like having a heater around them, and the sand felt soft and smooth and I was completely content sitting it it, doing nothing else.  I leaned back against it, spreading my arms out like a snow angel; my entire view was filled with stars-180 degrees of the universe was laid out before me.  It was fascinating and infinite and one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.
My lack of astrological knowledge is lamentable, especially in that situation.  Although, we did figure out which were planets, that 'that thing' was the milky way, and for the first time, I saw all of Orion, and not just his belt.
Three of us dragged the little mattresses we were given up a dune and slept there under the stars.  I woke up a few times in the night and it was impossible not to catch a glimpse of our surroundings and not feel amazed.  I could have laid there for days. In the morning, I got up for the sunrise, which was lovely although with every dune I climbed, there was another one between me and the sun.  It was still a beautiful morning and absolutely the most fantastic place I've woken up to.  Seeing it in daylight was barely more than my camera could handle, it is too easy to get overexcited there and click yourself into a frenzy.

We didn't stay long in the morning as the sun brought heat and flies.  We took our camels back out to 'civilization' and had a lovely breakfast on the edge of the desert.  We then headed to a beautiful kasbah converted into a hotel where we hung out, swam in their pool, enjoyed their full service bathrooms, showered, tanned, smoked hookahs, and had a relaxing lunch.
It was unusual for me to enjoy such an afternoon on vacation, but after three weeks of 'go, go go' it was really nice simply to relax and do nothing.  So, maybe there is a new travel lesson for me- it is okay to do nothing....just not for too long.