Every time I hear the word desert, I always think about millions of endless sand dunes. We set out on a long van ride, not really knowing what to expect, to the Sahara desert. This long, winding, and seemingly endless trip proved that what we have always pictured as the desert was not completely accurate.

After a 6-hour van ride, we finally arrived at the breath-taking Hotel Xaluca. Words can not even begin to describe the beauty of this place located in the desert. As we walked in, we were greeted with the infamous Moroccan tea and live music with belly dancers at the pool. This resort was so meticulously designed, as it portrayed different accessories including Berber tents, pottery, and plants. We were all so excited and in awe of the beauty of this place and were kind of sad we could not spend another night.  We spent some time in a hot tub and pool and had a great time further getting to know each other.

The next day we gathered our things and went to the hotel Tombuctu. This was another unique place, but we were only there for a few hours. The time finally came for the camel ride that everyone had anxiously been awaiting.  The entire ride was through the sand dunes, just like the ones I had always imagined. This place was amazing, unlike anything I have seen before. On the camel ride, there were four different groups of six camels. Mohamed and Yusef, two of our guides, told us many stories, made some jokes and good small talk. This entire time I remember thinking what kind of life this must be just walking camels to and from camp every day. Then we made it to the bottom of the highest dune. Now was the hard part. We all climbed it after sliding, sweating, and struggling on our way up. We sat and watched the sun set from the top. The beauty was breath-taking. This is when it became clear to us why Mohamed and Yusef enjoy their lives. The dunes are their “playground.” Both of them are in their twenties and were like kids running and sliding through the sand.

We came down the other side of this huge dune to the Berber camp where we would be spending the night. We each chose a tent to put our things in and were greeted with Moroccan tea. Back in Tombuctou we got off our camels, said goodbyes to the men and our camels, and went to a huge breakfast buffet.

This trip to the desert will definitely be one of the most unforgettable experiences of our lives. Not only did we form friendships with some of the Berber men, but we got to experience the beauty of the desert that we had only dreamed about up until this point. We also learned that a camel ride is great but really only for a short period of time. The memories we created on this trip will be lasting.

-Julie Young