This was the beginning of our trip out to Erg Chebbi, part of the Sahara and the largest sand desert in Morocco. Rostom, our driver, handed us over to a Berber with a big SUV who knew the desert like the back of his hand. Good thing, because there were no roads out there. Rostom refuses to drive in the Sahara any more since he once got terribly lost at night and managed to convince a Berber camel herder – by giving him every single dirham he had on him – to guide him back to a road. The herder didn’t want to leave his camels, but finally agreed. I’m sure the large amount of money helped.

Two friends in the Rissani Kasbah, posted earlier: