Morocco | Sallam, the Nomad

We reached the bivouac under the sandstorm ... so to say that we could not see a meter. After a nap, Rachid, our driver comes to make a small point in our tent: the weather conditions a little extreme and the remote geographical situation make us the only tourists in the camp ... A bargain! We are invited to dinner in the back kitchen with the small team. We share the tagine dromedary (it's odd especially since one of us will ride one in a few hours). It feels like home ....

with the people of the bivouac and Sallam, a nomadic shepherd (who understands nothing of what they say but who seems to like our company). The wind has calmed down and we are out to sing around the fire while the guys play the djembe. It's magic ... Sallam takes a stress shot: he does not remember where he "parked his dromedaries". And here he goes in the night in search of his animals, which he has not cared for since the end of the storm. Relieved to have found them, he makes us a little dance very "inhabited" ...

The night is short. We discover the landscape when we wake up (around 6.30am). The light is crazy. We walk the dunes, which we see as far as the eye can see. Sallam comes to meet us with his two dromedaries. He warmly "hugs" us (apparently, he also enjoyed the evening) and Marielle begins her dromedary baptism. We take a nice walk through the dunes. Sallam seems to enjoy the photo shoot we offer him. He is very close to his animals and cuddles his dromedaries with real tenderness. It makes it even more touching. For me, my memory of the desert can not be dissociated from our meeting with this man, who looks nothing like us but with whom we spent great moments.

Already, it's time to get back on the road ... and we are gradually leaving the sand desert for other landscapes no less impressive.