Sun. Heat. Sand. Dry. HOT. This is what we expected from the Sahara Desert. Not at night, of course – we brought our winter coats, toques and gloves for the nights – but we brought shorts for the daytime. We even brought sunscreen.

What did we get instead? Clouds. Wind. Sand. Cold. Rain. RAIN? Yep. Water falling from the sky. Ha. We did not expect that. It definitely altered our plans for the day. 61km/hour winds tend to negatively affect outdoor activities.

That being said, for an altered day, we sure did pack in a lot. Aziz, our guide was fantastic at keeping us busy. We went to the main market, only open a few times/week with the busiest day being Sunday. We saw all the vendors, the livestock market and a donkey park. Not a car park – an actual donkey park.

We had a cooking class where we made another Tajine with chicken and veggies. We really are good cooks. Just saying.

We visited an authentic Nomadic village and we learned that our guide’s family was nomadic until relatively recently. He was able to give us all kinds of insight to their way of life. We were offered tea and cookies by the host and we graciously accepted. His young sons watched carefully as we drank our tea and ‘ignored’ our cookies. The boys then decided to be brave and eat them for themselves. We all came away winners at that exchange – they got the treats and we got their smiles. You’ll have to believe us because I didn’t take any pictures of it.

We saw a mostly abandoned mine, which they call the Mascara Mines where they harvest kohl. It was abandoned by the French colonizers when Morocco gained its independence in the 1950s.

We learned that most villages in the Sahara Desert have a centralized irrigation system. This is how we managed to find a lush, green, tropical, pine tree filled field in the middle of the desert. The water comes from a huge reservoir/lake nearby. When I learned that this huge water source will be completely dried up in a few months, I was gobsmacked. The desert is no joke.

Even with all of these amazing adventures, the thing that will stick with me the most is our driver’s ability to navigate through the desert, without a map, without a compass, without any signs. We seemed to be driving ‘aimlessly’ in the sand filled desert, no tracks to be seen in any direction and then all of a sudden, he would make a hard turn left, or right. How did he know? There are no real landmarks. All of the plants/shrubs look the same. The dunes are fluid and shift so that can’t be it. We were confused, dumbfounded and completely amazed. He knew where we were at every grain of sand.

The Sahara Desert is filled with wonder. You are lost and found simultaneously. It is wonderful.