Just over 20 years ago, being a tourist in the M’Hamid Desert meant travelling exclusively by camel. We’d leave the Land Rovers behind to set off on foot with the camels.
The camels carried our tents, our sleeping mats, our food, and the necessary cooking equipment.
Their route with the camel drivers was not always the same as ours.
Accompanied by our guide, a single point on the horizon—like a solitary acacia tree in this barren landscape—showed us the way forward. Every day, after several hours’ walk, we had to reach a well where the camels could drink, and we had to set up camp again.
At that time, there was no mobile phone signal in the desert. There was no internet connection or GPS; we could rely only on the men of the desert: our guide, our cook, our camel drivers.
The camels carried our drinking water; we used wet wipes for washing.
We travelled with only the bare essentials.
We slept on the few centimetres of foam in our mattresses or on the sand.
We focused on the essentials.
We were close to the authentic nomadic life of the Bedouins. We could still come across a few families living in the Raima (the tent) woven from the hair and wool of the goats and camels that accompanied them.
With no car and no phone, we relied on ourselves and placed our complete trust in the desert people who knew this magnificent yet hostile and dangerous environment.
It was an unforgettable experience, one of solitude and solidarity in equal measure. A confrontation with one’s own insignificance in the face of such vastness.
A discovery of what silence can be, a realisation of the preciousness of water, an opportunity to distinguish the essential from the superfluous.
What a surprise, 15 years later, to discover permanent camps with tents that resemble bedrooms, equipped with proper beds, a toilet block with toilets and showers, a kitchen and a dining room for meals, and even mobile phone coverage and Wi-Fi.
Nowadays, the need for comfort, security and telecommunications predominates in our society at the expense of an understanding of what is essential, even in the desert.
The ‘Trek’ package still exists; it is offered but is rarely requested by tourists