Morocco: Sahara Trip Day 3, Crazy Camels Causing Chaos

        We woke up about an hour before the sun, and helped break camp. We were supposed to be on our camels and riding in time to see the sunrise. One of our camels had other ideas apparently. While all the camels were quietly waiting for us to mount them, one decided to go on strike. He stood up, then started to walk off. One of our guides began to chase after him, but every time the guide got close the camel took off into the desert again running circles around the group. The entire time he was doing this, the camel had a very obvious smirk on his face as if to say, "lets see how YOU like being led through the desert... not very fun is it?" After about 15 minutes of these charades, the camel called it quits and let himself get harnessed back to the group by the furious and embarrassed guide.
         The group got mounted, and was making its way through the dunes when my camel apparently decided he was hungry. Or angry. Not sure which, but he started to bite the leg of the camel in front of him, before proceeding to gnaw on its ass. The camel in front of me was not amused, and a camel road rage (or I guess dune rage) battle ensued until a guide came and broke the feuding beasts apart. Our frazzled guides eventually announced that we should turn around to watch the sunrise, which was spectacular, before quickly resuming our trudge back to civilization. It had been a long morning for them and they wanted nothing more than to be done with the stupid camels.
        Back at base, we had a nice breakfast before hitting the road for a long (12 hour) drive back to Marrakech. The drive itself was fairly uneventful, just the same thing as the last couple of days in reverse. The scenery of the Atlas mountains was incredible though. Absolutely breathtaking.
      Luckily, we made it back to Marrakech in time to see a really beautiful sight. The call to prayer during Ramadan at the main mosque in Marrakech which attracted over 20,000 people. It was one of those incredible things you see that sticks with you the rest of your life. That seemed like the perfect end to a long day, so I made my way back to the hostel, and called it a night for Marrakech.

Khotubia Mosque at night

Lunch with the crew in the Atlas Mountains