Sahara Desert trek–As a seasoned traveler there are certain things that become second nature to you. You know what time you really need to leave for the airport, how much you actually need to pack and who you can trust along your travels. But even those with the greatest instincts and common sense can slip up every now and then, which is what happened to me.
By: Heather Newgen | Twitter: @hnvoluntourist
Anthony Bourdain once said, “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart,” and he was right. While my adventures may seem like they’re carefully curated and crafted to capture an Instagram worthy shot highlighting my fantastical journeys, it’s not always fun. Sadly this was the case with my Sahara Desert trek in Morocco. It started off amazing, but didn’t end so great. Let me back up to the beginning so you fully understand the circumstances.
Heather Newgen in the Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
A tour company run by a Moroccan nomad named Hafid reached out to me through The Voluntourist’s Instagram account inviting me to do a Sahara Desert trek. The trip sounded like a dream. Not only would I learn more about the nomadic culture and experience an authentic Sahara Desert trek with them, I’d visit a school that was started just for nomad children who can’t have a formal education due to their lifestyle.
As a reporter, my mind immediately began thinking about the coverage I could give this school and the unique insight I could share about their lives. I was so intrigued and in all my travels never I have done anything close to this. So of course I had to do it. I was asked to bring a photographer and the deal was we pay for our everything from our flights to Marrakesh, accommodations, food in the city, and transportation to Zagora, which is about seven to eight hours away from Marrakech.
Zagora Photo by Jenny Karakaya
However, once we arrived to Zagora, we could stay at Hafid’s brother’s house at no cost for a night before heading to the desert, which was another three hour road trip. Then for the three days and two nights we were on the Sahara Desert trek, the expenses would be covered. That included three meals a day and a tent to camp. I was so excited about the opportunity so whatever it took I was going.
Our camp in the Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
For weeks I messaged with Hafid. He was sweet, communicative and always responsive. At no time did I ever think this was a scam, nor did I feel uncomfortable. I listened to my gut and I didn’t have any weird vibes. When we would message it was strictly business.
So I asked Jenny Karakaya, a photographer friend of mine, to join me and made the arrangements. We couldn’t wait to embark on this adventure and couldn’t stop talking about how incredible it was going to be.
From left to right Jenny Karakaya and Heather Newgen
About three weeks before the trip, Julie, a girlfriend of mine from Orange County, Calif., decided to come along. While she was looking forward to traveling to Morocco for the first time, she was really interested in the school and how she could help the students. After getting the okay from Hafid, she booked her flight and met us in Marrakech.
Hafid was wonderful in helping set up the details. He had taxis meet us at the airport and made reservations at a hotel he suggested. One thing to take note of is that you need cash in Morocco. Most places don’t take cards and you can’t bring or take Moroccan Dirhams, which is their currency, in or out of the country. So you can exchange money at the airport and pull cash out of ATMs.
Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
Everything went smoothly and the next morning our driver Ibrahim arrived promptly to pick us up. Along the way to the Sahara Desert trek we stopped for lunch at a place he chose. It was a small run down restaurant on the side of the road that served tagine, a traditional Moroccan dish with couscous and vegetables or meat.
There were a few tables outside with flies swarming around. The restrooms were literally holes in the ground and there was a prayer room off to the side (Morocco is a Muslim country so it’s typical to have rooms like this since they’re called to prayer five times a day). It was a place you wouldn’t look twice at, much less stop to eat, but since Ibrahim recommended it, we went. And we were glad we did. The food was absolutely delicious and it was nice to enjoy a hot meal after being in the car for so long.
Ibrahim said it was better if he paid for lunch because he would get a deal if he ordered. We thought it was so nice of him to look out for us and agreed to pay him back when we got to Zagora. After we ate we hit the road again bracing for another long drive, but Ibrahim said he was told I wanted to visit the Kasbah. I had no idea what that was, nor do I recall saying that. He asked me a few times if I wanted to go and was persistent about it. While we were all exhausted we decided to check it out.
The Kasbah
The Kasbah turned out to be a beautiful old fortress and it seemed like a fun touristy thing to do. However, we wanted to be mindful of Ibrahim’s time and felt bad that the drive was so long. He was older and had an open wound of his foot that had swollen significantly. Not once did he complain, but I noticed it right away.
So we literally stayed for 10 minutes and ran back to the car. After experiencing an unexpected flash flood that left us stranded for a couple of hours, we finally made it to Zagora almost 12 hours later. Dinner was waiting for us and Ibrahim joined us for the meal. Afterwards we paid him, but not the amount we initially agreed on, which was $128 one way. We were charged $25.00 for one tagine and two bottles of water at lunch and then another $25.00 to stop at the Kasbah.
Now we have no problems paying the amount, but $25.00 USD for a vegetarian tagine, was ridiculous. I wouldn’t pay that in LA. I guess Ibrahim was charged a tourist price after all. It should have been $5.00 tops. And we had no idea that there was additional fee to stop a few minutes at the Kasbah. We weren’t told in advance. It wasn’t the money we cared about, but we only had a certain amount of cash on us. We also knew we were being taken advantage of a bit, but didn’t say anything partly because that amount wasn’t worth arguing over and because I know how much he needed it. Westerners always pay more than locals and that’s okay with me. It’s still much less than we’d pay in the states–well except for a tagine! We paid and left the driver a very generous tip of $80.00.
It was then that Julie realized she was missing 500 MAD, which is about $50.00. She was so exhausted from traveling she thought she dropped it somewhere. She dismissed it quickly and we all went to bed.
The next day we finally made it to the Sahara desert. A different driver took us from Zagora to meet Hafid and I was so thrilled to see him in person. He was just how I imagined, a bit shy, very respectful and really accommodating.
Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
For two days we walked for hours in the desert sun with camels in tow, took in the gorgeous scenery, shared delicious meals together, camped under the bright starry stars, laughed, sang songs and had the best time. It was honestly one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. I loved every minute with Hafid and his nomad team. They treated us like family and we didn’t want our time with them to end. It was magical on so many levels.
Heather Newgen in the Sahara Desert. Photo by Jenny Karakaya
On the way back to Marrakesh Ibrahim was our driver again. He took us to the same place for lunch for the same price of $25.00 for the tagine. When we got to the riad, where we were staying, we offered him a place for the night. We had an extra room so it was no problem at all. After driving all day to Marrakesh, he was going back to Zagora that night and we were worried for his safety, but he declined.
When we went to pay him I realized I was missing money from my purse. Julie looked in her wallet and she was missing money as well. We knew exactly how much cash we had because we gave the nomads all of our money on the Sahara Desert trek as a tip. We had Ibrahim take us to an ATM in Zagora and we didn’t spend a dime, so there was no reason for to not have the amount of money we pulled out.
It was at that moment we knew Ibrahim had stolen from us. He was the only one who had access to our belongings. The only time we didn’t have our purses was when we stopped to use the restroom on the way back from the Sahara Desert trek. We were gone less than 10 minutes, but Julie and I left our purses behind on the backseat in the taxi. We admit we were completely careless. Obviously we shouldn’t of done that and we take full responsibility for it. It was such a stupid thing to do and we own it. But that doesn’t mean you can steal from us.
Jenny had her money with her at all times so she wasn’t missing anything. We confronted Ibrahim and of course he denied it. Julie was so angry she was shaking. She realized she didn’t lose money on the way to the desert, he took it. I was so freaked out by the situation. The illusion of Ibrahim as this sweet grandfatherly type was shattered and I didn’t want him in our riad. So Jenny and I paid him because we wanted him to leave. Julie refused, which I don’t blame her. He was $50 short, but he stole $175 from us, plus overcharged us for meals so he made out as far as we were concerned.
Heather Newgen enjoying breakfast on the final day of the Sahara Desert adventure. Photo by Jenny Karakaya
I immediately messaged Hafid and explained what happened fully expecting his support. However, I was so taken back when I got his response. He didn’t believe Ibrahim stole from us. Apparently he called Hafid and told him we said they stole it, which was not true.
For hours I tried to convince Hafid I wasn’t lying and that I had nothing to gain from this situation. Why would I pay for myself to come to Morocco and accuse a driver of taking money from me? We were happy to pay for our expenses. But he didn’t believe the driver was a thief and said he was the one in a bad situation because he had to pay the remaining amount. I told him not to and didn’t understand why he would because the money he took from us more than covered the $128 fare. Not to mention we overtipped him on the way to Zagora, so there was no reason to pay him the $50.00.Sahara Desert Finally Hafid said he couldn’t talk about it anymore because he was too upset and asked me not to post photos of him or the nomads from our Sahara Desert trek. He also said he didn’t want me to write about the school or our trip.
I was crushed because we had a spectacular journey with the nomads and wanted to share our experience with others. I really wanted to write about the school and let people know about the inspiring things Hafid was doing to empower his community as well. In addition, we offered to give them hundreds of our photos from the Sahara Desert trek for their social media to help grow their following and business. But, he said he no longer wanted the images either.
Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
While what happened is not Hafid’s fault, he did refuse to believe his clients and that’s a problem. We didn’t call the police or ask for the money back because we didn’t want to cause trouble for them. We just wanted to make Hafid aware of the incident and we didn’t want this to happen to anyone else.
Instead we were met with hostility and anger. However, I truly thought once things calmed down, Hafid would want me to write about our trip, but that apparently isn’t the case. I reached out to him a few weeks later letting him know I’d be happy to write about the school and the Sahara Desert trek, but he ghosted me. No response.
Nomad school in the Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
So there will sadly be no article on this school the nomads started to help the kids in the desert. And there won’t be a piece about how fantastic my Sahara Desert trek adventure was.
Although I felt very violated, I do understand why Ibrahim stole from us. I’m sure he doesn’t make much money and what little he has, he provides for his family. The sore on his foot looked terrible so I hope he uses what he stole for medical care. I do have a harder time understanding Hafid’s reaction, but I’ve moved past the situation and have forgiven anyone involved. I don’t care about the money, I cared about the nomads and wanted to help them. It’s unfortunate the way it turned out, but I would still recommend Hafid’s tour company. You won’t have a better time with anyone else on a Sahara Desert trek. But just make sure Ibrahim isn’t your driver and don’t ever leave your purse with someone you don’t know.
Sahara Desert Photo by Jenny Karakaya
I will never forget the Sahara Desert for all it’s good, bad and the ugly and that’s okay. Sometimes you need a kick in the you know what to realize what a dumb thing you’ve done. It could have been worse. Our passports weren’t stolen and our credit cards weren’t touched, but this was a great reminder of what could have happened and what not to do again.
The last part of Bourdain’s quote is also right and while this trip was unforgettable for many reasons, the journey did change me and for that I’m grateful.
“The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”