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Spain/Morocco: A Night in the Sahara

Spain/Morocco: A Night in the Sahara

By Carl Combs

I am someone who enjoys to stargaze, and living in brightly lit Phoenix makes this somewhat problematic. I have seen some beautiful starry nights in my lifetime, from the Sacred Valley in Peru to the smallest Hawaiian island of Lanai. These remote locations provide a view of the universe which is not obstructed by the light pollution of cities and neighborhoods. One of the events of the study abroad trip that I was most looking forward to was our night in the Sahara desert outside of Merzouga. I knew that the stargazing would be beautiful, but my expectations were surpassed and then some. It was the most beautiful starscape I have ever seen.

We arrived to the campsite in a camel caravan just as the sun was setting over the sand dunes. There was just the perfect amount of dust in the air that the suns last rays of the day were diffused across the horizon in a spectacular show of golden yellows and vibrant red and orange. It was about this time that I knew that our group was in for an experience of a lifetime. We dropped our daypacks into our tents and received a quick briefing about the plans for the evening. While waiting for a traditional Moroccan meal of chicken tajine to be prepared, most of the group headed out of camp to take turns at attempting some sand boarding. The energy of the group was amazing and there was a buzz in the air about the sheer thrill of experiencing the Sahara desert in such an intimate manner.

After our meal, most of the group headed out to various locations around camp to experience the spectacle that was about to unfold. Our eyes adjusted to the ever increasing darkness as the ambient light left over from the sunset turned into complete darkness. Suddenly student and faculty alike started pointing out the star formations that they knew to each other. Polaris was quickly located along with the big and little dipper. Jupiter was bright and low in the sky, and the hazy clouds of the Milky Way streaked across the entire view. I remember hearing one student say “it’s like someone turned on all the stars in the sky!”

An hour into our star gazing experience we started noticing that the once high in the sky crescent shaped moon was rapidly retreating towards the horizon. We all discussed how we looked forward to the soon coming moonless night, and how even more stars would be visible once this happened. While we were waiting for this to occur, a few students grabbed the drums we saw in the dining tent and brought them to the sand dune where most of us were enjoying the evening. Soon an impromptu drum circle broke out and we were all having a great time playing and listening to the rhythm we were creating. One drummer would change the beat up a little and the others quickly followed in unison, it was quite enjoyable. Our Berber hosts soon came over and joined the drum circle for a while and played some songs for us. At this point I could really feel the liveliness in the mood of the group.

The night continued this way and slowly some made their way back into the camp to get some well-deserved rest after a long day. A small group of us were left and we wandered further out into the dunes to experience the brilliance of the now completely moonless night sky. We all reflected on the beauty that we were witnessing, and reminisced about the entire study abroad experience so far. We talked late into the night and pointed out shooting stars to each other. Real friendships and bonds were created through the shared experience, and before we knew it was already 3 am. The desert winds started to pick up quite a bit, and we all decided that it would be a good idea to get a couple of hours of sleep so we could all get together again for the Saharan sunrise. As we stood up to head back to camp, we all saw the most vibrant shooting star I have ever seen streak across the sky, which lasted for about a full three seconds. It was truly a perfect ending to a perfect evening, and will be something that I remember for the rest of my life.