Into the Hotel Restaurant Dar Lamrani…View image next to the Maison Berbere in Rissani for a taste of Medfouna/Madfoune/Madfoun. Whatever way you spell it and I saw at least two different signs in Rissani with two different spellings. Medfouna is a Moroccan pizza traditionally baked in hot desert sands. Not the case with our lunchtime pizza which will be baked in an oven. Madfouna is very similar to a calzone with either spicy meat or vegetables tucked between the crusts. The group had a choice of vegetarian or meat and the Medfouna quickly appeared on the round tables for sharing. We ate the vegetarian that contained a mixture of carrots, lentils, and onions. Our opinion? Tasty, not spicy at all, and the two of us would never order it in a restaurant. However, others in the group beg to differ. To each his/her own.

Too bad there wasn’t time for one last sight in the Erfoud/Rissani region. The old Foreign Legion Fort of Borj-Est built as an outpost of the French Army. Can’t you just visualize the dashing Gary Cooper standing in the fort being attacked by Tuaregs in the classic movie, Beau Geste? Oh well. Rissani is the last sizeable community and end of the vegetation belt before the dunes of the “Sand Sea” begin. The bus began the short 25 kms/15 mile drive southeast and into the great and golden colored sand dunes of Erg Chebbi.

The settlement of Merzouga lies on the edge of Erg Chebbi. This area of spectacular high dunes is among Morocco’s most beautiful natural landscapes. The afternoon would be free to simply relax at our hotel, Kasbah Le Touareg or take a few optional trips:

- A 4WD ride around the dunes to explore the surrounding area with stops including interaction with a local Berber family (200 Dirhams);

- A sunset camel ride into the dunes (200 Dirhams)…View image; and

- An opportunity to spend tonight camping in a traditional Berber-style/Bedouin tent with dinner and music (250 Dirhams). (The camp, and string of camels, is owned by the Kasbah Le Tuareg and can be reached by walking 10-minutes from the hotel if so desired.)

ex-Marine and I opted to do zilch since we are heading into the Western Desert of Egypt from here and will just walk into the dunes ourselves. Whatever you think of “sand,” sand dunes are an entirely different story…View image. The Sahara Desert is not an endless sea of rolling golden sand dunes. The dunes only cover one-fifth of its surface while the rest being covered by rock and gravel plains.

All the hotels and guesthouses in this particular region have been built in “Kasbah” fashion and look like miniature castles scattered throughout the sands…View image. Naturally, Kasbah Le Touareg was no exception and had a roof top terrace to admire the dunes and nice swimming pool. Into the dunes…with a rhetorical question… Exactly how many “Dune” photos would you like to see? Let’s start with just two…