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BERBER DOG |
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 The Ait-Ben-Haddou casbah. © David Muenker |
"Can we get some treats?" Sonya asked.
"Sure. You'll be in the desert all afternoon, so you'll need snacks and water."
"My cousin Jamal will drive you to the desert in his jeep," the uncle explained. "While you go to the dunes, I'll do business here."
Aboard Jamal's jeep, they sped across flat, arid ground toward the Sahara.
"Where's the road?" Sonya asked.
"There isn't one," Jamal laughed.
Hakim looked worried. "How do you know where to go?"
"I just follow the tracks made by other vehicles," Jamal replied.
"You can see the tracks?" Sonya asked.
"They're faint because the wind blows dirt across them. But I can still see them."
"He must have x-ray vision like Superman," Hakim whispered to Sonya.
For a long time, the land was as flat as a pancake. Then a silhouette appeared on the horizon.
 Camel drivers rest on the edge of the Sahara. © David Muenker |
"What's that?" Sonya asked.
"The sand dunes of the Sahara Desert!"
The silhouette got bigger and clearer.
"The dunes!" Sonya woofed.
"They look huge!" Hakim added.
"You won't see anything like this at the beach," Jamal chuckled.
They stopped at a cluster of buildings. "This is the end of the road. Now we start riding camels."
"Cool!" Sonya and Hakim grinned at each other.
Nearby, several camels sat in a row. Jamal bargained with a camel driver to take them to the dunes. The camel driver chose a camel for each of them.
 Sonya rides a camel into the dunes of the Sahara. © 2007 Ravay Snow |
"Come." He waved Sonya over to a camel. "Sit up there."
He pointed at a saddle padded with colorful rugs on the camel's back. Sonya climbed into the saddle.
Hakim and Jamal climbed onto their camels.
"Brace your arms!" the camel driver warned. Hakim straightened his arms and held the front of the saddle tightly. Sonya pushed her front paws hard against the saddle and made her front legs rigid.
The camel driver shouted a command. The camels raised their back legs.
Suddenly Sonya's head dropped toward the ground and her tail pointed straight up to the sky.
"Whoa!" Sonya barked.
Then the camels raised their front legs and the saddles were level again.
"Whew!" Hakim exclaimed. "That was wild. I thought I was going to roll forward onto the ground!"
Sonya shook her head rapidly to regain her bearings.
The camel driver led them single file toward the dunes. The saddles rocked with each step. They rode for 30 minutes into the golden-brown dunes.
"Here we are," the camel driver said. "Hold on."
"Here we go again," Hakim yelled. The camels lowered their legs like a see-saw. Sonya tilted forward again and then sat upright.
"Now we walk." The camel driver bounded up a steep dune. "Come. Soon it will be sunset."
Hakim ran several feet and then stopped to catch his breath. His feet sank deep into the sand.
 The Sahara Desert glows under the setting sun © David Muenker |
"You must keep moving or you'll never get to the top," the camel driver warned him.
"Do what I do," Sonya said to Hakim. She climbed at a steady pace, breathed deeply and never stopped. Hakim imitated her moves.
"Wow, look at this!" Sonya shouted back to her friend.
Hakim scrambled up the last few feet. His mouth dropped open.
"It's an ocean of sand," Hakim exclaimed.
"And the dunes look like huge waves!" Sonya added.
"They go on forever! I'm glad we have camels to take us back to solid ground and trees," Hakim said.
"And food and water." They sat on the crest of the dune and admired the awesome view.
The huge sun started to set. As it got lower in the sky, it turned into a big, red ball.
"That's the most beautiful ball I've ever seen," Sonya said.
The glow of the setting sun turned the golden dunes red.
"Woof!" Sonya barked when the fiery ball of sun dropped below the horizon. They watched until the desert air turned chilly. Then they scampered down the dunes and climbed into the camel saddles.
"Hold on!" Sonya and Hakim grinned at each other. This time they knew what to expect. This time the see-saw motion when the camels stood up didn't scare them.
"Whoopee!" they shouted together. "We're camel cowboys!"
Note: This story is fiction based on fact.
Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about the sights and sounds of this World Heritage Site.
Test your understanding of words used in this story with the Word Match game.
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Photographs ©2005-2010 David Muenker. Text ©2005-2010 Rose Muenker. Illustrations ©2005-2010 Ravay Snow Any use without express written permission is illegal and punishable by law. All rights reserved. Site designed and developed by Josh Bergman. |
