Erg Chebbi - a piece of the Sahara

I was under the misapprehension that the Sahara is a sandy desert, but it is mostly a rocky desert.
We are in Merzouga, the moroccan place that feels most like the Sahara to desert novices like me.
If you look at the place on a satellite image, you notice that the erg, the dune area, is quite small.

From the campsite at the edge of the sand, I take a hike up the largest dune. It takes me about 40 minutes and I only get about 2 km. It is incredibly exhausting to walk up there.

I pause for a moment and look at the bizarre tracks in the sand.
Every animal species leaves a characteristic pattern in the sand here - if I had a little more experience I could identify them now.
Silver ants flit across the ground. These small animals are particularly well adapted to life in hot environments, as their outer skin shines silver and reflects a very large proportion of the sunlight. It is also the fastest ant species in the world. In order not to sink in, it puts its legs up synchronously and only very briefly. The trick doesn't work for me, with my two thick kicks I have no choice but to keep digging through the sand on my way to the top.

As I stand at the top, my gaze falls on nearby Algeria, the end of the Erg Chebbi and the great expanse beyond.
I have already crossed half of the sand, but the feeling of being in the middle of the desert does not set in. There are settlements in all directions and of course some jeeps and quads rattle through the dunes, so I wonder how the many tourists can imagine that this would be an authentic desert feeling. It's hardly worth getting on a dromedary.

Later we watch the dromedaries eating. They are totally relaxed and don't let us disturb them.Read more