I was the only woman in the Sahara Desert Camp

At the time, I was experiencing the end of my marriage and just need to get away and think through everything. Morocco had been a bucket list destination for several years, in fact I had the itinerary sitting in a folder on my computer for more then a year.

It was one year after the beginning of the pandemic and I felt like the walls were closing in. I needed to get away, so I did!

My solo trip to Morocco was 10 days around the country. I had a loose idea of what I wanted to see and do but 2 weeks before I departed, I ripped up my itinerary and cancelled all bookings except my first 2 nights in Marrakech. How absolutely exhilarating and fun!

Of course I was anxious (double Virgo here who needs to feel in control ha!). This was the best decision I could have made for myself at the time. I had too much going on in my head and I needed to feel free.

This photo was taken in the Sahara desert on a camel the actual day of my birthday when I arrived at the camp where I would take a one hour (that ended up being 3 hours ) camel trek through the incredible sand dunes, to arrive at my campsite.

I arrived and found out that I was the ONLY woman in the camp. 4 other solo male travelers and the staff who were all men. I was absolutely terrified. The trek started and I became more at ease as the other travelers introduced themselves, they seemed pretty chill and also surprised and impressed that I would take such an adventure alone.

After we arrived at our campsite, I locked my tent door and put my suitcases against the door (as if they would stop an intruder ). I took a shower and settled down when I heard knocking on the door. Not me saying “WHO IS IT”? Without opening the door. I heard the voice say, “You can come to the dinner tent, we are ready for you”. Then he left.

I contemplated going hungry that night but gathered the courage to make my way out through the campsite that was glowing with small lamps that dotted the red carpets lining the desert floor. It was breathtakingly serene. In that moment, I realized I had fulfilled my dream of visiting the Sahara Desert on my 35th birthday. I felt so proud of myself that I had did it!

I arrived in the dinner tent and saw individual tables set up and the guys traveling were already seated. I had just taken my seat when the American guy spoke up and suggested we join our tables together. We all agreed. The conversations started to flow. Everyone introduced themselves, 2 guys were from Europe, one from Turkey and the American guy (from Texas). He was a trip! Full of jokes and really knew how to lighten the mood. Within a short time, it felt like we’d known each other for years.

After dinner, we headed outside to participate in the evening activities which were interactive and so fun! The staff were so friendly and warm. They performed and sang with African drums around campfire and the energy of the moment made me feel ecstatic.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to find one of the European guys holding out a bottle of wine. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”, they all said over the sound waves of drumming. “There’s no place out here to get you a cake” he laughed as the staff divvied out the wine into glasses.

Each one of those guys made a beautiful toast and said how much they admired my confidence. What a beautiful moment of kindness.

Later the American guy suggested we all take a walk further away from the lights of the campsite to get a better view of the sky. We all set off on a small hike over the huge sand dunes until we found a great spot to stargaze. One of the guys had brought a blanket from the camp and spread it out and we all laid on our backs looking up at the galaxy in absolute silence and stillness. I had never seen the sky like this and I will never forget that moment. 5 strangers sharing the most magical moment under that majestic sky. No one could even speak, I think you could only just feel and be in that moment. We stayed for a bit, all of us sharing our travel stories and our bucket list for new adventures before heading back.

I woke up early the next morning to take my transfer to Fes and never got to say goodbye. But this moment will always stay with me. It’s added to my confidence and fueled my passion for more experiences like that.

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for allowing me to share one of my favorite travel stories with you.

If you’d like to have your own stories and experiences, it’s time to stop waiting on others.

If this resonates with you and you need a confidence boost, I built something for you - The Solo Travel Confidence Course and you can find it here: Solo Travel Confidence If not, I hope you enjoyed my story and will consider sharing one of yours with me.