When in Europe, go to Africa. That's how the saying goes, right? A few of us discovered a fantastic Groupon giving us two nights of accommodation and return flights to Marrakech, and we snapped it up straight away. Marrakech is about 3.5 hours away by plane, and we headed there on the afternoon of Monday the 21st.
Our hotel was absolutely incredible - the Riad Habid, situated through several curving alley ways that we had no hope of navigating without a guide. We got in quite late on the first night, and so were treated to some mint tea before crashing in the nicest accommodation I have experienced so far on my trip.
Day two dawned bright and early. We were greeted with the most amazing breakfast and set off for a wander around town. Our first stop was the Kasbah Mosque, central in Morocco. Obviously this place is absolutely stunning, and so we stopped for a few photographs.
After wandering around (and India and I dealing with the traffic coming from the opposite direction to what we are used to), we found the central markets and set around investigating the various wares for sale. You could honestly spend years here - as it was, we spent over an hour having a quick walk through.
We walked through some beautiful gardens and around town before deciding to locate the Ben Youssef Madrasa. This is a tomb about a kilometre from central Marrakech and although we had some teething issues trying to find it (that is, we couldn't find it at all at first), we were awestruck when we located it. While there was a lot of construction work going on at the time (something I have found is common throughout non peak season, sadly), we were still able to appreciate the intricate mosaics and plaster work.
Back to the markets for a little bit of shopping - bags and henna for everyone as well as some postcards and souvenirs.
As we walked past his shop, a young man came out and told us how he had met Jamie Oliver and had a photograph of him inside. With the courage that comes in numbers, the three of us decided to have a look inside his store, where he sold spices and pharmaceutical products. Lo and behold, he did have the photograph of Jamie inside his shop - the TV chef had apparently filmed part of one of his shows inside. We were, obviously, sucked in by this point and the young man told us about what him and his sister sold and how he always enjoyed speaking to tourists because he was studying at university and wanted to practice his English. His English was very good and he told us about different herbs, and how certain minerals and spices allowed relaxation, while others helped clear the nose after a cold (we smelt it and it just about exploded our heads). Not once were we pressured to buy something, however between us we purchased shoulder massages from him and his sister, hair oils and cooking spices. One of the best impulsive decisions I have made - it was obviously a marketing strategy however it left us informed and interested as opposed to intimidated and annoyed.
We spent the evening walking through Marrakech and trying to find a particular park - when we arrived, it was closed, however we were able to see a lot of the Souk. Marrakech by twilight was absolutely beautiful.
Although we loved Marrakech, we did manage to see quite a lot of it on our first day and so decided to book a day trip for the following day. Another early breakfast, and we headed off on our tour (once we managed to find the bus).
And that, my friends, is how I met Alice.
Our tour was a trip out to some waterfalls, with a quick camel ride to break up the drive. We were also lucky to stop off at a few places and learn about some local wares, such as the building pictured below where we were taught about oils, herbs, spices and plants used by the locals for medicinal and beauty purposes.
And then, the waterfall.
Those who know me well are aware that while I consider myself to be incredibly adventurous, these adventures do not always include climbing. When we booked the tour, there was a little bit of miscommunication as we were told we would be riding camels to the waterfall. However, we realised fairly quickly that we were riding camels on our way to the waterfall and then getting back into the van and climbing the waterfall ourselves.
Although I felt like I was going to die on more than one occasion, this was an adventure that I will never forget. We walked/ climbed for over an hour, before reaching the top to a spectacular view...that I forgot to capture because I was too busy trying not to fall over the edge.
So, Morocco summary: I really enjoyed it and could see myself spending more time in this part of Africa, particularly outside of Marrakech. While Marrakech was a diverse and interesting city, I feel as though I learnt much more about the culture from our day exploring and was able to see a much less touristy part of the world.
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