Atlas Panorama
January 18, 2008 Holidays No CommentsIt’s only been 5 days since I got back from my holiday, but it seems like I’ve been working a lot more than that! Anyway, I did eventually go on a proper holiday, booked last minute through exodus.co.uk.
I went with no expectations, partly because I didn’t have the time to think about it until I was on the plane! But it turned out to be a fabulous holiday, having met some nice people and had a good mix of sight seeing in Marrakech and trekking in the High Atlas.
Day 1: Sunday started early, 4AM in fact, taking the coach from Cambridge to Gatwick airport (via Stansted and Heathrow). I was hoping to get some sleep with the 4 hour coach journey, but it didn’t help that I had to change coach everytime I got to an airport.
After checking in, the 4 hour flight to Marrakech was probably one of the worst airlines I had flown with (don’t worry, this is probably the only complaint from me about the entire holiday). I don’t think I will ever fly with Atlas Blue (subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc) and I’m sure a lot of other people will think the same.
Sunday evening was quite relaxed as the rest of our group slowly arrived. It turned out to be a group of 7 girls and 2 guys with a good age range of 21 - 60+.
Day 2: Monday was a guided tour of Marrakech, being shown key sites and museums, the souks and how to buy slippers, spices and carpets!
With a free afternoon, about half of us just wandered around the backstreets and just getting harrassed (to buy stuff) by the locals. Typical market scene really, but still quite an experience.
Day 3: A four hour (all my journeys seem to be this length of time) bus ride into the High Atlas mountains. It was probably quite a bad idea to sit at the back of the mini van, especially on those windy and bumpy mountain roads, as a lot of us were close to making a vomit loaded van…
Anyway, the stops came just in time to catch some fresh air, a much needed loo break and some snacks. We shortly came to a Kasbah (fortress type place) in Telouet.
A little after that we were dropped off for lunch at Anmiter. The van took our bags up to the gite which would be our home for the next four nights whilst we walked the 5km up to it.
The evening was quite relaxed again, with everyone just cozying around the “fire” and waiting for dinner. After dinner, everyone was just chatting and waiting to sleep! Quite a simple life in the mountains.
Day 4: This was when our guide, Hassan, worked for his money. It was a 6 hour walk through the “Tizi’n'Ourghsan and back down the Ouarikt river” as our trip notes put it. Whether or not we did that route, I don’t know but it did take us about 7 hours to do. Unfortunately, Amy, was ill so didn’t make my group pic (and also had the misfortune of having her luggage lost at the airport) but she was able to come a different route with the chef and mule to our lunch stop. They made lunch for us after our long hike. The Moroccan salad was simple but very tasty.
There was a lot more snow on the route than I had expected. We were warned in the winter months there may be a bit of snow, but it was knee deep in some places! In any case, I loved it (though not everyone else did) and I think by the end of that day I developed a new walk just for snow. My trick is just to go fast, with light steps. Works for me anyway. Strangely enough, Hassan wore white trousers and somehow kept them a lot cleaner than everyone else given the mix of red mud and snow. Goes to show his experience…
When I was in Switzerland a few years ago, I thought I would never see mountains with such natural beauty again. Although the High Atlas mountains are of an entirely different terrain and rock type with completely different climate to Europe, it was still breathtaking in some places. Simply stunning is all I can say.
Day 5: A much shorter 3-4 hour walk today, just round the “back of Mt. n’Oughlagal (2600m)’ in which everyone could get mobile phone reception. I thought it would be a real challenging walk as we would be doing the same altitude as the previous day but in half the time. Although, in reality, I don’t think I broke a sweat.
After more lovely Moroccan food for lunch, there was some cultural insight as we visited a family in the village. Hassan showed us how to make mint tea (Berber Whisky). The children of the family were also really beautiful, but I didn’t feel too comfortable snapping away at them, but I did get one picture of this beautiful girl.
The evenings were spent sitting around in the dining room feeling like we were all in a retirement home. There was not a lot to do in the village at night. It wasn’t as if you could order a pizza and play a game of pool…but it was a change and a simple life. A great way to relax the mind and escape from everything you’re use to.
Day 6: Today there was an option of two walks, a short and a long one. Given that the majority of the group felt like that wanted to do the sorter one, I have to thank Catherine for asking Hassan to find us a guide to take us both on the long walk.
It was great how accomodating they were so that everyone was able to do what they were comfortable with. For me, I wanted a challenge. So Catherine and I set off with Brahim, our non English speaking villager, who took us on the 32km round trip to Lake Tamda. We somehow got by with the 2 French GCSEs we had between us. On the way to the lake was mostly uphill, with two or three steep climbs, but on the whole it wasn’t too strenuous. I think the walk on day 4 was tougher for me as my body hadn’t realised it had to get off its arse and do some work.
Before we set off, we set ourselves the challenge of making it back before the rest of the group who were doing less than half our distance. We had an hours head start but in the end we only got back about 30 minutes after them, and shaved 2 hours off the advertised 10 hour walk, so did the 32km in 8 hours. It was quite an achievement for me, to know I still had that level of fitness in me. If only I had been to the gym every week!
The evening itself was quite entertaining with Hassan and his colleagues showing us how to party, Berber style. They played drums, tea pots, gas cannisters, oil cans while singing and dancing. We did offer them a couple of English songs, but it’s too embarassing to mention anything else. The videos will remain private within out group 
Day 7: We say goodbye to the cooks and get back into the dreaded mini van to head back to Marrakech. The afternoon was free so I headed down to get lost in the Souks of Marrakech. I found the locals to be quite friendly. Whether or not they wanted to sell me something, a lot of people just wanted to say hi and find out where I was from and what I was doing. I find that if you show interest in them, they will also be nice to you. If they are trying to sell something, a simple and polite no was usually enough.
A wonderful holiday with fabulous people: Thanks to Hassan for being such a great guide; John for being a good roomy and the other Y chromosome; Amy for keeping her spirits up despite being ill and having her luggage lost; Brittany for playing the tea pot and not throwing up in the back of the van; Ida for adding some Norwegian charm to the group and being called Fatima; Jane for her recipes and guidebook reading skills; Olwyn for walking slowly so I didn’t run down the mountain and kill myself; Helen for being such a great character and showing the waiter the piece of meat in her vegetarian tagine; and Catherine for letting me walk with her to the Lake.
I wish you all the best where ever your travels and life leads you.
Morocco 2008 photos on Flickr
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