A Family Adventure in Morocco

We were then off to Ait Benhaddou via Ouarzazate and a tour of the film studios whose sets of faux Egyptian antiquity were upstaged by the surprising presence of a seated Buddha but just as a visit to the cinema can benefit from the suspension of disbelief so to does the studio tour. Our first purchases of rocks and fossils were made on the way to Ait Benhaddou although this was not of course our first (or last) sight of such stalls – is there anywhere else on earth that possesses so many shops and stalls selling rocks and fossils? The heat of the day and perhaps the studio tour claimed many victims and only four hardy souls plus our tour leader made it back and forth across the river in late afternoon sunlight to walk through this mud brick built maze and architectural masterpiece. The next day we crossed the High Atlas over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and headed for Marrakech sighting some snow covered peaks as we drove. My mobile rang (I was astonished that mobile reception was available throughout our trip, even in our desert camp) and it was my good friend Colin, in Marrakech, just confirming that we were on schedule to make it to town in plenty of time for our dinner booking at Dar Yacout, one of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, hidden in the Medina. We were on time and it was a magical experience of traditional Moroccan food served by waiters who seemed to float throughout the sumptuously decorated traditional riad style townhouse. Our friends were eager to hear about our dinner and wished that they might have eaten there too but described their own fun, wandering around the Place Djemma El Fna and eating nearby.

We stayed just the one night in Marrakech before heading off to Essaouira for two nights but a guided tour of the Medina was arranged for the morning which would help orient us for a final visit to the souks after returning from the coast for the final night before flying home. The tour through Palaces, souks and herbal/perfume sellers was hugely enjoyable.

The sky to the south and west darkened and the wind strengthened as we left for Essaouira and in due course we duly drove through a sand and rainstorm which obscured and then sharply clarified the surrounding landscape. The storm had passed over before we reached the coast but nonetheless it remained very windy, a constant condition in this Atlantic town but actually exceptional even for this time of year. Walking from our hotel around the beach to the Medina was very uncomfortable, like being caught up in a sandstorm which only abated once the shelter of the town was reached. We met up with Jane, an old friend and long established Essaouira resident ex-pat, for lunch, at the equally long established Chez Sam fish restaurant perched at the entrance to the harbour. The wind forced us to eat inside but the cosy informality and laid back style of the interior was memorable and in fact a reflection of Essaouira itself. After an extended coffee (it began to rain quite heavily!) overlooking a square in the Medina we set off for a highly regarded carpet shop where I had bought two rugs eight years ago and began the lengthy and enjoyable (for me if not wholeheartedly for everyone else) task of identifying and buying one more. Sadly, the weather deteriorated and we retreated to our hotel without exploring the town further but it had calmed down for our group to walk to another excellent seafood restaurant for dinner.

By now we were all well aware of the threat posed by the Icelandic ash cloud but the reality of that only sank in back in Marrakech the next day as it became clear that an unexpected extension to our adventure holiday could be about to begin. Radouane, our tour leader arranged a farewell Moroccan dinner for us near Place Djemma El Fna since our new Californian friends were off to recover from the jam-packed excitement and variety of our trip, to the calm of a beach resort in Agadir. Even if we Brits were to be stranded (and what a wonderful place to be stranded!), they were off on the next part of their six month odyssey around Europe and North Africa so a fitting finale was needed. Next day we packed up and headed for the airport where by late morning it was clear that our London flight was only going as far as Casablanca but our tour operator (The Adventure Company) had already organised bookings at another hotel (with a small pool) in the New Town so off we went.

At this point we had no idea how many extra days we’d have to spend in Marrakech but there was still so much to see and enjoy…... and shopping to be done! Colin took us to a great restaurant , Le Jardin de la Paix , where we could eat outdoors in a lush garden and recommended a couple of others which we followed up but we had also to bow to our daughters’ insistence that we also eat in the nearby McDonalds and Pizza Hut although this also helped to keep our additional costs down. In fact, one of McDonald’s Moroccan-style choices the ‘McArabia’, presented with a local herb and lightly spiced dressing and wrapped in a flatbread, was pretty tasty.

Some time was spent by the pool but visits were made to various museums, the Majorelle Gardens, carriage rides round the Medina and walks through the souks and Place Djemma El Fna. The family had increasingly enjoyed the bargaining for purchases as we travelled through the country and were ready for the final assault on the souks where we bought jewellery, a brass lantern, several small ceramic dishes, a couple of small antiques and a kilo of fat, juicy dates…quite a haul!

The tour operator’s agents kept us informed of events and progress on getting us home and the British Embassy with whom I had registered with at the Honorary British Consulate in Marrakech kept me informed through texts and phone calls but it was a relief nonetheless when we learned, after six extra nights, that we were to fly out on a charter which was consolidating numerous groups of British tourists from various specialist travel companies. Although we had left from Heathrow Airport we had returned to Gatwick but a coach had been laid on to take everyone who wanted/needed to get back to Heathrow, which was ideal and in addition, the Managing Director of The Adventure Company was on hand to welcome us back and travelled to Heathrow with us – what an impressive service performance by the tour operator for delivering such a fantastic adventure holiday (led by Radouane our terrific Group Leader) and then dealing so professionally and capably with the problems thrown up by our delayed return to the UK. It should also be noted that all additional hotel costs and airport transfers in Marrakech and the UK were covered by The Adventure Company – we will certainly be using them in future and be recommending them to our friends and other interested parties.

In essence though, Morocco, its culture, heritage, landscape and people was the star of our holiday and we had an amazing time in the hugely enjoyable company of three other families whom we had never met and who have now become firm friends – an adventure and more!