5 Years Ago - My First Group Trip, Around Morocco. Part One.

It was somebody else's photo on FB that reminded me that it was 5 years ago that I went on my first group trip to Morocco. It was not my first trip, I had first been there in 1973 when most the tourists were like us, hippies. That was with my first wife and I had been back again with my second partner and here children. But this was going to be different because it was with a group and also because it was going to lots of places I hadn't visited before.
Now I had already given up work and moved to Seaton to keep an eye on my dear old mum: in fact I was living across the road from the hall that is now named after Dave Brock, leader of Hawkwind. And I had paid for the holiday by giving up cigarette smoking in May and thus saving the thousand pounds I needed for this two week trip. Unfortunately, in Morocco cigarettes were dirt cheap so I was back on them immediately. The group were guided by two jovial Berber guides who really enhanced the whole expedition and the group was dominated by people from the Southern Hemisphere, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I had thought I might be the oldest but there was a lady of my age and a Canadian couple who were much older. But, a bit to my surprise, I was probably the hippest of the group.
Anyhow, I haven't the time to go into a lot of detail but I thought it would be worth sharing some of my photos with you. So, I hope you like them and the comments I will make about them.

I landed in Marrakech and met up with our group in a Riad Hotel. I was attached to the two other single men in our group, Patrick, a big South African about to go work in the mines in NW Australia, and Shane, a fairly young Aussie who was interested in the alternative music scene and smoked. We drove to Casablanca and waited around by the Grand Mosque for our bus to go to the airport and pick up the Canadian couple who had landed there. It was wet and quite cold but the mosque was impressive for its size (huge) and design. It could hold as many people as a stadium!!

Back in the day, I had problems walking, particularly uphill. So when any such walking was involved, I'd find myself a spot to sit, often being joined by passing people or, in this case, a rather large black cat.

Our next stop was Rabat, the political capital, so of course, we had to visit the royal palace. I must admit, I don't like big cities and I was waiting for the trek over the mountains to the south where there were no big places. But still, there were some interesting things, like these two guards at the palace who looked as interested in us as we were of them.

The group getting stuck into a meal with the younger ones plus me down this end.

Here we have our two guides, Ibrahim and Salah, with Natalie, an English tour guide but on holiday with her beau, Dean; more of them later.

View of the old city.

Can't remember what this was, but another really beautiful building.

I was just freaked to see oranges still on the trees in December, but after Sevilla last year, I know it's normal.

The old city walls close up.

A view of the port: Rabat is on the Atlantic coast.

The bar in our hotel had a small band playing a sort of Arabian House music and had hookahs for rent, so some of us got stuck in.

 All the above were in an old royal palace. I just love the way they decorate their walls with geometric patterns.

In the next post, we will move on to the Lower Atlas, the home of Kif!!

And also in the coming days, the final part of Lastwind's tour of England with Hawkwind.