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.

Out Into The Desert.

Our gateway to the Sahara.

One of my trips to Morocco was a group trip, a couple of weeks exploring the country. We visited most of the interesting cities and visited the south, west to east. Now, I had never been on a group trip before, and, being a bit of a solitary traveller in my later life, wasn't sure it would be for me. But the group, heavily Australian, were lovely, the guides fantastic and the route took me to many new places plus, at the end, my old favourite, Essouaira.

Our waiting camels

But possibly the most exciting couple of days was when we went into the Sahara Desert for a 2-day trip, riding out into the desert on camels, spending a night out there and then riding back to our starting point. Among the things we learnt was that the whole area where we started from had suffered severe flooding a couple of years earlier which seemed beyond belief. Also, it was surprisingly chilly and, in fact, quite freezing when the sun had gone down.
Riding camels is not that difficult but rather uncomfortable, especially after the first hour. These beasts just plod on, following the leader and are very sure-footed even when going across the sloping side of a dune. We spent the time shouting to one another, taking photos and making sure we weren't about to fall off from our quite high perches.
But I know we were all very pleased when we came to our small Berber encampment in a fairly big flat space amongst the dunes.
Once dismounted and our belongings stowed away in the tents, the younger members grabbed some surf boards and started surfing down the steepest dunes, not for me. And two of our party climbed up the highest dune around and then came back to announce that Dean had proposed to Natalie and they were now engaged to be married; they both worked in the travel business and now have their first baby.

The happy couple.

When the sun disappeared the cold became quite noticeable and we all huddled into one big tent to eat the lovely food prepared for us by the unseen Berber womenfolk. This meal was followed by a spell outside round a roaring fire and our Berber guides and some others of their tribe, entertained us with some local music and we all had a good laugh, not at them, but at jokes told.

Me and my camel.

Then it was off to bed and I found that fully-clothed and with additional clothing and a hairy, thick Berber blanket, I was still too cold to sleep for ages. And then had to stumble our to find the loo in the middle of the night which was quite unfunny.
At first light we were up, had a hot drink and were back on the camels, heading for the simple inn where we were to have breakfast and head off to our next stop in our minibus. You can see how early it was by the lengths of our camel shadows.
I was jolly glad it was over when we got there, my bum was suffering from the hardness of the saddle and I was very much in need of food. But it was an experience I wouldn't have missed and will always remember. How people can live out in the desert is beyond me but its silent vista has to be seen to be believed.

The Country Outside Europe I Have VIsited The Most.

A marvellous waiter in my favourite restaurant in Marrakech.

In fact it is a tie between the USA and Morocco, 5 times each, followed by Dominica and South Africa, twice each. Then there is a long list of once each - Egypt, Mauritius, Dominican Republic, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Gambia, Senegal and very quickly, Jamaica, Kenya and Qatar.
But Morocco wins because my last visit to the USA was in 1989 and I have no intention of returning, partly because I jumped bail, but that is another story of escape.
I first went to Morocco back in 1973 with my first wife and our three-year old son, Sam. Back then, there weren't that many tourists except people on the hippy trail which included us in a way. And in spite of many adventures (yet another escape story or two) I was very taken with the place and wanted to go back again.

The town square in a town out in the sticks

This didn't happen for many years till I returned with my second lady partner and her three teenage children in 2003, thirty years later. And the country had really changed. Now there were loads of tourists and the country had modernised somewhat. And we had some adventures too.
I've since been back three times by myself, although once was a group trek so I wasn't really alone. That was a great holiday because we really visited all parts of Morocco and with great guides. I realised that I was most impressed by the Berber population and the High Atlas and the land further south. I have been back to Essouaira three times since my first visit back in the early 70's and that seaside town has at least tripled in size being now a popular seaside destination for the middle classes of Marrakech, a mere 4 hours drive away on the new motorway.

Essouaira, behind the port

I always go nowadays either in late November or late February when the weather is fine but the place is less crowded and Essouaira is a good base for renting a car and exploring more of the south of the country. I have always found good guest houses but next time I will probaby try AirBnB. Because there will be a next time, quite possibly the coming winter when I always like to get away to somewhere a bit sunnier and warmer and to see different things. I might even drive down there in my own car which allows me the alternative of sleeping in it, particularly when away from my base.
But, for now, here are some photos from my last trip in 2013, a break I took from looking after my mum (Social Services replaced me, they gave me 70 days off a year, much needed).

The beach in Essouaira.

So, enjoy the photos and you can look forward to more and a more detailed account next winter. And, if you are thinking of taking a trip to Morocco, I thoroughly recommend Essouaira as a destination. It's beautiful, friendly and not expensive (outside of summer holiday dates). And if you like sea food and the beach, it's the place for you.