Month: November 2019

Morocco 18.11.19

19 November 2019 / admin

Modern aerial 18.11.19

The last day of the group holiday is a tour of Essaouira which I will admit I struggle both to say and spell! The oddest sight was possibly the heavily disguised communications tower (above). I am not sure what it is intended to achieve.

Essaouira 18.11.19

The town is principally a fishing port and the harbour still has a very large number of boats bringing in the catch which is then readily available in the local market.

Fish Essaouira 18.11.19

Inevitably being a port fortifications were needed

Essaouira Fort 18.11.19

You can see from the pictures that it was a nice day. We were looking forward to staying on a few more days after the rest of the tour party departed to enable a few quiet days of relaxation in the sunshine. Somehow the authorities had other idea and we ensured more or less constant rain throughout the extension. Most disappointing. I liked the town – but would have preferred better weather.

It seemed a long way through near desert to return to Marrakech to catch the plane taking about three hours or so. Then once at the airport our flight is subjected to additional checks which do not apply to other travellers plus they do not do the entire flight – so if you had turned up at the last minute you would not have been tested. No-one could actually explain why it was necessary or what it was designed to achieve so utterly pointless.

We returned home on 22 November.

Morocco 17.11.19

18 November 2019 / admin

Goat in tree 17.11.19

Initially on leaving Taroudant we head west to reach the coast near Agadir then we turn north (the alternative is the Atlantic Ocean) and head along the coast for some time. Eventually the road turns inland and we get to see the famous tree climbing goats.

More goats in tree 17.11.19

I will be honest and admit that I am slightly cynical about these tree climbing goats. I accept that the landscape is pretty bare and that there is not a lot of food to be scavenged by the goats. During our short stop many photos were taken (me included) but I still query the ability of the goats to actually get into the tree in the first place. There were one or two branches but I am far from convinced that the goats simply find a way of clambering up. However it is a noted tourist stop and maybe, just maybe some of the goats do manage the ascent to feed themselves. The shepherd seems to do well out of it!

Tajines 17.11.19

Along the way we stop for lunch and a wander around a local market which despite the sparsity of vegetation is well supplied with meat and vegetables, bread, tajines, plus animals for sale.

We head onward to our final stopping point on the holiday Essaouira where we stay in a rather nice riad – a step up from the one in Marrakech.

Morocco 16.11.19

17 November 2019 / admin

Taroudant

Pony trap 16.11.19

We have a gentle day today. A trip into the town centre using a little trap and ponies. It is very warm today with clear skies and I think we were applying a lot of sun cream for protection.

Market colour 16.11.19

The local market is very colourful with the piles of spices dominating.

Doors and Arches 16.11.19

Judging by my photographs I was quite taken by the variety of archways and doors which abound around the town – these look quite substantial.

Hotel and wife 16.11.19

Ans as we are on travels with my wife she has deigned to appear in front of the lens outside the hotel entrance. Plus another archway!

Morocco 15.11.19

16 November 2019 / admin

Atlas Mountains

Fortress 15.11.19

Our route today is up and then down as we cross over the Atlas Mountains. At this time of year the snow has gone and we are high up.

We have a very basic lunch at a small place high in the hills, where precisely I do not know. There are not many stopping places along the route.

Atlas Mountains 15.11.19

The route has numerous twists and turns – not always easy to photograph as we travel along and we also suffered some heavy cloud at one point, so I appear to be missing the classic shot and this is about the best I can find.

Snaking Road 15.11.19

Our destination is Taroudant – specifically Hotel Dar Zitoune Taroudant – which we specifically recall as a very welcome and restful place with an attractive pool. We are here for a couple of nights before we move on again.

Morocco 14.11.19

15 November 2019 / admin

Trek

Atlas Mountains 14.11.19

For some today would be an absolute highlight with a trek through a part of the Atlas Mountains. At the time I think it was a chance to see something different but in retrospect I am not sure it quite lived up to the billing.

The initial departure from the hotel was steep and rightly Jackie took the view that it was going to be too hard and she would return to the hotel for a quiet day.

Narrow Walkway 14.11.19

This walkway was probably the most difficult point – it looks wider in the photo than I remember but there was an alternative route through a stream which one or two of our number preferred.

Waterfall 14.11.19

At this time of year the waterfall is not particularly strong – so the route is fairly easy.

Zig Zag path 14.11.19

Our route through the hills has gentler slopes than when we commenced – because it zigs and zags a lot!

Having reached another settlement above Dar Imlil we can look down on it and after a light lunch we descend back to the hotel where they had found Jackie some lunch as well so all is well.

Morocco 13.11.19

14 November 2019 / admin

Heading South

Carpet Showroom 13.11.19

We leave Marrakech behind this morning and we head in a generally southerly direction to visit a typical local village and a carpet shop, sadly none of them seem to fly. We are heading towards the Atlas Mountains but we meander off the main route for a lunch stop in the Ourika Valley which was pleasant.

Rickety Bridge 13.11.19

Somewhat pleased that we do not have to cross over that bridge as part of our journey today.

Later we return to the main road (N7) though the mountains to our lodging for the next couple of nights, already highish up the mountains. We leave the main highway again for our hotel which is in or near Dar Imlil.

Bed 13.11.19

I have a feeling dinner tonight was a tajine, indeed I think it was a tajine most nights of the holiday.

Morocco 12.11.19

13 November 2019 / admin

Marrakech – Jardin Majorelle

Monument 12.11.19

We have another day in Marrakech before we head to the Atlas Mountains and something we had not seen on our earlier visits to Marrakech was Jardin Majorelle – originally created by a French painter Jacques Majorelle in 1922 but acquired and extended by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé from 1980.

Fish 12.11.19

It covers a huge area and many diverse plants have been brought here – there are large numbers of different types of cacti; a large fish pond with humungous fish (in a shady area) plus much else.

Cacti 12.11.19

I find I have many many photos of the different types of cacti – but I feel they soon become boring.

Villa 12.11.19

The villa was within this area which must have provided a wonderful haven from the outside world. There is also a small museum

Another cacti 12.11.19

We then return towards the city centre to take a late lunch at La Mamounia – a famous hotel where Churchill stayed and it was welcome to see the inside and the gardens of this magnificent location.

This is our last full day in Marrakech and despite being our third visit on both days we have seen sights which we were not able to manage previously justifying the repeat visits (although to be fair the first time we came we were both unwell which limited opportunities).

Morocco 11.11.19

12 November 2019 / admin

Saadian Tombs 11.11.19

Marrakech

The entire group of 11 gather steadily for breakfast; I am pleased to note that it is not all as sweet as on our last stay in a riad so I can live a little longer.

Our excursion today is a walking tour of Marrakech to see the sights we have not seen on our previous visits, which was a key element of booking this trip. One feature I did not recall from our earlier journeys are the storks nesting at high level around the city.

Our first stop is the Saadian Tombs which were the burial location of the sultans of Marrakech from 1570 onwards until around the end of the eighteenth century. Thereafter they were disused and abandoned being “rediscovered” in 1917 under the French Protectorate then receiving care and attention and this has continued providing the sight we can see.

Badii Palace 11.11.19

We then move onto the Badii Palace and here evidence of the storks at high level can be seen. It was commissioned in 1578 by the new ruler and following his death in 1603 it was neglected with the marble being stripped and re-used elsewhere.

Bahia Palace 11.11.19

We move onto the Bahia Palace which was built much later commencing in around 1860 and is lavishly decorated reaching completion around 1900. Although the contents were looted by subsequent rulers the building has been used consistently until it became a tourist attraction.

Lunch stop on the edge of the souk market – this is a surprise as it is not included in the published itinerary for today but ensures the group do not disperse before the tour continues with a walk through the market, certainly seeing parts which we did not see previously although again I am sure we only see a small part of the total.

Souk 11.11.19

I wonder how anyone ever chooses anything! We walk through the main square then go along the route to the riad used previously to reach our transport back to our riad.

We walk from the drop off point and as we turn the corner we can see that they are treating the faded woodwork of our window. Once in our room the varnish smell is overpowering! We open window and doors to the internal courtyard to maximise ventilation, to no great effect. As we are out for dinner we hope the impact will diminish whilst we are out

Dinner is taken at the main Angsana Road and the area we see is much better than our own riad. Dinner is a tagine as indeed was lunch. A template is developing!

We return to our Riad and formally complain about the odour, but all they can suggest is relocating across town which will be disruptive in the extreme tomorrow. Reluctantly we stay put, but the fumes certainly impact on our throats.

Morocco 10.11.19

11 November 2019 / admin

Morocco Bound

Like Webster’s dictionary as the joke goes. Our trip to Morocco commenced on Remembrance Sunday and Gatwick South Terminal came to an almost silent two minutes just as we approached the security gates. The silence was respected. The previous day there had been an observance at Southampton football ground but it was not silent as the Last Post was played but it kept the crowd largely quiet.

We are flying BA and knowing that Marrakech can be difficult in the evening we buy sandwiches and wine at the airport as well as lunching at the Grain Store which has a Bruno Loubet menu.

This is our third trip to Marrakech – however this time we are with an organised group holiday with the intention to see much more of the country than we have managed previously.

The flight arrives a little early and Jackie gets a decent wodge of Dirhams at an exchange 12 to the pound. We walk all the way out of the terminal and find our guide Rashid; the remaining party members slowly gather and then we are taken to the Angsana Riad which is deep in the old town.

We did attempt to stay in a Riad on a previous visit but did not feel comfortable and ended up spending most of the stay at Essadi where we had stayed previously. The riad this time has running hot water and so is likely to be more acceptable. We have one of the front rooms, so have windows over a little square whilst most do not have windows at the back of the Riad.