Morocco and Crucial Camel Riding Advice

Last week I hopped, skipped, and jumped over France, Spain, and the Atlantic Ocean at around 30,000 feet for my biggest holiday since 2003. Leaving in a comfortingly regular, rainy 10 degrees C, a mere 3 and half hours later I stepped out into an alien world of an extremely dry 35 degrees. Word of warning: going on holiday with a flight-phobic friend leaves you in danger of stepping off the plane with at least one of the following outcomes: hand cramp (from squeezing), wet patch on knee (from sweaty squeezing), exhaustion (from comforting), relief (that it's over), or pride (if you're a nice friend...which I'm proud to say that I am!)


Bonjour Morocco!

Don't be fooled - when you hear "French is their second language after Arabic", what that means is "EVERYone speaks French...all the time..." They absolutely love it when you attempt some Arabic (once they've corrected you on pronunciation), but if you've done GCSE French, don't sweat it, USE it - abandoning your English tongue, particularly in city centres, will win smiles and welcomes you'll appreciate in an otherwise crazy-busy come-and-let-me-rip-you-off-in-my-shop-I-won't-take-no-for-an-answer place. Pack your Bonjour's, your Merci's and your Ca va?'s and unless you tease them for their really pointy custard-yellow slip-on shoes you won't see the grumpy side to the Moroccon people (though take note: Grumpy is very close to the surface).






A stunning place. Beautiful. Magical. Astonishing. Mindblowing. I could go on forever telling you about how visually wowz Morocco is. Marrakech is where we stayed - a busy city full of life and culture. You WILL get lost and within minutes you will be hit with sensory overload, but as long as you keep your wits about you, hold your purse tight to your body, your friends even closer, and don't worry or stress, you will have the absolute time of your life.




Snake charmers, men with monkeys and lizards, yummy food, wonderful clothes, crazy old henna ladies, fortune tellers, live music, singing, dancing, joking, and every beautiful household pot and brightly coloured souvenir you could wish for.


Alas, this is just in the centre of Marrakech. Stray but a little (yes, that is a purposeful Lord of the Rings quote I dropped in there) outside of the city and THAT is where you will find the real magic.

To Be Continued... (when I don't have to be up early for my MA induction day tomorrow...)