Blogs from Marrakech-Tensift-El Haouz, Morocco, Africa - page 2

The first day of cycling to Oualidia was in lovely sunshine as I had hoped for. There were loads of larks along the roadside. However on the second day the weather took a turn for the worse. In early afternoon a thunderstorm rolled in off the sea. I watched it coming towards me and wondered what the curious orange haze was below the slate grey cloud. I soon found out. As the sun disappeared and wind went from calm to almost storm force in seconds I was sand blasted for a few seconds before being drenched. I could barely push the bike never mind ride it. I wanted to get to shelter in the town a kilometre or so ahead as I guessed being in an open landscape like this in a raging thunderstorm was not ... read more

When planning to visit Morocco, you may find it hard to decide on the final destination. There are so many beautiful places to choose from! In this article, we will try to help you decide between Marrakesh and Tanger. When compared with most European countries, Morocco seems quite a big one. However, in comparison to its North-African neighbors, it can be called quite a small country. And there are so many things to discover there! When choosing the starting point for their vacation, many tourists end up unable to decide, having so many opportunities to choose from. Iconic Casablanca, mysterious Marrakesh, Tanger - a haven for writers and a giant port, or sunny Essaouira - it is not easy, isn't it? We will try to make it a bit easier by describing the spirit of the ... read more

Yesterday our excursion exploring some of the Ourika Valley had begun early and ended late. We welcomed a somewhat later wake up call on Day 12 (Thursday, October 17, 2019) -- the only problem was the wake up call never came, or did we sleep through it? We’ll never know but we were glad that we had set our own phone alarm just for situations like this. We had to scramble to do some last minute packing to make sure our luggage got placed outside of our hotel room for pickup before breakfast. Thankfully we had taken our showers the night before so we felt reasonably presentable for the day! We enjoyed our last breakfast at Hotel Opera Plaza’s La Rossini Restaurant where we managed to have time for omelets, fruit and coffee which was plenty ... read more

16th April to 4th May - We are going nowhere! The daily normal becomes slow, not too stressful! The weather is mixed warm, still sometimes cooler over night! We have one peak over a weekend when it hits 40c a taste of what is to come, and for us and Poppy sake we need to get out before those temperatures become the norm!! But that doesn’t sound or look hopeful, our booking has been changed to the 12th of May still with our destination as Barcelona, but we know that is an issue with Spain still in lockdown. As much as we try some 6 phone calls to GNV (The ferry company) to change the booking to the end destination of Sete in France they are unwilling to make that change! We hang on to the ... read more

Marrakesh --- just the name conjures up images of the exotic. A colorful tapestry weaving together not only the old and the new, but an intoxicating blend of cultural influences derived from the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. Marrakesh has been called the “Jewel of Morocco” and it certainly seems to live up to its title. Marrakesh was one of the four ancient Imperial cities, once a celebrated capital that lies only 150 miles from the present-day capital of Rabat. Today this sprawling 4th largest city in Morocco seems to be growing in all directions. Founded around 1070 AD by Abu Bakr ibn Umar, a cousin to the then reigning Berber Almorovid king, Marrakesh was once a very important stop and trade center on caravan routes crisscrossing the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. It was at ... read more