ROCKS, WATERFALLS AND TERRIBLE SHOES

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I’m not sure what you do when it’s 45°C in London, but I assume climbing up several rocks and travelling on dust covered, winding tracks in order to see waterfalls isn’t high on the list. The youth in Marrakech however, seem active and excited and visit the Ourika valleys in order to relax and recoup. The valley is situated right next to the Atlas mountains and the peaks of these enormous formations of rock are visible as soon as you leave the city. Uneven and rocky paths cut their way through the hillside and the little riverside village of Setti Fatma and unlike Marrakech where the view is predominantly beige dry plains, greenery and vegetation grows in abundance. The village people cater for tourist desires and provide food and drink as well as selling their pottery and crafts. Actually one thing that I remember the most vividly is the unconventional method the locals use to cool their drinks – placing it under part of the river that they had re-directed to form a waterfall. It also plays home to the traditional Berber people whose ways of life remain simple and uncomplicated. The excursion went on for the whole day and during that time we visited the village and also an argan oil laboratory – an oil that is endemic to Morocco. The oil supposedly has nutritive and cosmetic properties and can get rid of veruccas, acne and other minor imperfections. We did buy some products and I still have the oil I use for my hair. The Berber people were friendly (that’s what I thought seeing as we didn’t have any means of communicating, they did not speak English or French and I could not speak Arabic) and they allowed me to take a picture with them. After getting a potential cure for all of my skin problems, the next part of our tour was going to see one of the seven waterfalls up in the Atlas Mountains. It was actually very crowded, I guess all the other tourists had been taken in with the idea of seeing a waterfall and this made the climb incredibly risky. I wish someone had advised me to wear suitable shoes as I was wearing my mum’s squash shoes that had slippery soles – I was so relieved I had completed the climb without injuring anything, I repeatedly thanked a deity I did not believe in. The view was amazing however, and we stayed admiring the scenery for half an hour along with several other tourists and what seemed to be half of Marrakech’s youth population. One cocky Moroccan teen decided it would be fun to climb even further and slide down the waterfall which wouldn’t have been such a bad idea had the little pool at the end of the gushing stream of water been deep. After the removal of his MADRID football t-shirt he proceeded to jump up the bare rocks and slide down the rocks rather bumpily, making a bit of a fool of himself. We had lunch in a village café and were served a lamb tagine, possibly the food that Morocco is most well known for. Being in Morocco and not tasting the tagine is practically a crime, it would be insane to miss out on something as delicious and unique to a country as this dish. Two men in brightly coloured waistcoats and bells attached to their clothing held instruments and played traditional Moroccan music as we ate. Being a violinist myself, I was particularly fascinated by how effortlessly and brilliantly they played the violin – I very much doubted they had a tutor to teach them the instrument. The journey had taken up a whole day but I thoroughly enjoyed all of it. The Ourika valleys are beautiful and are a perfect escape to the bustling city that is Marrakech - a definite recommendation!

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