An Adventurers Tale: Camels and mountains

I have had this little excursion planned since originally booking the flights to Marrakech. 5 nights would be a long time to spend within the confines of the Medina so I needed a few distractions to prevent dear old Crispy from getting bored and fractious. Plus the fact that she is now a certified "gym bunny" I needed to ensure some physical exercise was included in the trip.

The high Atlas mountains have always been of interest to us. A geographical border separating the Agafay stone desert of Morrocco from the plains of Algeria. Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain in north Africa and lies within the high Atlas range. It is not exceedingly difficult to climb but requires time which we don't have on this trip but i thought it would be nice to at least see it. The chance of a hike in the high Atlas was a perfect opportunity to do just this.

We left the Riad at 8am and made our way to the pick up point a few minutes walk away. The alleyways where our Riad is situated are unsuitable for vehicles so we had to make our way to the closest main road. On time the minibus arrived and we set off into the desert. There are two deserts in Morrocco. The Stone Agafay in the north and the Sandy Sahara in the south.

We left Marrakech and travelled through the suburbs past the major hotel complexes outside the old city and soon struck out into the desert.

Included in this excursion was a morning camel ride. We have rode camels before and were not to enthralled at the prospect of doing it again. Camels as a rule are big smelly and usually bad tempered. They are in no way a comfortable mode of transport. However it turned out to be great fun. It was lighthearted and made as interactive as possible. The Camel caravan station was on a high plataeu which afforded great views of the Atlas range in the distance. Once at the station we were requested to dress up as Berber nomads. Cheap imitation gowns and headscarves were the obligatory costumes.. Everyone entered into the spirit of the experience and played along. It was totally ridiculous but if you go along with it it's a lighthearted fun experience. We lost our self consciousness years ago and life has been better since we did. I think we looked quite dashing but I'll let you decide

The camel ride was a short 30 minute trek around the flat plateau with fantastic views over the distant mountains and endless desert. The camels were surprisingly well behaved compared to the last time we rode them. The most difficult part is getting on and off. The thing drops to its front knees without much warning and it takes a determined effort not to be thrown forward but Crispy managed it without faceplanting the floor. She's a natural.

After the Camel ride we were again herded back to the mini van. There are only 12 people on this excursion (4 french but we will ignore that small inconvenience) including us so it's nice and sedate. An hours drive from the desert into the mountains saw us arrive at the village of Imlil. This is a popular village for trekking and is the start point of any "expedition" to the summit of Mt. Toubkal. We were only doing a circular trek through the small adjacent villages and gorges. It was spectacularly beautiful over stony hills and verdant green valleys. A total distance of around 10 k but varied and all under the gaze of majestic Toubkal. It was nothing like I imagined it to be and in some instances reminded me of the mountain villages of Nepal and Tibet. Obviously minus the prayer flags and Buddah.

During the camel ride we had got chatting to a young couple from Australia and they became our hiking buddy's. It was truly a spectacular day. It culminated with a great meal in a local mountain resteraunt.

After the meal we were taken back to our Riad and got home around 7pm. A full day with great company and a very knowledgable young guide. Thank you Mustafa you were brilliant.

It must count as one of the most enjoyable things we have done and Crispy loved it.

I don't apologise for the amount of photos. Hopefully it will tempt you to give it ago if you every find yourselves at a loose end in Marrakech.