Marrakesh 2022

On the back of the tourist industry recovery after COVID, there were a few bargains to be had. We took advantage of this and organised a holiday to Marrakesh—somewhere we had always wanted to go.

We stayed in the lovely Riad Hugo, right next to the Kasbah mosque. Every day we fought our way through the throngs crowding the market to get onto the main thoroughfares. Marrakesh was crazy; people everywhere. Crossing the road was an art which we had to perfect.

We put in a lot of miles whilst we were there: visiting the Koutoubia mosque, the big central square, Djeema El Fna, Badia palace, the Saadian tombs and Bahia palace. We also walked to some quitter areas, such as the Cyber Park, Le jardin secret and of course le jardin Marjorelle. We took a caleche and rode around the outside of the walls. We did some shopping in the souks and spent hours wandering around getting lost.

Breakfast at the Riad was always glorious. Lunches we got on the go and evening meals at different restaurants around the centre. We ate at the crazy night market, enjoyed a fresh juice from the fruit juice sellers and enjoyed relaxing coffees in cafes, watching the world go by.

One big highlight was the trip to Ouzoud to see the magnificent waterfalls—the 2nd highest in Africa. We were first to the base of the waterfalls in the morning and had them to ourselves for a while which was very special. We hiked for miles around the falls, climbing some pretty tough terrain, but enjoying the views we got. As well as an insight into the daily life of Moroccans in the mountains.