Ultimate Morocco Summer
Read all about what a group of Senior Section members got up to on
their Ultimate Adventure to Morocco in Summer 2010.
Day 1- 18 August
I was excited yesterday because I haven’t been
on a plane in a long time and I’ve only been abroad once. We had
fish and chips for tea from a chip shop near Blackland Farm. I had
the list with everyone’s name on so I could tick off when they
arrived. It made me feel important.
Emily
I was nervous and excited as I get nervous
over everything and I was excited as I have only ever been as far
as Switzerland. I was upset as I said goodbye to my family but
excited to see all the people I would be going to Morocco
with.
Tamsin
When I turned up at Blackland Farm I was sad
while I said goodbye to my parents but as soon as I had joined the
circle I felt completely at home. It was nice to meet the new
people and the fish and chips went down pretty fast! Then we tried
to sleep in the dormitory and Tamsin fell out of bed which was
quite amusing.
Matilda
Day 2 - 19 August
It was a slow start to the day as none of us
felt like getting up at 2am but as we flew into Africa we all got
pretty excited. It was strange when we went to the tannery as the
contrast with us and them was so huge! Loved getting Henna
though!!
Natasha
When we got here I think it was the first time
everyone was silent for more than 5 seconds!! Helen was very
impressed. When we got here I was so excited it’s such a different
culture to any I have ever been to before, the walk around did make
you realise how lucky we are… Oh and the henna is good.
Isabelle
The early start for me was very hard as I’m
not used to early wake-up calls! But the reality started to hit
everyone as soon as we landed in Marrakech. The heat just flooded
over me and it was great! This first day has been brill! I loved
the horse and carriage rides and seeing people making leather, and
the contrast is so different. Also I love the Henna! Thank
you!
Becca S
Ok, Marrakech is officially really cool J I
loved the horse and cart ride on those bonkers roads! The smelly
stuff at the herb shop was lovely and so was the henna! I loved
hearing about what we were going to do on this trip J such a good
day thank you.
Lucy
Day 3 - 20 August
Really enjoyed today (even more than yesterday, which was
amazing.) La Bahia Palace was breathtakingly beautiful- the stucco
was so detailed; it was amazing to think it had all been done by
hand. I wonder how many years it took to complete. The palace was a
sort of secret, hidden treasure in the middle of the city. Museum
was very interesting too, with all the Moroccan, Islamic, Jewish
and Berber artwork and crafts. Was surreal to see the difference
when we went to the modern quarter- a real contrast with parts of
the city we’d already seen as its quite westernised. Ice cream
(well I got mandarin sorbet) was yummy scrummy J Food in the hotel
is delish-loving these big spicy vegetable tagines it’s right up my
street. Loving every minute of it.
Nicol
Marrakech is amazing!! Today we saw the two
sides of the city. From the old beautiful palace and bustling
alleyways to the modern(ish) French quarter with wide streets and
shops like Zara. I love the old city. The museum we went to today
was almost as if we had just stumbled upon it, as it was so tucked
away in the narrow streets. It was worth a trip to the modern bit,
just for the amazing ice cream (melon, nougat and mandarin). The
atmosphere of Marrakech is so hard to describe! Especially at night
as all of these people seem to appear from nowhere. I really don’t
want to go home and can’t wait for the rest of the trip.
Rachel
This has to be one of the most beautiful
places I have ever been! And so much culture. It’s all so much to
take in. The people here are so friendly. We have done so much it
feels like we have been here for days! This morning we visited the
palace and the museum both of which have such stunning
architecture, I was in awe! To be honest it was the history I was
most interested in and that was so vibrant I would have really
liked to have been around to see what it would have looked like all
done up for the different wives. This afternoon we went for a walk
into the New Town and I was surprised at the differences between it
and the old town. It is so westernised! Although I have to be
thankful for the ice cream- fabulous! I have noticed that Marrakech
gets busier at night-no idea why. Really looking forward to the
rest of the trip.
Zoe
Day 4 - 21 August
Today has been another amazing day! It seems
to get more and more fantastic as the days go by! This morning we
all got up and had breakfast. Then we all piled on to the minibus
to start our journey to the Atlas Mountains. En-route we saw more
parts of Marrakech and stopped at a hypermarket. Also we met a very
friendly camel! When we arrived in Imlil we had a gruelling trek up
a gigantic hill. But when we saw the hotel it was breath-taking and
then it just kept getting better and better, especially when we
were told we could sleep on the terrace for a night. After our
shocking surprise 3 course lunch we had another trek but this time
up the mountain. It wasn’t too hard and the view at the top was
stunning. I really cannot wait for tomorrow it will be so
rewarding!
Megan
We had such a fab day today! Drove through
Marrakech in the morning, and then stopped to look at the new water
recycling factory- v interesting. Walked through Imlil and up a big
hill to our hotel which is AMAZING! We were all so excited to see
proper toilets and nice showers! Went for a walk in the Atlas
Mountains after lunch; gorgeous views of the mountains and the
village. We were surprised but really excited to get chicken and
chips for tea! Still absolutely loving all the food here! We’ve all
painted our nails in centenary colours tonight, which look fab and
are now ready for another fantastic day tomorrow.
Becky S
Day 5 - 22 August
We had a fantastic time this morning making a
mule trek to help the animals walk up to the Kasbah. It was hard
work but we all had a laugh. Then we went into the Hammam, the
sauna was amazing it was so nice and warm then we had to dive into
the cold water and it was absolutely freezing. We had a fab
day!
Kelly
Spent the day digging the mule path which was
hard work, a few of us made a specialist group removing bigger
rocks to make the paths even clearer. Visited the Hammam after we
had finished, jumping in the cold water was a shock and the
facemasks were amazing! Having a really fab trip!
Beccy B
Day 6 - 23 August
Today was litter picking day which was not my
favourite day. Not my ideal day-but every little helps. As we were
going along picking up litter, some children came to help us. They
picked up litter and we also played a few games with them. We were
told that it was good for the villagers to see foreigners pick up
the litter as they will then decide not to litter drop. In the
afternoon we cut litter picking short as it began to rain! So we
went back to the Kasbah to send e-cards home! Food wise it was an
amazing day-Turkey skewers and chips for lunch and an amazing
chocolate mousse after dinner! Yum!
Amy
Day 7 - 24 August
We were very sorry to leave the Kasbah for
Aremdt, it was beautiful. However, our day started with a mule
trek, which was fun apart from getting a rather numb bum! We
arrived at the hotel which was a few minutes walk from the school
we were painting. We got straight to work sanding down the school.
After lunch we began to draw our mural and even the locals came to
comment on it! At 5 o’clock we began playing with the children,
they were very eager to see what goodies we had for them. We played
games and made sock puppets with the children. The big mountain
chief came out to see the start of our work, he loved it!
Amy
Day 8 - 25 August
Today was my favourite day so far. We got to
paint the school! I spent a good few hours painting the top of the
Kasbah and the guiding trefoil, maybe because I had a tiny brush
for a large area. After I finished I helped with the toilets. As
after painting the doors a mucky green colour- they asked to paint
it a much nicer sky blue. Everyone did a great job as the toilets
and the murals looked fabulous. Rachel even cleaned the toilet
floors so they would sparkle when the children came back to the
school. As we finished before planned we had chill out time until 4
0’clock when the children arrived to play. There was double the
amount of children than yesterday which was great! We made
centenary coloured friendship bracelets with the kids and then sung
a few campfire songs with them. There were quite a few more girls
today and they really wanted to teach us hand clapping games, which
was lovely!
Amy
Day 9 - 26 August
I can’t believe our community work is
finished, we have done so well and the work the group has done in
Imlil and Aremdt has been appreciated so much by the locals. At the
Kasbah we were the group most praised for our work on the mule path
and in Aremdt the children felt that we had turned their sad school
into a happy one, an amazing tribute. The drive towards the desert
was a stunning one as we drove through the Atlas and Anti Atlas
Mountains towards Ouarzazate. We stopped for a small lunch and had
a quick trip to Ait Ben Haddou, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage
site that has been used for loads of films like Kingdom of Heaven,
Gladiator and the Mummy movies. The hotel is lovely and I had a
great time relaxing by the pool watching everyone else swimming or
jumping in the pool. After swimming we had a lovely dinner by the
pool where drummers played throughout our meal. Some people even
got up to join them! The drummers got us in a singing mood so we
sang Edelweiss with actions around the dinner table! Fantastic!
Helen
Day 10 - 27 August
After a quick stop off at the supermarket for
sweets and sugar we left Ouarzazate for a three hour bus journey to
Zagora. We dumped our bags at tomorrow night’s hotel and after a
lunch of spaghetti followed by melon, spent the afternoon in the
pool! We had to wait until 6.30am for the temperature to drop
enough so we could travel safely on the camels. The journey
involved a lot of sore bums and legs and singing, but finally 2
hours later we arrived in the dark in the desert. We were given
chicken tagines but we had to find the chicken under a load of
potatoes and carrots. Guess what, the dinner was followed by orange
and melon. We finished off the evening watching the nomads making
bread under the campfire. We sang campfire songs beautifully and
the bread maker was thrilled when we sang Kumbaya, he even joined
in! Still yet to try out the squats but all sleeping under the
stars (covered by clouds!) to the sweet sound of Sidi’s
snoring!
Becca Si
Day 11 - 28 August
It was an early morning for everyone with the
majority of us climbing the sand dune to watch the sunrise over the
mountains. Finally able to actually see the desert in the light and
it looks beautiful. A speedy breakfast so that we could be gone
before it got too hot and off on the camels we went, this time
actually able to see where we were going. We had a rest back at the
hotel before lunch and then spent the afternoon in the swimming
pool again before going to a pottery co-operative in Timfou and
then to a silversmiths in Zagora. Back to Marrakech in the morning
but I’m not sure about the 5am start!
Becca Si
Day 12 - 29 August
It was an early start this morning and I
wasn’t looking forward to the long drive back to Marrakech. Most of
our bus slept on the road back but the scenery on the way back was
stunning and we even saw goats being herded across the road. When
we stopped for lunch Sidi told us that it was going to be hotter in
Marrakech than it had been in the desert which was unusual. Sidi,
Helen and I got off the mini-bus to go the supermarket for the
party items and managed to get the cake and drinks to take with us
to the hotel. We hit the souks in the afternoon and picked up last
minute souvenirs and bought Sidi a thank you present. After some
chill out time, Helen and I wrote “The Twelve days of Morocco” to
sing at the party and went to set up the room with balloons for the
party. It was amazing to see the whole group arrive in their
centenary coloured kaftans when it came to handing out thank you
gifts I was shocked that the group had arranged to give me the
teapot cover that I had loved from the Kasbah. The trip has been
truly amazing!
Amelia
Day 13 - 30 August
I can’t believe its all over, the group has
got along so well with each other and with Amelia and I. They have
worked hard and played hard and there was nothing so touching as
the happiness with which the group greeted their families and the
sadness they felt when it was time to say goodbye to each other.
The trip has been truly inspirational and I’m sure we will all
remember it for many years to come.
Helen