I was excited to lead the first overseas trip for Bryn Walking for Women to Morocco last month and what a trip it was. Seven women came on the trip and we were expertly guided by one of only two female guides in the region, Latifa. When I saw her at the airport in Marrakesh I was slightly overcome with emotion - partly at seeing her again as we had become firm friends when I delivered some training in Imlil earlier this year with Alan Ward. Also partly because I realised I had made it to Morocco with my clients for the trip after 2.5 years in the making and holding strong after several cancellations due to covid. The group: Val, Anabel, Jayne, Wendy, Heather, Sue and Janet all have plenty of trekking experience between them but it was the first time in Morocco for some and first time trekking abroad for others, and some only having been up to 1085m (Snowdon) - we would be trekking up to 2500m. DAY 1 When we arrived at the Kasbah du Toubkal we had a warm welcome with plenty of mint tea and some local peanut and biscuit mix nibbles. Latifa was keen to show us around Imlil so once we’d had lunch on the rooftop terrace we had a tour a neighbouring village Arhrene. We came across a really old house which was a great example of how the village’s houses used to be. Before we knew it the female owners had invited us in to look at the old house and we were sat on their rooftop terrace, next door, discussing the differences in our lives. The majority of Berber women in the Imlil Valley are Muslim and still live a very traditional way of life so they love hearing about our more westernised lifestyle. We all found it to be an unexpected and a wonderful authentic opportunity to see how the village women really live. We also felt that it had come about because we had a female guide.
DAY 2 The next day was an introduction to the Atlas Mountains in preparation for our long trek over to the Kasbah’s sister lodge in the next valley. This was an opportunity for us to meet our mule man Lhussein and enjoy a lovely mountain top lunch, illustrating just what our lovely travelling chef Mohammed could conjure up. A day spent amongst juniper trees and great open vistas. On return to the Kasbah some of us chose to walk into Imlil to support the local businesses. I had promised one particular shop owner, Ibrahim, in January that I would return with a group to look at his wares. Before our traditional lamb tagine dinner we all experienced the haman at the Kasbah with Latifa showing us the proper Berber ways to use it - we will never forget! DAY 3 The day of the big trek over to the mountain lodge involved a long trekking day over a snowy tizi, Tizi n'Mzik (2479m) and down into a deep valley of isolated villages. Zig-zagging up and over the mountain pass in light snow took quite some time but we all made it to the top with smiles on our faces. It's a long way into the next valley and the weather was very changeable, too cold to eat amongst the trees so Latifa had rung round it seemed and organised for our chef to cook in a half built house in the first village Tizi Oussem, where we could find shelter too. The last stretch of the walk involved at 3km of tarmac road but a friendly local man took pity on us and we all piled in the back of his battered Mercedes van for a lift to the lodge. He was very grateful for his tip and us for the ride. The lodge at Ait Aissa was lovely offering us great views of the mountains, traditional Moroccan slippers and excellent tagines, everything except running water! Due to the snow, the village’s solar powered water system wasn’t working so the lodge and all the neighbouring villages didn’t have any running water. the Kitchen had a large storage tank but that was all there was for the cooking. We had to ration the bottled water that was available - once it was gone that was that. Baths in literally two inches of water were required as well as a sense of humour. Plenty of bottled water for drinking meant we were well catered for. DAY 4 Whilst in this remote village Latifa organised for us to eat with a local family and see how they prepared food for their family. The host cooked bread on the walls of a stone oven with embers in for us to eat. It tasted lovely with honey, olive oil and eggs. One surprise was watching her make the most lovely mint tea yet seeing six large blocks of sugar go in the teapot - the equivalent of 36 sugar cubes! Good job we had a big walk back to the Kasbah the next day. The next stop was a weaving workshop where women and their young families spent the whole day weaving rugs. It was a concrete block, small building which was freezing. They were very pleased to see us and gave us mint tea, popcorn and walnuts. Our stay at the Lodge was finished off by traditional musical storytelling by the Lodge chef, our travelling chef, their friend and our mule man. They had us dancing and singing - including a solo rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau by Janet, they were clearly impressed. A night to remember. DAY 5 Another absolutely beautiful walk from the lodge up to the Tizi Oudite (2221m) through juniper trees and passing a remote, simple farm. The sun was coming up and the views behind us were amazing. The path from the tizi all the way to the lunch spot, was precipitous all the way, several kilometres with sunning scenery around. The highlight of the trek back to the Kasbah was the stunning lunch spot, right on a mountain spur surrounded by snow capped mountains, truly a special meal and one we will all remember. A great way to conclude the trekking aspect of our trip. On our return Latifa had organised a girl from the village to come up to the Kasbah to do some henna art for us. Day 6 and 7 Next stop was a two night stay over in Marrakesh. We said a sad goodbye to Latifa, booked into our beautiful Riad and embarked on a guided tour of the city. This took us through the city stopping to look at special features of the Medina, the walled city area, and then into the souks. Passing through the ironwork area, the leatherwork area (we had already visited the tannery earlier), through the textile souks and the spice souks - we had the opportunity to see a bit of everything as well as enjoy rooftop drinks. A day then spent at leisure and a final meal together rounded off a great eight days in Morocco. I will remember this trip for many reasons. The blue skies we had, the food, the company, the laughs and the learning that I have taken from it. I intend to run it again next year so I hope you have got a flavour of this year’s trip to think about booking for next time. 'til next time Many thanks to Wendy Cottis for stepping in to help create this blog, at a time when it was much appreciated.
3 Comments
Wendy
2/3/2023 10:24:36
Aww this reminds me what a great time we had and how unique an experience it was having Latifa as our guide. It was a truly exceptional trip for me and I look forward to many more with you Helen.
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Jayne kirk
2/3/2023 19:33:16
Thank you Helen for a truly memorable trek in Morocco, it was superb, emotional and challenging at times. All of which I would do again and can’t recommend it enough to anyone thinking of taking part.
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12/3/2023 12:18:52
Thanks for sharing this blog with such great photos Helen. I liked your sunrise picture and you must have been almost in the front row - I hadn't realised that Ryan Air had Business Class - great pic!
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