Travels With Clo

Marrakesh was somewhere we’d wanted to visit for a while, and after finding some £20 flights from Manchester, it was hard to pass up on.

Arriving mid-morning, we caught a transfer from the airport straight to El Badi Palace to begin our sightseeing. We visited in early April, and it was already forty degrees, so wanted to get the bulk done before midday. We spent an hour exploring the palace and ruins, and then walked the short distance to the Jardin Secret where we had some ice cream in the sunshine.

At one o clock, our private transfer met us just outside the medina and drove us an hour into the Agafay desert to stay at the Agafay Luxury Camp for a night under the stars.

From the moment we arrived, we felt like we were in another world, hours from civilisation. We were greeted with a welcome drink and ordered some late lunch, consisting of salad, chicken kebab and fruit salad, before we were shown to our accommodation.

We paid for one of the tents that came with a private outdoor bath, which was perfect for reading in and watching the sun set. The tent itself was equipped with AC, a comfy bed, walk in shower, fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. We spent most of the afternoon on our balcony enjoying the bath and sun loungers and taking in the views.

Once it got dark, the sky was clear and we could see the stars really well. We sat outside with a peppermint tea and tried to spot the constellations.

The next morning, we enjoyed a plentiful breakfast with an amazing view, and made our way back to Marrakesh where we checked into our Riad. We did have some sightseeing planned, but it took us so long to find our accommodation that we didn’t have time. We did however try the best peppermint tea of our lives!

On day 3, we joined an excursion to Ouzoud waterfalls. The hike down to the falls was fairly easy, and we made multiple stops for orange juice. The views were stunning, and we even got to do a small boat ride into the waterfall before our lunch stop. The hike back up was much more difficult due to the steepness and the heat, but the macaque monkeys helped to spur us along.

When we got back to Marrakesh, we didn’t venture far. We had a browse around the medina, and sat at a rooftop bar to watch the sunset and eat dinner. As our visit was during Ramadan, we also heard the call to prayer to signal the end of fasting for the day, which was a new experience for us.

We had an early flight home, so didn’t stay up. We were quite exhausted from the heat and our hike, but Marrakesh certainly left a lasting impression.