MAGICAL MOROCCO

A short three-hour hop from Gatwick and you can find yourself in the embracing warmth of North Africa, in a country so exotic that it transports you back to the childhood imaginings of deserts and oases, snake charmers and their deadly cobras.

We left the rainy UK in December and quickly landed in this other world. Oh Marrakech – you wild, crazy city! With its never-ending cacophony that somehow soothes because the noise feels life-affirming; with art all around, simply for art’s sake; with its eternal optimism, I wanted to explore every nook and cranny. But we had only one night...

I’m not ordinarily one for organised tours, wanting to believe that I’m a traveller rather than a tourist, but this time we booked an eight-day tour of Morocco and I have only praise for Nomadic Tours.

Our itinerary took us from the imperial city of Marrakech to the Sahara Desert and back to Marrakech, seeing and experiencing more along the way than we would ever have managed had we travelled independently. Plus, there was no driving, getting lost or getting ripped off - so we were able to relax into an exciting and enriching adventure.

Our second day had us travelling southward, across the majestic High Atlas mountain range. All we could do was stare in wonder at the semi-arid beauty while our fantastic driver, Muhammed took us safely across its high peaks. Hassan, our passionate and knowledgeable guide would relay more than any guidebook could, while we sat back and simply drank in the heady experience.

Mid-afternoon, we arrived at Ouarzazate; the door to the desert. It’s also known as the film capital of North Africa due to the desert film studio used in many a production, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy and Game of Thrones. We had the option of visiting the studio but we chose quad biking across the rocky terrain instead – and it was absolutely exhilarating! Sweet mint tea was waiting for us on our return and we sat chatting away with friendly locals as the sun set over the silhouette of old and new.

New day – onwards and southwards we went. We had breakfast at our lovely hotel, built in the traditional kasbah style with a refreshing oasis-like garden. On this day, we would make it to the Sahara! We piled into our very comfortable van, and could hardly wait but as the miles unfolded we again simply got lost in the beauty of our surroundings.

The drive to the Sahara took nearly the whole day but if we could have made those hours go slower, we would have. Our trip took us through fascinating villages and green pastures, all the while with Hassan answering all our questions with pride and joy. Our tourist/guide relationship was a good one, relaxed and spontaneous and helped by Hassan’s enthusiasm to share his culture.

In the afternoon red dunes started appearing and we arrived at Merzouga, our entryway to the Sahara where we were met by Berbers, who have their camp in the desert, waiting for us with their camels at the ready.