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Posted on April 20th 2015
The Marrakech Express - Morocco 2015
On the 28th of March 2015, 20 lucky Geography students boarded a plane to Marrakech. The plane journey was exciting and full of emotions however as soon as we got off the plane the heat hit us and put smiles on our faces. After a long queue at passport control we met our guide Rasheed and our driver Mohammed. That evening, most of us all experienced tagine for the first time which was a great welcome to their country and their culture. When we got to the hotel we were all exhausted so most of us went straight to bed.
We were up early that morning to have breakfast on the roof terrace where we could observe our first sunrise on our adventures. Then the coach journeys began. We travelled to the High Atlas mountains seeing amazing views on our way. When we arrived we walked up to the Berber village where we were welcomed by a family. They showed us how to make tagine and showed us their garden. After lunch we walked back and boarded our coach mentally preparing ourselves for our very long drive through the mountains to our hotel for the night in Ouarzazate. The coach ride consisted of old school karaoke and very bad riddles and jokes from Mr Prince. When we arrived at the hotel we changed into our swimming gear and had a quick dip which really cooled us off as the water was freezing before we went out to dinner that evening. Once again we had tagine for dinner which by this time we were all getting a bit fed up of. We returned to the hotel for another late night.
We had breakfast in the hotel the next morning before we boarded the coach once more to start our journey to the Sahara Desert. On the trip to the desert we needed some shade to protect us from the 38 degree heat! The boys went exploring and discovered a sand dune just behind the trees where they sat to eat. We all ran down it before getting back in the coach to go to the underground village. When we arrived we were shown around and we were shown how to make pottery and Jonny, Pinar, Mr Prince and Mr Vice all had a go for themselves. We then had the opportunity to buy the pottery before we travelled to the Sahara Desert. When we arrived in the desert we were greeted by the people who were looking after us and the camel guides. We dropped off our stuff in the tents before being split into two groups and took it in turns to ride the camels and explore the dunes. Getting on the camels was a bit challenging and daunting however as soon as we started moving we got used to it.
Once we dismounted the camels we had tea in the food tent and then went exploring again before dinner. That night, we slept under the stars in our sleeping bags on one of the dunes. If you were lucky you were able to see shooting stars as well. We left the desert the following morning and boarded the coach once more for the long journey back to Marrakech. Along the way we made many stops including Ait Benhaddou, a fortified town and an argan oil company where we had the opportunity to buy argan oil and see how they make it.
Breakfast that morning was sad as we were seeing our last sunrise on the roof terrace in Morocco. However, we knew the day ahead was going to be really fun. We made the journey into Marrakech where a different guide showed us round and took us to a mosque and a palace in the new area of Marrakech. We then walked to the souks where we went into a chemist where we were shown all of the different spices and products available which we then had the opportunity to buy. As we travelled deeper into the souks we were split into three groups to go exploring. They are quite scary however very interesting at the same time. Our journey to the airport was emotional as no one wanted to go home. We said bye to our driver and guide at the airport before waiting to check in.
Overall, it was a great experience and culturally amazing. We all learnt so much when we were away and we appreciate what he have here in the UK so much more. I would recommend this trip to all the Year 9 geography students or to any younger student that are thinking of studying geography.
Thank you to Mr Prince, Mr Vice and Miss Evans for taking us all the way to Morocco.
Amy - 10SS
