Marrakech summer

Yes, its been a while since the blog was updated- mainly due to a lot of work- which can only be a good thing.
Its been very hot in Marrakech as you might expect in July, and with no forecast of any respite. A few days ago it was officially 46C, though it registered 51C on the office thermometer a week ago (maybe not quite in the shade)
Of course the inside of any building heats up as well (this is where the insulating properties of the berber mud brick walls are much better than this modern concrete).
People having to stay in Marrakech sometimes resort to air conditioning, which makes life quite difficult to go outside into the full heat, others just do the basic minimum and try to survive in the daytime heat. Siestas are recommended, if one can find a cool enough place.

So-if you are visiting the city at this time? Find an air conditioned hotel (or a place to sleep on the terrace), seek the shady places, avoid the heat of the day, and drink lots of water. Plan a trip up to the mountains or the coast for a respite!

Some views from the mountains

The months of March and so far April , have been very busy- hence the delay in updating the blog! This week we have a big school group out and about in the Saghro mountains, some people in the desert, others in the Atlas and Essaouira. Hotels seem to be busy as well, there generally seems to be a lot of interest in Morocco, both trekking and seeing the Imperial cities and Sahara. The areas around Marrakech are well worth visiting at the moment, with fields of poppies, flowers and butterflies in the wheat fields. Ask us for a quotation for a tour with a difference , away from the tourist routes.

Spring in Morocco

Well, almost spring. The flowers have been growing with all the rain recently and there are very green bits of Marrakech. All is helped by some thunderstorms recently. Here are some photos taken last weekend near Imlil and Ourigane.

The thunderstorm starting in the mountains

Getting to Marrakech

We are often asked what the "best" flights are to take from the UK to Marrakech. there are a number of airlines that have direct flights- In no order:
Easyjet- www.easyjet.com ... London to Marrakech
Atlas Blue- www.atlas-blue.com ... Gatwick to Marrakech (a cheaper offshoot of Royal Air Maroc)
Royal Air Maroc- www.royalairmaroc.com ... London to Marrakech
Ryan air- www.ryanair.com ... London and Bristol to Marrakech
Thomsonfly- www.thomsonfly.com ... Manchester to Marrakech

Having spent a long time either on these flights or waiting for customers to arrive, there is no clear winner for price or reliability. Travellers from Scotland can use either internal flights to London/Manchester or take a flight to Europe- Paris or Madrid, where there are other options of flights such as Jet4 you and airFrance/ Iberia. (If you are going into Madrid, the Easyjet arrival terminal is a long long way away from the Atlas Blue departure gate, as we found out recently!

Of course there are options overland if you have the time. One route tried and tested by the Morocco Tour and Trek office is the Aberdeen- Portsmouth-*ferry* Bilbao-Malaga, Malaga- Tarifa *ferry* Tanger-Marrakech route. Not cheap, and takes at least 4 days, but a good experience in itself.

Anyway, having got to Marrakech- here are some scenes that you may see- some photographs from last weekend when it was a sunny day. (There hasnt been so many of those recently, with a lot of rain and snow on the mountains this winter.)

Muddy tracks leading down through the foothills

Mountains around Oukaimden

Almond Blossom 2009

Les Jardins Majorelle

If you get tired with all the noise, bustle of people, souks, cars and motorbikes/donkeys in Marrakech medina, try a visit to the Jardins Majorelle just outside the city.

Happy New Year

Like most Christmas and New Year periods, its been very busy for us. There was a great deal of snow on the 31st December in the mountains, and our groups couldn't get to the summit- never mind- hopefully people will come back and try again.mountains before the last lot of snow

Rain is also a bit of a downer when you have planned to come to Marrakech for a winter sunshine holiday. the great thing about Marrakech is though that the rain doesnt tend to be around for longer than one or two days, then things dry out and its back to the sunloungers on the hotel terrace!
The rain has left the countryside much greener and flowers have sprung up in the olive groves.

Hotels and winter sunshine

Although the pound (GB) to the dirham rate has gone down to 11 dirhams and a bit today, there still seems to be plenty of hotel building around Marrakech , despite the World financial crisis. here is another 5 star hotel going up near the tourist part of Marrakech North of the medina.

There were still views to be had though in the winter sunshine- this photo was taken near the new touring car racing circuit being built near the city walls.
A view south for a change- looking over the new gardens being built down to the medina and city centre. the Koutoubia mosque can be seen in the distance:

Sunday in the mountains

Here are some photos taken today on a route through the foothills of the High Atlas just south of Marrakech. They are from a new road that is being built from Tahanoute to Oukaimden. Terracing and poplars:
Not much snow low down , but a bit on the higher slopes of the mountains around Oukaimden:

Hire your trekking equipment now!

We are now ready to hire out trekking equipment through the well established company TrekHire UK (see previous post).
We are excited about the business, and look forward to providing a service for all trekkers coming to Morocco whether for Mountains, Desert or Coastal treks.
Contact us or www.trek-hire.co.uk

Treks

These last two weeks have been busy still, and there have been groups going up Toubkal in the snow and ice and a large group off to the desert. With large groups it takes quite a lot of organisation behind the scenes, checking and packing the tents, getting the mess tents ready, buying a LOT of food and mineral water and giving the cooking team their instructions (recently we have had vegan, lactose intolerant, diabetic and gluten free diets to provide....). Then the cooks go off to the campsite earlier in the day to set up the tents, make sure they don't blow over in the wind get the tea and meals on the gas and make sure all is well for the tired trekkers. The latest trip is near Mhamid, which is one of the two most popular destinations to get to the sahara . Both areas (Mhamid and Merzouga) really need two days of travelling to get there from Marrakech, so to see the desert , you should really have at least 4 free days to spare.