Our expedition began shortly after 7am on Friday morning, leaving school by coach and heading towards Algeciras. We boarded the ‘fast-cat’ ferry which would take us across the Straits of Gibraltar and into Tangiers but because Morocco is two hours behind Spain it meant we arrived at around 10am. Our first problem! One of our students had a passport which was out of date by 3 days which was spotted first by Helen and unfortunately also by a rather large, official looking gentleman at immigration before we disembarked. After having being given a thorough dressing down by the aforementioned officer we now know what the kids feel like when they have been told off! Thankfully we were allowed to proceed and we got into Africa properly to be met by Mr. Vicaria who works on behalf of a Moroccan orphanage that our school has close ties with. In fact the purpose of meeting him was to pass on six very large bags of clothes collected at the school for the children at the orphanage. Using their minibuses we were taken to Tangier railway station where after a short delay and some mint tea we boarded the train for Sidi Kacem. It was interesting to see the landscape as we passed out of Tangier as it was very green and apart from the housing could easily be mistaken for England! We arrived at Sidi Kacem early in the afternoon, where after a short wait we boarded another train which would eventually take us to Marrakech. The fist train journey had been pleasant, first class, air conditioned carriages and very quiet. But as we passed through Rabat and Casablanca the train became crowded, people were even sitting on the floor. The temperature through the afternoon rose and the air became rather pungent as the air conditioning had long since failed. After what seemed like a lifetime but actually 10 o’clock at night, we arrived in Marrakech station. Here we were met by Sidi Mohammed who was to be our guide for the rest of the holiday. Another coach journey, this time no more than 15 minutes brought us to our hotel which was right opposite the Souk, or market. Excellent spot to stay for shopping but not necessarily for sleeping as the market, one of the biggest in the world, stays open until the early hours of the morning. After a quick dinner we went to bed around 1am. We had been traveling for 18 hours, was every day going to be this exhausting?

Day 2 Marrakech to the mountain refuge at the foot of Mount Toubkal

So far so good, no kids lost, nobody with stomach upsets or other ailments. After breakfast (coffee, cake and pancakes) we packed all our stuff up again and headed out south of Marrakech for about 90 minutes until we got to the village of Imlil at around 1770m above sea level. This journey was our first glimpse of the Atlas Mountains. After a refreshment break we climbed a short distance above the village to the Kasbah du Toubkal. Here we left the majority of our goods but kept with us a change of clothing, sleeping bags, medical kits, toiletries and anything else we thought we might need for the overnight stop at the refuge. So of we went 10 students, our guide and 8 mules (plus handlers) to carry our packs. Foolishly many of us failed to take advantage of this and instead carried our packs for the first part of the journey. After three hours hard trekking and climbing we reached our lunch stop at Sidi Chamarouch which can be seen from some distance away as it has a giant whitewashed rock. In addition to the anarchic cluster of houses, all built into one another there is a marabout shrine which is said to have magical healing properties. Probably just as well as many of us were already exhausted and lost the masochistic tendency putting our rucksacks on the mules. After a very hearty meal we continued the climb which now got a lot steeper. We crossed the snowline, our legs becoming increasingly weary and thankfully as the sun went down we spotted the Toubkal Refuge or Nelter Refuge). The sun by now had fallen and it was getting very cold, we got to the hut at around 6pm feeling a little dizzy as it is 3200m above sea level and we had walked 16km from Imlil. The shelter is basic but it was incredibly busy, where had all these people come from? There was a mixture of nationalities staying there British, French, Moroccan, German to name but a few. Some had come to use as a base to climb Toubkal, the highest mountain in Morocco, which at that time was only accessible with proper climbing equipment. Others were using it as a base to go further into the High Atlas Mountains and some like us were going to make the descent the next day. Not surprisingly we were all asleep by 9.30pm in one big dormitory.

Day 3 The mountain refuge at the foot of Mount Toubkal back to the Kasbah at Imlil.

The descent was extremely quick, stopping for lunch again at Sidi Chamarouch. Our students skillfully avoiding the local traders who were trying to burden us down with even more things to carry. We arrived at the Kasbah mid afternoon. What a magnificent place to stay. It’s not five star luxury but is absolutely perfect for the weary traveler. According to our guide the likes of Jude Law and Ridley Scott stay regularly although not when we were there. In addition it was one of the locations used by Martin Scorcsese when he directed Kundun, a film about the life of the Dali Lama, the Kasbah being transformed into a Tibetan monastery. It only has about a dozen rooms, ranging from doubles to dormitory type accommodation which meant that apart from our party there were probably only about 10 other people staying there. As described in the guide book ‘it’s a special place outside the reach of the modern world’. The Kasbah has two ‘hammams’ or steam baths which were perfect for reinvigorating weary bodies. That evening, after a magnificent meal of chicken and vegetables cooked in a tureen we settled to teach the students some basic Arabic phrases. Our guide Sidi was amazed by how fast the children picked up the language, some of the phrases they would later use with confidence in the local shops.

Day 4 Stay at the Kasbah

It rained constantly through the night and all the following day. Perhaps just as well as we had highlighted this day for rest and maybe a trip to a local waterfall. We appreciated the time just to chill out and the sight of the mountains, valleys and expanding waterfalls as the rain fell was incredible. High up in the Kasbah we felt safe but looking down to the village the small bridge which spanned the river had disappeared under the torrents of water. The locals came out to look, some foolhardy tourists tried crossing the river by foot but soon returned when they realised it was impossible.

Day 5 From the Kasbah at Imlil to Ouarzazate

After another hearty breakfast we left by coach to travel through the High Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate, a garrison town built by the French in the 1920s and would be our stop off point on the way to the Sahara. Unfortunately it was the first of a two day holiday for the King and meant most of the shops were closed. We arrived at the hotel mid-afternoon and after unpacking Carlos and I challenged the kids to a game of football. This drew the local crowds in and eventually we had two mixed Iberian / Moroccan teams. Leading 9-7 the game was brought to an abrupt halt when the owner of the land, that we had previously assumed was waste ground, arrived. He picked up one of the students baseball caps and claimed that if it was on his land he owned it. We thought it best not to argue and promptly returned to the hotel to swim, eat and sleep.

Day 6 From Ouarzazate to Zagora.

Although on the previous day the weather had been overcast, the temperature was much like Marbella. This was about to change dramatically. The journey to Zagora ‘gateway to the desert’ was about five hours and pleasant in our air-conditioned coach. At 2pm we arrived at our hotel and getting off the coach could be best described at walking into a very big hair dryer. Windy and hot even at this time of the year, Zagora is recognised as the hottest town in Morocco, reaching 45-50OC in summer. The hotel facilities were again excellent, the building itself set amidst gardens with a swimming pool surrounded by traditional Berber tents to escape the sun. Ok we hadn’t done much exercise for a few days now so we decided to climb Mount Zagora. This sounds a challenge but within half an hour of leaving the hotel we were at the summit overlooking the town. We stayed to watch the sunset and captured some amazing photographs of it.

Day 7 From Zagora to the desert.

We began in the morning by visiting a village about 30 minutes drive from Zagora. This was a very humbling experience. The village was slowly being overrun by the Sahara despite the best efforts of the locals to build walls from the palm leaves to stop the sand blowing in. The people here lead an incredible existence as although the new king has ensured such places now have electricity and local access to water (which they didn’t have five years ago) the housing is basic and furnishings almost non-existent. The local children kindly made small toys out of palm leaves which our children gratefully accepted. The bus journey to our next destination at another local town was understandably quiet, the students contemplating what they had just witnessed. In the town we were taken to the local library where on display were copies of the Koran written hundreds of years ago. We finished our trip around the town with a visit to a pottery, where the workers made, fired, painted and sold their wares. It was good business for them today with all our students buying presents to take back. It also allowed us to get our first taste of haggling for a bargain. In the afternoon we packed an overnight bag and around 5 o’clock made our way from the hotel to the camels. Why Carlos and I had such bad tempered camels I don’t know but we (and our camels) were forced to walk separately from the rest of the group and our transports were spitting and jumping! As night fell we arrived at the site where we would spend the night. Several tents had already been erected by the Berber guides who were already busy cooking dinner. After 3 hours on our camels it was good to now be lying down. We laid out our sleeping bags and prepared for a night under the stars. It was perfect, the sky was clear and there was a full moon. The guides entertained us with some traditional Berber music and singing using old water butts to improvise the drumming. Our main guide Sidi joined in providing trance-like dancing to entertain us. One of the Berbers beat down the fire and used the embers to cook bread on, burying it under the hot sand and then digging it up again some thirty minutes later. We all had a piece and it was truly delicious.

Day 8 Return to the hotel.

We awoke early as we didn’t want to be trekking in the midday sun. Unfortunately sitting on a camel the previous day had taken its toll and many of were now walking like John Wayne. Setting off for the return journey allowed us to get to the hotel around 11am and we had the rest of the day to relax and so we did. In the afternoon we all sat under cover by the pool playing cards. At about 5pm we visited a local shop selling carpets and jewelry. Moroccan trades people are very good and make you want things even if you don’t need them. This together with our appetite for ‘haggling’ made for a dangerous combination. I think we all came away with something although Carlos is still haunted by nightmares of carpet sellers.

Day 9 From Zagora to Marrakesh.

An early start at 6am. This was to be a long bus journey of 400km made harder by the terrain and roads we had to travel on. Previously done in two days we were now doing this journey in one. In addition we stopped of at a massive film set. We had a tour of the studios where films such as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Lawrence of Arabia had been used for film shoots. We arrived in Marrakesh at about 3pm. We returned to the hotel we had previously stayed in on the first night. After a horse drawn carriage ride by the old city walls we arrived at the far side of the souk. A fascinating place, this massive market is divided up into tiny sections specialising in particular trades such as woodwork, metalwork or clothing and alleyways reminiscent of scenes from a Harry Potter movie. We were given a talk by a local pharmacist / herbalist who demonstrated several oils, creams and powders to cure various ailments. We purchased several potions and cures and I took advantage of a head, neck and shoulder massage for the tiny cost of 20 dirham (about 2 Euros). We made our way to yet another carpet and clothing shop but Carlos held his nerve and wasn’t lured into buying one! We returned to the hotel for an early night as we were going to be up very early the next day.

Day 10 From Marrakesh to Marbella.

3am. Carlos and I awoke to make sandwiches for 13 people. This was quite an alarming sight to the worker who knocked on our door half an hour later to give us a wake up call. After thanks and farewell to Sidi we caught the train at 5am. This time we had to change at Casablanca and we eventually arrived in Tangiers at about 4pm. It was Sunday although it didn’t feel like it. Days of the week had been lost, I knew it as day 10. We got to the ferry terminal but unfortunately had to wait 4 hours for the ferry. Arriving in Algeciras we were met by the coach and after doing a quick head count found we had one student missing. He had been there when we passed through customs, so where was he? On opening the luggage compartment of the coach he was sitting there playing his console game. I’m sure he would quite happily had stayed there for the short trip back to school! Arrived at school at 2.30am. I’ve never seen students be collected so quick!

What a brilliant trip, what an amazing place, the geography is so diverse, snow covered mountains and deserts. The local Berber people are so friendly. Thanks to Tony Rudall who made this possible having spent many months putting things into place. Thanks to the students a nicer bunch of kids you couldn’t hope to take away. Thanks to Helen who made sure we were in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment. Thanks to Carlos who kept me amused and who now has a job doing Jude Law impressions.

And finally, a big thank you to Viva Estates for sponsoring the expedition.

Barry Gardner