The Hollywood of Morocco

Tuesday 7th – Wednesday 8th January 2025

Moroccan communities have been rocked by the 2023 earthquake, leaving houses crumbling and many, many families still living in tents. A close look at the picture below shows the houses that are no longer habitable.

Most of the day was taken up with driving, but our final destination was worth it.  We stayed in a little hotel overlooking Ben Haddou, a Kasbah that used to accommodate 20 or so families, but now only has four left.

The granery at the top of the Kasbah is destroyed, and many houses in the Kasbah pose a threat to tourists. But some areas are accessible and we were able to walk to the top and see a view of our hotel.

This site has been used for many movies, Game of Thrones and Indiana Jones amoung them.  They were constructing sets across the rive from us and filming of something was due to start next week.

Wednesday 8th January 2025

More driving today as we try to make our way across Morocco to the Atlantic. We stopped in Aroumd for the night on a local guest house.  Olivia and I shared a four berth room, so we had plenty of blankets. Most of our group had rooms that came straight off the communcal lounge/dining area with an open fire, so we were warm despite the sub-zero temperates outside. 

We climbed part way up Toubkal, the highest mountain in Morocco, (indeed North Africa) at 4,167m. Most climbers spend the night at one of the many base camps to acclimatise to the altitude and then hit the peak the next day.  It is not a technical climb but is is cold.  We opted to go far enough to get a view.

We even saw cats climbing on the moutain.  Just not these ones.

Our walking done, we headed back down the mountain early the next morning for our final slog to the coast.  We have spent many hours in the van over the last week and we were ready to see the sea and stretch our legs.

We would listen to music, singing along to Billy Joel, Adele, Ed Sheeran, and various African artists. We would stop for picnic lunches made from ingredients found in the large supermarkets along the way.  We would share snacks, talk nonsense and generally laugh away the time.

Tomorrow we arrive in Essaouira, our second last stop before Marrakesh and home.