Trip To Morocco: Christmas In Marrakesh, Atlas Trekking & Essaouira Chill Out

Marrakesh: A Hotel Stitch Up, Shish Kebabs & Zero Christmas Spirit

Marrakesh had always thrown up images in my mind of exotic, yet chaotic at the same time. As keen hikers, me and my brother were keen to go check it out whilst throwing in a few days hiking in the Atlas Mountains.

We landed in Marrakesh around 8pm, grabbed our pre‑booked taxi, and headed to Hotel Ali. Despite confirming by email, they claimed to be fully booked. We had been warned about scams in Morocco but if this was the first one, then how many were there going to be? In the end, we were shuffled around the corner to their sister hotel, Riad Omar, which was dressed as being more expensive but magically the the rack rate was the same price, at 8 EUR. The room was small and a bit scummy, but I’ve stayed in worse, and for that price, accepted our fate.

We wandered into Jemaa el‑Fnaa, Marrakesh’s famous main square. It was as expected – hectic, smoky, loud, but an explosion on the sense as our ears bled from the snake charmer flute, our nostrils singed at the hot spicy barbeque smoke and our eyes scanned to take it all in.

Food street vendors constantly tried to drag us into their stalls, literally pulling on our clothes, and we eventually sat on some stalls by a vendor and ordered something that we weren’t 100% sure what it would be. In the end, for 80MAD (USD$8) we feasted on delicious shish kebabs, bread, salad and chips for the two of us. Bargain.

Christmas Day: Souqs, Mint Tea & Trekking Plans

Christmas Day in Marrakesh is perfect – if you’re a scrooge – absolutely no sign of Christmas anywhere.

Breakfast at Café N’Zaha was a French affair: bread, croissant, mint tea loaded with sugar, and orange juice.

We wandered the souqs, got lost repeatedly, and people‑watched from the balcony of Café Glacier over pizza, whilst playing cards. That was Christmas Day.

In the evening, we met Hamou, our trekking guide, as we went through the plan for our 3‑day Atlas trek: which at €35/day (USD$40) including food, accommodation, mule, cook and guide, seemed like a bargain.

Atlas Mountains: Mules, Berber Villages & Food Poisoning

Day 1: Imi Oughlad → Tizi Oussem (12km)

Hamou picked us up and drove us two hours to Imi Oughlad, at an elevation of 1400m. We met our cook, mule “driver” and mule – who was loaded with enough gear to start a small expedition. I felt sorry for the poor thing.

We trekked steadily to Tacht Pass at 2200m, then through Berber villages.

The early scenery was average, but later it became far more spectacular – rugged valleys, terraced fields, stone houses clinging to hillsides.

The Berber lifestyle is incredible: tiny communities, homemade stone homes, living off the land far from modern life.

By 3pm we reached Tizi Oussem at 1850m – a maze of alleyways and stacked houses. Lunch was huge – and inhaled in seconds.

We wandered the village, met a German guy doing a 12‑day solo trek (making our 3‑day mule-supported effort feel tame), then returned for dinner – cooked by our personal cook: soup, tajine, bread. Which was so good, I wanted more – but we had eaten it all already.

Which was probably a good thing. Because disaster stuck.

Several hours later, I threw up.

And again. And again. And again. And again.

I was a mess. And unable to hardly move. And awake all night.

It was clearly food poisoning – but what was odd was – either my brother has a cast iron stomach as he snored away, or I got an unfortunate piece of last night’s supper.

Day 2: Tizi Oussem → Imlil (12km)

I woke feeling terrible – dehydrated, weak, feverish.

I managed a quarter of an apple and orange. But we had to crack on.

Half an hour into the steepest part of the trek, I vomited again. Not ideal preparation for climbing to 2500m.

Somehow, I made it. The views were stunning – snow‑dusted peaks, deep valleys, silence everywhere. Our mule didn’t seem to care as he wandered off looking for a grass patch to munch on, as my brother and I soaked up the stunning vista.

We descended to Imlil, early afternoon and I collapsed into bed for a few hours.

I took it easy with dinner. Just as well, as it was a tiny portion tonight. At 1700m, it was so cold at night but we had a good conversation with Hamou about Berber life:

He’s one of 10 children
His entire extended family lives in the same house
His village has 70 houses but 600 people
A good mule costs 10,000 MAD (USD$1,000)
A cheap one: 1000 MAD (USD$100)
- We didn’t discuss the difference between good and bad but one can assume they are like cars – age, body work, cost of maintenance, previous owners are all factors.

Day 3: Imlil → Tamatert → Ouaneskra (15km)

Slept better and felt human again. Bread and hot chocolate for breakfast – living the dream. We climbed to Tizi Tamatert, 2300m, then continued to Ouaneskra, a tiny quiet village high in the mountains.

A long tiring day but totally rewarding and stunning scenery and culture.

And with that our Atlas Mountain trek was over. It had been an incredible experience – getting to see Berber life, learn from our guide, and to see some of North Africa’s most stunning scenery. Not even a dogy tagine could deter me.

Essaouira: Wind, Chill Out Days & A Sober New Year’s Eve

Arrival

After constant harassment on our walk to the bus station, from anyone who want to pick on the backpacking foreigners, we boarded our bus for Essaouira. It was a tedious ride – after leaving late, it stopped constantly, picked up half of Morocco, and took 3¾ hours. It was hot, crowded, chaotic – just a classic Moroccan bus ride we mused.

We rented a huge apartment in what felt like a rogh neighbourhood, or maybe that was all neighbourhoods in Essaouira. Rubbish dumped everywhere, people’s washing out on the streets, pavements cracked to pieces and houses falling apart. All part of the experience.

We treated ourselves to Steak and chips that night.

Essaouira Days

We woke to stunning sunny day and blue sky.

We explored the medina, port and beach.

Essaouira was a stunning spot, right on the beach. Blue boats littered the port, whitewashed walls made up every house, a constant gentle sea breeze kept us cool, and with the sun shining, it had a real relaxed vibe.

Sunsets were amazing – as we sat on a wall next to the fort, watching as the sky turned beautiful red as the sun went down over the Atlantic.

After several beach walks and plenty of eat over two days, it was New Years Eve.

That’s New Year’s Eve in the western world.

There was zero sign of it here and with not a drop of alcohol in sight, it was just another day, and we were tucked up fast asleep way before midnight, while everyone back at home partied up.

Return to Marrakesh

After another never-ending stop/start bus trip back to Marrakesh, we got back to Hotel Ali. Not happy enough with their first scam, this time, they tried to raise the price, even though we had paid a deposit for our return and agreed the price. In the end, they relented.

After one final walk around Jemaa el‑Fnaa to see a cobra being charmed by a flute for the umpteenth time, it was time to pack for our departure the next day.

Home: Taxi Scams & Airport Beers

We got an early morning taxi to the airport booked by Hotel Ali – which felt like robbery at 70MAD. Just as we were walking up to the check-in desk, the taxi driver came chasing after us claiming that the hotel had called him stating that we hadn’t paid. Once again, they backed down after we denied any wrongdoing. We had lost count of the scams just one hotel had tried with us.

After 10 days of being completely dry, we found one store at the airport that had a tiny fridge with a handful of cold Heineken beers. We couldn’t resist – so bought 6 and skulled them between us – a sign of celebration of ending such a fantastic trip but also surviving the little scams and food poisoning.

It had been a memorable trip – at times – a little chaotic, but full of rich culture, rewarding experiences, great food – apart from when it came back up, and best of all – unforgettable mountain scenery.