Our airport limo bobbed and weaved around horse drawn carriages, scooters, pedestrians, donkey carts and yellow cabs, as we made our way to our hotel, just outside the Medina in Marrakech. We felt a rush of excitement at arriving in this exotic and magical place.

We arrived at La Mamounia, a stunningly elegant hotel that had just won the readers’ choice award for the “Best Hotel in the World” at Conde Nest Traveller. We quickly moved from chaos to opulence and serenity, enjoying our welcome refreshment of fresh almond milk and dates. La Mamounia was Winston Churchill’s favourite hotel in Marrakech. He once declared it to be, “The most-lovely spot in the world”. Rich fabrics, artwork, intricate tile work and photographs adorn the hallways. We stepped into the gardens at the back of the hotel, to stretch our legs while waiting for our room. The walkway around the perimeter of the garden measured 1 km, and became our morning circuit for the next three days. Beautiful cats purred their welcome to us, as we strolled by. It was hard to believe that steps away, outside the walls of this fortified hotel was the chaos of Marrakech.

Marrakech is on the same line of latitude as El Paso, Texas and the same line of longitude as Santiago De Compostela (where we had just left). With over one million residents, it is a city made up of mosques, palaces and gardens. The Medina is the densely packed walled medieval city, that is the heart of Marrakech. Mazelike alleys wind through the souks- shops that sell textiles, pottery, jewelry, fruits and vegetables. We planned a day to ourselves, before meeting our Butterfield and Robinson group and we booked a tour guide to walk us through the Medina. Our guide met us in the lobby, dressed in a traditional hooded robe, called a djellaba. A former teacher turned carpenter and tour guide, our guide had perfect English and knew where to take us to purchase our first Moroccan treasures. We bought a handmade Moroccan pouf footstool, made of goat’s skin. It is now an interesting and functional conversation piece in our chalet. Even on a rainy day, the souks were busy with tourists and locals. Donkeys and motorbikes kept us on our toes, on the ready to jump out of the way in the narrow laneways. We spent the afternoon at a cooking school at Maison Arabe, learning how to make a traditional tagine. Our delicious late lunch incorporated all of the flavours of Moroccan cuisine, including saffron, mint, olives, lemons, chicken, and couscous. We had our first taste of Moroccan green mint tea, the national drink.

Morocco is similar in size to California with a population of 32 million. In Arabic, the name Morocco means extreme west. Located in North Africa, Morocco is 13 km from Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar. Morocco shares borders with Algeria and the disputed territory, Western Sahara. Most Moroccans are Sunni Muslims with small numbers of Christians and Jews. Berbers are the ethnic indigenous people of Morocco. The currency is called Dirham or DH, however American currency is readily accepted. Morocco was a French protectorate in the early 1900’s, yet was never a full colony. It is a multilingual country, with Arabic and Berber being the official languages. Moroccans speak a dialect of Arabic called Darija. French and Spanish are also spoken. We were so impressed with all of our guides, drivers and restaurants servers who all were multilingual, easily conversing in many languages. The government is a constitutional monarchy and the King is King Mohamed VI. The largest city in Morocco is Casablanca and Rabat is the capital city.

We met our fellow group members at a cocktail reception in a bar at La Mamounia. Right away we knew that we had another fantastic group of travel-mates. We were thrilled to have Sandra and Mark, our friends from Newfoundland, along on this adventure. We had shared travel tales over dinner in St. John’s a year ago, and decided that a trip together would be fun. Mark’s brother and sister-in-law also came along, forming a gregarious and adventurous Newfoundland contingent. A couple from Toronto, a gal from Washington, a couple from Dallas and a mother, her daughter and two daughters-in-laws from Detroit and Settle completed our group of 13. Our B&R guides were two very well-travelled fellows from France and Spain. After a few glasses of wine, we knew that this group was going to be sensational!

On our first morning together, we met our group, guides and local guide (Mohamed Boushri) in the hotel lobby ready to do some city walking and site seeing. Thankfully, the skies had cleared and it was a lovely sunny day. First, we visited the richly decorated Bahia Palace, a 19^th century masterpiece of Moroccan architecture. The beautiful tile work left a huge impression, so much so that we chose some Moroccan tile to incorporate into our new kitchen design at home. We walked through the gardens of Jacque Majorelle and toured the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum including a room full of examples of his fashion designs. Butterfield and Robinson never disappoints when it comes to food and our first lunch as a group was fantastic. We sat at the rooftop restaurant Le Tour au Mur and enjoyed our first meal together. The chocolate cake we ate for dessert was out of this world!

We walked and shopped some more and then returned to our beautiful oasis for a rest. That evening we were whisked away in horse-drawn carriages to the famous Djemaa el-Fna Square. Located in the heart of the Medina, this town square comes alive at night. We made our way through the crowds, past storytellers, magicians and food stalls to a rooftop patio to get a bird’s eye view of the marketplace. Everyone in our group had their phones out, trying to capture the electric scene. Our next stop was dinner at our local guide’s beautiful inn, Riad Kniza. The traditional Moroccan meal was fantastic and the riad was beautifully decorated. This would be somewhere to stay when we return to Marrakech one day. The Trip Advisor reviews of this hotel, are the best I have ever seen.

A fleet of 4 X 4s picked-up our group the next morning, and we set off towards the High Atlas Mountains. At our rest-stop, before we began our hike for the day, we were brought back to reality with a toilet room that was a hole in the floor. I was thankful for the Kleenex in my pocket as no toilet paper was to be found. What a far cry from La Mamounia!! Nevertheless, the views from this stop were amazing and a taste of what was ahead. It was a three-jacket kind of day. I started with my light-weight down jacket, briefly put on my raincoat and ended up in my windbreaker. My compact hiking backpack held it all, plus my water bottle, wallet, phone and lipstick. We met our guide for the next few days, a local Berber named Rashid. Rashid set a fast pace as we scurried behind him up a path to a mountain ridge overlooking several valleys. Everyone in the group took many pictures that morning, blown away by the views. Little did we know, that each day the views would get better and better.

We arrived for a late lunch at the remarkable Kasbah Tamadot, a gorgeous hotel in the Imlil Valley, owned by Sir Richard Branson. Located one hour from Marrakech, this 28-room hotel is stunning. Our room was beautiful, with enough space to unpack, a very comfortable bed (heating pad included) and an elegant bathroom. I loved the homemade hair products and complimentary babouches (slippers). Our group headed out on a late afternoon hike, yet had to return when the skies opened up. Our hiking boots were covered with mud, so we left them at the door of our room. Later on, when we returned from dinner, our shoes had been cleaned and dried! We slept with the window open and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. The early morning call to prayer from the local mosque reminded us that we were far from home.

My favourite day of the trip began with a delicious breakfast. Members of our group raved about the breakfast tagine, however I was quite satisfied with granola and fruit. We hopped into our 4 X 4s for a short, bumpy drive, over a rickety bridge above a raging river, to the trail head where Rashid was waiting for us. Our trek wound through small Berber villages, up into the mountains. As we climbed, the views became more spectacular. It was a treat to stop at Rashid’s home, perched on the side of the mountain with clear views of the highest peak in North Africa, Mount Toubkal. Rashid’s children delighted us all, as we tried to communicate with simple words and hand signals. The steep drops surrounding the fenceless patio, did not seem to worry Rashid. His children knew their limits and stayed safely away from the edge. Moroccan tea, almond butter spread and fresh bread reenergized us for the rest of our climb towards lunch. It was a glorious sunny day as we continued on our way, waving good-bye to the villagers who had welcomed our group. This week was a school holiday in Morocco so we saw lots of children. We were climbing to an altitude of 1,500 m, for a total of 12 km round trip. Two muleteers and their mules appeared to give a lift to those who needed a break.

In a small village, nestled into the side of a mountain, we arrived at a rooftop patio, with a gorgeously set table. It was from this vantage point that we perhaps had the loveliest view of the trip. The high mountain tops were snow covered adding to the beauty, while the warm sunshine was icing on the cake. Platters of Moroccan food were set before us, as we basked in the awesomeness of the moment. Soon it was time to begin the return trek to where we started our day, yet first we had to do a little more climbing. Rashid led our group on a trail through a field of boulders, over a ridge and soon downwards. I never know which is harder- the upwards climb or the downhill hike with tired legs. What a relief it was to see our 4 X 4s waiting for us, ready to take us back to our mountain retreat. Paul had wisely booked a massage for the late afternoon, as I curled up with a book, resting for our next adventure.

At dinner, we had a special visitor, an American-Moroccan woman named Amanda Mouttaki. Amanda generously told us her story of coming to Morocco after meeting her Moroccan husband while she was on a family holiday as a teenager- it was fascinating! She is now a freelance writer, entrepreneur and speaker. Amanda has a fabulous travel blog called MarocMama. If you have any questions about travelling to Morocco, they will be answered on her blog. Amanda runs a foodie tour business in Marrakech for travelers who would like to sample food in the Medina and beyond and not get sick. Her company is called Marrakech Food Tours. Amanda’s presentation and another delicious meal, were the perfect end to the perfect day.

I was sorry to say goodbye to the beautiful Imlil Valley, as we hopped in our 4 X 4s and began a 4 ½ journey over the High Atlas Mountains towards Ouarzazate. The drive was winding and nerve-racking, as we travelled along a narrow road, with steep mountain valleys below. The shoulders of the roads at the top of the mountain pass were snow covered. I was glad to have my daytime ginger Gravol tablets to combat motion sickness- I never travel without them! Just as I had reached my limit of winding roads, we stopped in a village and met Abdul, our guide for the next few days. Abdul led us through a small village’s communal farm, sharing facts about life in rural Morocco. A few of us became guide groupies, trying to keep up with Abdul so as not to miss out on what he had to say. Others were content to walk at their own pace, while others enjoyed following the group and taking pictures along the way. We were encouraged to walk at our own pace and take in the scenery. Eventually, we came upon a beautiful collection of canopies, pillows and short tables- a surprise picnic, hosted by the hotel where we were staying for the next three nights, Dar Ahlam.

Following another delicious meal (thank goodness for all of the hiking), we had the option to tour the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ait Benhaddou. This fortified village is an example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and the set of many well-known movies including Babel, Gladiator and Jesus of Nazareth. Paul and I had spa appointments and continued onto our hotel.  After driving through a rural village and then over a bumpy, rough driveway, we arrived at a simple looking building and stepped into a sparse hallway. We weren’t sure if we were disappointed or excited. We were shown to our room, at the top of a narrow staircase. A fire was lit, and as we got settled into our charming room, we started to feel at home in this lovely Kasbah. We quickly unpacked and took advantage of the free laundry service provided by the hotel.  It didn’t take long for us to realize that we were in a one of a kind, special place. 

We met our group in front of the roaring fire in the main Great Room for cocktail hour, sharing tales of windswept ruins, revealing massages and unique rooms.  This part of the trip held many delightful surprises including decorative henna treatments, a camel ride and a hilltop candlelit sunset cocktail party, to watch the sun set over the desert with the High Atlas Mountains in the background. The hikes through the Almond Valley and Valley of Roses were remarkable, giving us glimpse into life in this part of Morocco. While hiking, we crossed several rivers, stepping on stones and boards, drawing on our best balancing skills. Our guide, Olivier, gallantly walked into one of the rivers with his boots on, offering a hand to the eldest woman in the group. We ate more meals in special locations, including a picnic beside a gorge, in the hotel’s garden and in a tented dining room. At Dar Ahlam, the staff strives to create a unique experience for each guest. We felt like we were on a special retreat with friends, as our group had bonded and we easily enjoyed spending time together. After six adventure filled days, we were all sad to have our adventure come to an end. We raised a glass (or two) to toast our fabulous week, with promises to stay in touch and travel again together in the near future.

It was an extraordinary week in a gorgeous country with a wonderful group. Butterfield and Robinson did it again, providing us with memorable experiences in an exotic location, that we could never have found on our own. I hope to return to magical Morocco sometime soon!