The second day in Marrakech was a trip to the high Atlas mountains. It is populated by the native Berber people who still keep a lot of their traditional lifestyle. It was a very interesting trip with lot of beautiful places to stop by. We were taken through a lot of traditions that people still follow such as the importance of the village elder and how they determine a lot of the happenings in the 11 or so villages, the tradition of many generations living under the same roof and so on. It was a very nice tour and the cherry on the cake was a camel ride through the outskirts of Agafay desert. We got dressed in traditional Berber clothes and rode the camels. It wasn't a real desert and more like the outskirts of it. So the adults felt a bit duped. But the kids just lovedddddd it! Once the ride was over, they spent some time petting the camels and taking pictures. The girls kept clamouring for more camel rides and I booked in the last day to spend one evening riding camels 😊
The second day we went to the Le Jardin Majorelle or Majorelle Garden. It is a beautiful garden by French artist Jacques Majorelle which was revived by Yves Saint Laurent. It was a beautiful garden in the most vibrant blue and yellow colors and the most majestic cactii. The blue and yellow colors are trademarked and hence for sale in the gift shop. But since we did not have any check in luggage we were not sure if we would be allowed to bring the color cans in our hand bags. We had to give them a miss but one day we intend to go back and get those out of the world colors.
Once back, the kids and K took to the swimming pool. Once they had burnt some calories doing that, we went to ingest some. 😆 We made our next attempt to reach the historic quarters of the Medina. It was to be a nearly 30 mins walk in a straight line. But we got side tracked, got lost, asked a bunch of people and finally landed in the hustle and bustle that is the Medina. The Medina is not for the faint hearted. I am from India and have seen crowds. But they dont have crowds here. Its a bee hive as has been quoted in many sites. There is utter order in the comings and goings but the busy-ness is something one has to see to believe. There are souks which are the traditional shops which sell a variety of stuff from carpets to bags to spices and garments. We had food in a small shop and made our way to the main square called Jama-el-Fna. This place was an assault on the senses. There was just so much going on from street vendors to street performers to post hotels. There were all sorts of aromas and it was being in a live museum. We went to have some refreshments in a roof top hotel and enjoy the sights from there. As dusk fell and the lights got switched on, the atmosphere turned electric. There was music, dancing, hawkers asking to try their wares. We bought a few souvenirs and took a few pictures and tried to capture this novel experience. We took a horse drawn carriage to our hotel. It felt like home being in the modern part of the town to be honest. The Medina was a bit over whelming for our mild senses 😀
The next day was spent mostly sight seeing in the Medina. It was amazing to see the architecture in Bahia palace, be wide eyed at the beauty of Badi palace and savour the work in Madrasa Ben Yousouf. It was a tiring day. So much so we still had Le Jardin Secret or the Secret Garden remaining for the last day. It was also New Year's Eve. I have never been away from home on 31st December. It was a novel and unique experience for me at least. I loved to see how a different city decked up for New Year. There were people walking with little children around 2230 which is not a sight I get to see in the UK. I did not see any fireworks etc either which is more of the UK tradition. It was amazing to do nothing but stroll around an unknown city, discovering little bits of it, unmindful of a man made construct such as a New Year.
It has made me think if going away and doing something non New Yearly for New Year. Takes the pressure of doing something special. But then its a bit of a landmark to celebrate as well. The calendar itself is changed and not just a page turned. I am not sure which is better. But I certainly enjoyed ignoring it last year.
The next day was to be our last day of tours in Marrakech.
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