Sunday, July 29, 2007
Day Eleven; Toubkal Refuge To Marrakech
Looking Back Towards The RefugeIt was a nice, gentle descent, and we stopped at Sidi Charamouch for another drink. I went to the rather smelly squat loos behind the shrine, and was rather traumatised to see a complete goats skin discarded nearby!
Sidi CharamouchWe carried on down the valley, one of the blokes had hurt his knee descending Toubkal so was taking his time. I stayed at the back to keep him company! Lunch had been prepared on a stony river bed, in the shade of a walnut tree, and after this, we said goodbye to our muleteers and cook, Omar.
AremdAll that remained was a gentle descent past armed to Imlil, where me, Sandra and Heidi grabbed a quick cuppa whilst we were waiting for our mules to bring our bags down tot the minibuses. Then there was the drive along the switchback mountain roads to the plains, in the bus I dubbed the ‘Marrakech Express‘. The sharp, jagged mountains gave way to flat plains and olive groves, and mules and donkeys gave way to cars and mopeds. It seemed a million miles away from the High Atlas. Marrakech is also very hot, lacking the cooling mountain breeze.
We arrived back at our hotel, and the first thing I saw was a Moroccan guy leaning casually against the check in desk, wearing an official Daraboud- Marathon des Sables jacket!!
Shop in ImlilWe found a nice French restaurant set in an open courtyard for dinner, which served alcohol- the selling of alcohol is prohibited within the old city walls, and some of our group felt the need to indulge! I had a pizza and chocolate pudding, which was delicious.
I shared a room with Sandra, and although the air conditioning was rather noisy, it made a difference sleeping on a bed with sheets!
Labels: Aremd, Imlil, Jebel Toukbal, Marrakesh
