We woke up to the sound of birds singing. Outside our door in the courtyard, a table was set up for breakfast. We were served Moroccan bread and pastries along with tea and freshly squeezed orange juice. All were quite tasty, and we're definitely going to try and find something similar to the Moroccan bread in the UK.
After finishing our breakfast, we scrambled off to meet our tour guide for the day trip to the Atlas Mountains. We booked our tour with Camel 4x4 and unlike other tours we've taken in various cities around Europe, this was a private tour. Once we got to the meeting spot we hopped in Adil's (our tour guide) 4x4 land cruiser and were off.
As we drove to our first destination we passed parts of the new city, which are in stark contrast to the medina. A lot of new, modern looking buildings lined the road. Windows were a much more prominent feature on these buildings but they still strived to resemble the architecture of the riads in the old city.
Soon enough we were out of Marrakech and on the open road. Driving outside of the city was a little less hectic and the roads actually had lanes. Buildings were sparsely scattered along the landscape and while some almost seemed like palaces, others could be classified as shanties. There wasn't a cloud in the sky yet in the distance, through a sort of haze, you could just make out the outline of the Atlas Mountains. They seemed much higher than the Munro's we've become accustomed to in Scotland.
Shortly after, we passed a small town and Adil pulled off the road for our first stop. Camel rides! There were about 6 camels in a small dirt parking lot on the side of the road. They turned out to be a decent amount taller than we expected. To get on, they were instructed to drop to their knees and almost lay down. Once you were on and the guide told them to stand, you were jerked up about 6 feet. R was first then they grabbed a bigger camel for me. Unfortunately, mine looked like it wasn't cared for. Flies covered it's sad face and it was missing patches of fur. R's on the other hand, looked much better.
Soon enough we were out of Marrakech and on the open road. Driving outside of the city was a little less hectic and the roads actually had lanes. Buildings were sparsely scattered along the landscape and while some almost seemed like palaces, others could be classified as shanties. There wasn't a cloud in the sky yet in the distance, through a sort of haze, you could just make out the outline of the Atlas Mountains. They seemed much higher than the Munro's we've become accustomed to in Scotland.
Shortly after, we passed a small town and Adil pulled off the road for our first stop. Camel rides! There were about 6 camels in a small dirt parking lot on the side of the road. They turned out to be a decent amount taller than we expected. To get on, they were instructed to drop to their knees and almost lay down. Once you were on and the guide told them to stand, you were jerked up about 6 feet. R was first then they grabbed a bigger camel for me. Unfortunately, mine looked like it wasn't cared for. Flies covered it's sad face and it was missing patches of fur. R's on the other hand, looked much better.
