Lower School Expedition to Morocco

24 members of the Second and Third Form plus five members of staff spent their half term in Morocco.  The first two days in Marrakech were spent exploring the souks, being accosted by the crazy snake charmers and soothsayers, water sellers and teeth pullers in the  Jma el Fnaa square, not to mention a visit the noxious tanneries, getting lost in the teaming anarchic back streets, admiring the glorious Menara gardens and enjoying a caliche ride around the city walls.

The party then travelled over the High Atlas to Ouazazate visiting the Kasbah Ait Benhaddou en route, where Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator were filmed. The next day they went through the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs to Merzouga where they picked up camels and trekked into the Sahara desert for two nights in Berber tents.

They marvelled at the clarity of the night sky and the millions of stars, and in the morning sat atop the nearest dune in awe as the sun rose over the desert.  All too soon, they were swept back to Marrakesh through the Todra Gorge,  and Tinehir where they  marvelled at the Berber carpets and drank mint tea in the Kasbah. A final flourish of haggling skills in the souks and the last chicken tajine saw them bid farewell to the pink city and return safely home to a traffic jam on the M25.