I Spent 24 Hours in Morocco

By: KitKat Brown

 

I recently made the crazy decision to spend 24 hours in Marrakech, Morocco. My friends were going to be there for that time and asked me if I wanted to join them. I knew 24 hours would be a bit of an intense experience, but I had always wanted to see Morocco. So, I decided I had to join my friends. 

The experience I had actually getting to Marrakech was a bit of a mixed bag. My flight left on Saturday, March 22 at 6:05am out of London Gatwick, so that meant I had to leave for the airport at the ripe hour of 2:30am. I took the tube to King’s Cross, and then from there I took the ThamesLink to the Gatwick Airport. I ended up making it through security with 5 minutes to spare before my gate was announced. This experience definitely taught me to leave even earlier for the airport than you think. Regardless, I was glad to have made it. I landed in Morocco at about 9:45am, met up with my driver outside, and we were on our way to the Riad, or traditional Moroccan house.

Our Riad was absolutely beautiful. Staying in a place like this is truly a once in a lifetime experience. The house was colorful and spectacular and even had an open terrace. The traditional Moroccan design was inspiring and aesthetically interesting. There is a rich history that accompanies Moroccan Riads, and staying in a Riad is typical of a Marrakech visit. 

What I was most excited to do in Morocco was the desert excursions. A really popular tourist activity that we booked is one where you ride quad bikes and camels in the desert, followed by dinner and a show. After shopping around at the souks and stopping for lunch, we headed to the pickup point, where a big van picked our group up and we embarked on the hour-long drive into the desert. The quad bike experience was both thrilling and unforgettable. I felt like I could have kept driving the bike forever. After we rode camels we hopped in the van again to head to the dinner and show. We ate traditional Moroccan food including tagine and couscous, which was very delicious. Tagine is a hot dish, which was much needed because it was completely freezing in the desert. Then we gathered around and got to watch a fire performance, which included visual effects made with fire and fire-eating. This was an absolutely perfect end to an already perfect day.

Overall, only spending 24 hours in Marrakech, Morocco was a pretty ambitious decision. I figured I had to make it work because, since I am in London, I couldn’t think of another time where I might be able to get to Morocco so easily. I had an amazing trip and I am so happy that I decided to visit, and I would highly recommend this city to other people. The only thing that I would do differently is stay for a longer time!