Results tagged “Casablanca (Morocco)” from The travels of Mary Loosemore
So, finally, my Morocco via Madrid - April/May 2010 set is "done" on Flickr, with mini diary entries composed en route.
Phew. A long job, particularly getting them (approximately) mapped.... It's been lovely having Phil uploading his photos too at the same time.
Part 1: DIY London to Casablanca via Madrid
* Day 1: London to Madrid
* Day 2: Madrid
* Day 3: Madrid to Casablanca
Part 2: Intrepid's Colours of Morocco tour
* Day 1 (DIY day 3): Casablanca (arrival day)
* Day 2: Casablanca / Rabat / Meknès
* Day 3: Meknès / Volubilis / Fès
* Day 4: Fès
* Day 5: Fès / Midelt
* Day 6: Midelt / Merzouga / Sahara Camp / Erg Chebbi
* Day 7: Sahara Camp / Merzouga / Todra Gorge
* Day 8: Todra Gorge
* Day 9: Todra Gorge / Ouarzazate / Aït Benhaddou
* Day 10: Aït Benhaddou / Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m) / Imlil / Aroumd
* Day 11: Aroumd / Essaouira
* Day 12: Essaouira
* Day 13: Essaouira / Marrakech
* Day 14: Marrakech
* Day 15: Marrakech (departure day)
You may spot that some of the evening photos have snuck into the next day's archives..... I forgot to adjust my camera clock at the start of the trip and I can't be bothered to update all the EXIF data. Sorry!
Clearing the digital decks before my next trip....
... "belatedly" in the sense that we got back fine, as scheduled, on 09 May - but I'm only just getting round to updating my Where next? page to relocate the details of Mary and Phil Go Mad in Madrid and Morocco to make space for (eek!!!) this summer's expedition: Wild Frontiers' Himalayan Journey from Lhasa to Kashgar.....
But back to the background on April/May's trip to Morocco via Madrid! Photos still to do....
Why
... to soak up some sun, sea, souks, Sahara, summits and ancient sites and ruins in the company of my husband.... yes, our first stab at a Mary-style holiday together.
When
April/May 2010
How
On Intrepid's Colours of Morocco tour (map), (trip notes).
We were going to get the train down - there was an article in the Guardian Travel section a while ago that we both remembered, by The Man in Seat Sixty-One, and the facts / figures / links are all on his website. Basically we should be able to leave London on the Friday afternoon and be in Casablanca for the 6pm group meeting on the Sunday at the start of the trip.... but there are overnight engineering works on the Paris-Madrid route on the Friday/Saturday we'd need to travel.
So it's plan B: easyJet from London Gatwick to Madrid, two nights in Madrid (at the Hotel Agumar) and then easyJet from Madrid to Casablanca. All for a lot less then Royal Air Maroc's direct flight from London to Casablanca. We're also using easyJet to fly back from Marrakech.
Itinerary
Part 1: DIY London to Casablanca via Madrid
- Day 1: London to Madrid
- Day 2: Madrid
- Day 3: Madrid to Casablanca
Part 2: Intrepid's Colours of Morocco tour
- Day 1 (DIY day 3): Casablanca (arrival day)
- Day 2: Casablanca / Rabat / Meknes
- Day 3: Meknes / Volubilis / Fes
- Day 4: Fes
- Day 5: Fes / Midelt
- Day 6: Midelt / Merzouga / Sahara Camp / Erg Chebbi
- Day 7: Sahara Camp / Merzouga / Todra Gorge
- Day 8: Todra Gorge
- Day 9: Todra Gorge / Ouarzazate / Aït Benhaddou
- Day 10: Aït Benhaddou / Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m) / Toubkal National Park / Imlil / Aroumd
- Day 11: Aroumd / Essaouira
- Day 12: Essaouira
- Day 13: Essaouira / Marrakech
- Day 14: Marrakech
- Day 15: Marrakech (departure day)
Google map
Information
- Wikipedia: London, Madrid, Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Volubilis, Fes, Midelt, Merzouga, Sahara, Erg Chebbi, Todra Gorge, Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou, Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m), Toubkal National Park, Jebel Toubkal, Imlil, Atlas Mountains, Aroumd, Essaouira, Marrakech, Morocco
- Wikitravel: London, Madrid, Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Volubilis, Fes, Midelt, Merzouga, Sahara, Erg Chebbi, Todra Gorge, Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou, Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2260m), Toubkal National Park,Jebel Toubkal, Imlil, Atlas Mountains, Aroumd, Essaouira, Marrakech, Morocco
- Lonely Planet: Morocco
- FCO travel advice: Morocco
- BBC country profile: Morocco
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Historic City of Meknes, Archaeological Site of Volubilis, Medina of Fez, Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador), Medina of Marrakesh
- Metro de Madrid (English version) - which includes a handy metro map and travel planner
Guide books and reading material
- Morocco (Lonely Planet Country Guide) - Paul Clammer (2009 edition)
- The Rough Guide to Morocco - Daniel Jacobs (Author), Daniel Lund A (Contributor), Kate Hawkings (Contributor), Hamish Brown (Contributor) (2010 edition) *
- Morocco (Footprint Handbooks) - Julius Honnor (2008 edition)
- Map 0742 Morocco/Maroc (Michelin National Maps) (2007)
- The Rough Guide Map Morroco (Rough Guide Map: Morocco) (2009)
- Prion Birdwatchers' Guide to Morocco - Patrick Bergier and Fedora Bergier (2003)
- The Caliph's House - Tahir Shah
- A Year in Marrakesh - Peter Mayne
* we took this one with us, not that really need a guide book when you're on a guided trip. Still, it proved handy for those times we had free to DIY. Not that we always had it with us mind you. "Remember Rabat!"
Languages
Weather
Forecasts (www.accuweather.com)
- Madrid
- Casablanca
- Rabat
- Meknes
- Fes
- Midelt
- Merzouga
- Todra Gorge
- Ouarzazate
- Aït Benhaddou
- Imlil
- Aroumd
- Essaouira
- Marrakech
- Home (for comparison):London, United Kingdom
Recent articles
- BBC: Dozens die in Morocco minaret collapse: At least 36 people were killed in Morocco when a minaret collapsed at a mosque in the central town of Meknes, officials say.
It turns out that there are overnight engineering works on the line from Paris to Madrid on the Friday we need to travel, so our beautiful plan to travel from London to Morocco by train (and ferry) stumbles at the first hurdle.
Undaunted, we've devised plan B: easyJet from London Gatwick to Madrid and an overnight stay in Madrid (booked into the Hotel Agumar, conveniently close to Atocha train station), which should then get us back on The Man in Seat Sixty-One ...'s (train) track.
But it's never that straight forward.... Renfe and RailEurope both seem to be suggesting that there are no trains from Madrid to Algeciras either! DeutscheBahn looks more hopeful, and if all else fails the easyJet flies from Madrid to Casablanca, and the current pricing is ~ EUR 20 each.
For comparison, London to Casablanca with Royal Air Maroc was coming in at ~£450 per person....
Update: We've gone for the easyJet option, easily extending our hotel booking one more night, and we've just this minute booked our MAD-CAS flights. Sorted!