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- Dec 10, 2023
- ⛅ 12 °C
- Altitude: 32 m
- EnglandWinchester DistrictWhiteley50°53’9” N 1°14’24” W
Marrakesh, final day, 10th December 2023
December 10, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
This is the last (almost full) day in Marrakesh. There are just a few places I want to revisit to grab some shots before heading back to the riad/hotel for the drive to the airport, and the return flight to rainy, cold, windy Manchester.
While wandering down by the Royal Palace area without a camera, I'd spotted a few palm tree-lined avenues that looked promising. As a bonus, I noticed a couple of men resting in the shade from the morning sun - just my photo cup of tea.
When I got back there, the palm trees were still there, but the men had left; probably not gone off to work, but I did get a shot of a workmen checking his phone in the bushes. Otherwise, I restricted my shots to a few grabbed iPhone shots of things other than people, so as not to upset the locals too much.
Being my last day, and with the Moroccan Dirham being a 'controlled currency', which means I can't exchange/use it outside the country, I cashed in 200 Dirham for the princely 18.30 Euros. What I had left I blew on a tajine for lunch (very overrated).
Being a sensible chap, I made sure I was back at the riad for the agreed pick-up time of 6:30pm. Well, that was wasted effort. The driver was late, then it was obvious he wasn't coming to drive me to the airport. I was getting slightly panicky and the staff couldn't give me a straight story about when the driver would get there. 45 mins late, a complete stranger led me to a car driven by a chap from the travel company. The original driver has 'clipped' a motorbike and had to wait there to clear things up.
Marrakesh driving? What can you do?
We got to the airport in okay time, but it wasn't exactly with hours to spare.
The flight back was bearable, even if the landing at Manchester was a bit rough in the heavy rain and wind. The muppets on board cheered the pilot, probably not realising that 'George' did all the hard work.
Then, just as I thought I might be in for a fairly straightforward train ride home, the service was cancelled from York onwards. The staff assured me that my ticket would be valid for another train, but that was cold comfort.
What an awful return leg this was. I'm holidaying in Bognor next time.Read more
Traveler Should have gone to Germany and got a cheap travel ticket. They have some good day tickets which will give you unlimited travel from north to south. The Christmas markets and the large towns would have had your camera clicking all day.
Always fun to read about your travels, Gavin! [Sheila]
Traveler Hi Sheila. And thanks for stopping by again. It was a lovely surprise to hear from you again after a while. I hope everything is good for you. Best wishes, and an early Merry Christmas to you and your family. x