Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech

Arriving at our hotels last night marked the end of our photography workshop with Katrina. As we separated to go to our various hotels there’d been the usual ‘goodbyes’ and ‘good wishes’ but for some, myself included, there is still the best part of two days left because of the way flights had been booked. I did wonder before I left how these ‘spare’ days would work for me but I’d got a guide book with more than a few ideas of how to fill the time. In the end everything fell into place because today some of us decided to meet-up at the Jardin Majorelle, about 25 minutes walk from the Ryad.

So, most unlike me, here are some photos taken at the gardens which I must say were very pleasant and cool with plenty of shade, we also spent time in the cafe which was very pleasant I might add, but there was one highlight here I never expected.

In the middle of the gardens was a building painted a deep royal blue with ornate bright yellow windows and doors painted in turquoise and yellow - the cafe was near this building. It was an absolute magnet for people to come to take their photos of each other, selfies too with many people taking them. The colours here made it perfect for a portrait and when three girls asked if I would take their photo with their phone, I responded by asking if I could also take a photo of them with my camera. They agreed, and so for a while our group took photos of the people having their photos taken. Never before have I seen so many stunningly attractive girls line up to have their photo taken. In reality we photographed only two or three and Monique took their contact details so we could send their photos to them afterwards. No photos here I’m afraid as I don’t have their permission, but you will see one photo taken just around the corner which didn’t require permission from the person featured in it.

Our visit came to an end but we now all had a common need - no, not the loos, but to go and roam the souks and maybe make the odd purchase or two. We decided to take a taxi and we were once again reminded we were in Marrakech as we witnessed taxi drivers fighting over fares (who gets them) and asking outrageous amounts of money to travel even a short distance. I find it all insulting to be honest - this can in no way be described as the ‘character’ of Marrakech, it’s simply greed manifesting as offensive behaviour. There can be no excuses for it.

We left the taxi rank and headed to a quieter place less than 200 meters away where we found a taxi and paid a reasonable rate.Read more