Happy New Year!

I woke up with a spring in my step on New Year’s Eve. Four of us from the group had decided to hire a guide to take us up into the Rif Mountains for a half-day hike and I couldn’t wait to leave the city behind and get up into the fresh air. 

My fellow hikers and our guide Mohammed set off at what I like to call Markspeed - it’s a bit like warp speed but quite possibly a little faster - so I definitely got a physical workout as well as the headspace I so desperately needed! 

We had the trail to ourselves and Mohammed did allow us the occasional pause to take in the view, which was also useful in my case for catching my breath! As with all the guides we’ve encountered on our trip, there was nothing he didn’t seem to know and it was nice to learn about the local flora and fauna for a change and to see him interact with the odd local we encountered in the small farmsteads that lined the route. He was a gentle soul and I felt very safe in his hands.

We reached the summit of our walk at around 10am with the sun still low in the sky and mist on the horizon. I made the most of being able to see for miles around me and felt the tension in my shoulders release.

On the way back into town around lunchtime, Mohammed also treated us to a short bonus tour of the medina and I spotted a couple of places that I was to make a beeline for later in the day.

After a tea and a snack in Casa Aladin overlooking the main square, I head back to the hotel to freshen up and then steeled myself for an afternoon of shopping. I’m so bad at it though, that it mostly turned into an afternoon of photo taking and getting lost.

We met back in the hotel lobby at 6pm to celebrate one of our group’s birthdays with cake and then played some fun games until it was time to head back out for one final wander and dinner at the little taverna up the road. 

We made it back to the hotel at around 11:30pm and decamped to Larry and Yoko’s room who had invited us to see in the New Year in with them. I started 2019 in the company of two Japanese, two South Africans, an American and a Scot, toasted their health with mineral water... and was in bed by ten past midnight. All-in-all, a great day!