Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains

Can't remember anymore how many times I visited this lively city but I still love it! Love to eat a good tajine, the Moroccan salads, a nice mint tea, while enjoying some belly dancing. The vibes of the city, the Djema el Fna square, the souks... can stay there for hours! And then seeking some quietness in the Atlas mountains, driving through by quad or 4X4 jeep, it always stays and adventure.

Highlight: I love the hammam, combined with a good black soap ritual, an intens scrub and ending it with a massage, while the steam is taking over your body. And an overnight in a tent in the Atlas mountains, under the beautiful starry sky.

But it also has a down side... the people living in the Atlas mountains struggle really hard, the poverty is heartbreaking.

Children running dangerously down the hills, next to the 4X4 jeeps, sent by their parents, in the hope they will get something. Families living in poor conditions, houses that don't keep out the cold nor the rain. They could use a lot of material, a lot of help... While we were there we helped a school by giving them school material but also some food, toys and boots for the rain.

And in the city itself it breaks my heart to see all these street animals, cats & dogs, wondering around, trying to find some food. The locals always look as if I'm crazy if I take one of them in my arms :) But good news for the horses that are used as one of the main tourist attractions, the visit of the city by horse carriages: there are now associations that give rewards to the owners that take well care of their horses, so the situation starts to improve a little bit.