Nicola and I had a brilliant time - the weather made it pretty
challenging at times, but Mustafa and Mohammed looked after us
superbly. We loved the variety of scenery and places - as you mention,
the only downside is the rubbish in the villages, such a shame. The
meals that Mohammed drummed up on the hillside tracks were amazing - I
am glad we knew that our mule would eat the leftovers because there was
no way we could finish them! The standard of the breakfasts were far in
excess of the bread and jam you mentioned, even in the basic gite which
was freezing - we were warm once in bed, but the temperature in the
living room was a bit depressing after a very windy descent, sitting
wrapped in coats, hats and blankets while we waited for our dinner! The
sleeping bags provided were excellent and we were toasty with our fleece
liners and an extra blanket. We were very grateful that Mustafa's boss
upgraded us to the eco lodge the next night (don't know whether this was
because of the gale force winds on our descent the day before...) - it
was lovely.
We were incredibly lucky with precipitation - although we were walking
in a few inches of snow on day one and it absolutely poured that night,
we experienced no rain during the day until we were lining up for our
farewell photo at our pickup point, when the heavens opened!
Due to the weather, I think I'd describe the terrain slightly
differently - a few good paths, but often we were on very stony ground,
slippery wet mud (oh, that clay does stick to one's boots!), slidy thin
gravel or else just making our way down a hill after rain had washed the
original route away. Occasionally we walked short distances on roads,
which Mustafa was apologetic about, but it was hardly the M6! We took
our time and never felt unsafe, but people with dodgy knees or hips
might need to be careful. Mustafa looked after us very carefully in the
high wind gusts (as a sailor, I reckon at least Force 9 - over 50 mph on
a bare hillside), promising Nicola that he wouldn't let her mother blow
away!
Although we needed to be back in Marrakech on the fourth night, I think
if I were going again, I would prefer to trek for four days and spend 3
in Marrakech, which I found a bit overwhelming, but this is just
personal taste!
Our room in Daar Housnia was lovely, and we appreciated the heating -
the rest of the building is definitely built for summer! There seemed
to be some confusion over our arrival - the manager said we had
originally been booked into the downstairs suite with double bed and
bath in the middle of the room, but that he thought it was more suitable
"for two ladies, not a couple" to upgrade us to exactly the room you had
shown us photos of! The breakfasts were delicious. The wifi was fine
for Nicola's meetings.
