Two College teams recently returned from incredible 12 day expeditions to beautiful Morocco. Travelling with Outlook Expeditions, each team had a different itinerary but both consisting of a trekking phase, a project in a local community and chances to rest and explore.

After 24 hours in Marrakech experiencing the extraordinary sounds, sights and smells of Djemaa el Fna and the souks, both teams set off for the Atlas mountains.

Team 1 spent a couple of days preparing foundations for a new building at the primary school in the Berber village of Aroumd, with lots of breaks spent playing with the village children.  They then set off on a daunting four day trek to the summit of Mount Toubkal, the highest point in North Africa at 4167 metres.  The challenges of steep climbing in the heat and acclimatising to the altitude were well met and everyone got to the top.  After all this effort, students had time to relax in Cascades d’Ouzoud, south east of Marrakech.  

Team 2 opted for a trek on a circuit round the Atlas at a lower altitude, whilst also completing a very rewarding village project.  Their trip ended with a day or so in the Atlantic coastal port of Essaioura.

A great time was had by all and eyes were opened to the vast differences in their way of life and culture.  None of us will take for granted the standard of living and home comforts which we have compared to the people living and working in Moroccan communities.

Future Expeditions:  Plans for a 28 day trip to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are already underway for 2017 but we liked Morocco so much we plan to run that again next year too.  We are also planning a 28 day trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica for 2018.  These will be launched at the Freshers' Fayre in September.