December 2024

In December, our humans were going to Marrakesh in Marocco. The city is located in the southern part of Marocco and is famous for its archtecture and the medina - an old city centre inside a city wall. Check out the Google map of Marrakesh here and of Marocco at the bottom of the page.

Click each photo to enlarge

Above Marocco, December 2024

We left Dublin on an Aer Linus flight bound for Marrakesh. We were all excited, and McBear was deligthed to announce that this would be a new country added to our list of visited countries. In particular, he was excited because it would mean we had now arrived or departed 12 airports in Africa.
"McBear, you are making lists...again!" Roger pointed out.
"That's right," Tom agreed, "and don't forget that some of the airports in Kenya hardly count as airports - they were nothing but a strip of grass."
"Well, we landed... safe! That's enough to classify a runway as an airport."
Looking out the window, we could see the famous Atlas Mountain Range stretching for hundreds of kilometers in the horizon.

Marrakesh, December 2024

We arrived the Menara Airport just outside Marrakesh. Marrakesh is a popular tourist destination, and the city has built a new terminal. Our hotel had sent a small coach to pick us up, so it was easy to get there.

Marrakesh, December 2024

We would be staying at the Riad El Hara just outside the old city wall of Marrakesh. Marocco is famous for its riads - basically, it means a house with apartments built around a central courtyard.

When we arrived, we were welcomed with some lovely, warm tea. Here, we are sitting at the bottom of the courtyard on typical Moroccan cushions waiting on our tea.

Riad El Hara, Marrakesh, December 2024

Marrakesh is also famous for its architecture. Even our hotel had some great architectural features like this bear sized balcony. We believed this hotel could only have been built for bears.

Marrakesh, December 2024

We had a huge room - a suite. Roger was content as there was plenty of room for him on one side of the double bed. We had a bit of a discussion, because Roger believed there was plenty of space for the rest of us on the other side of the bed...
Irving, who was with us, proposed we could vote on it. Roger didn't fully agree...

Marrakesh, December 2024

From the roof of our hotel, we could see the Atlas Mountains in the horizon. The tallest peak in the mountain range, Toubkal, reaches almost 4,200 meters.

Marrakesh, December 2024

We spent the following days exploring Marrakesh. We walked along the great old city wall, that surrounds Marrakesh. Here we are at one of the gates. When Roger realized this was a gate into the world famous hotel, La Mamunia, he got all excited and wanted to do a visit.

La Mamounia, Marrakesh, December 2024

The hotel La Mamounia playes a part in several films, incl. the Netflix drama series, "Inventing Anna".

When we got to the entrance, we had to go through a security check, which was fine, except... no cameras - apart from mobile phones - and no bags allowed! Oh, no! We had all been put in a bag. Panic was spreading among the bears, but thank God our lady human grabbed Roger and pulled him up from the bag. She had grabbed Roger by his leg so he was hanging down, dangling. The security man seemed a bit surprised, but... he gave Roger permission to enter. Our lady human also grabbed McBear, so at least we'd be represented by two bears...

La Mamounia, Marrakesh, December 2024

We sat on a couch waiting on our coffee.
"Phew, that was a close call!" Roger said in chock.
"Agree," said McBear. "Now, let's order some coffee to calm down..."

La Mamounia, Marrakesh, December 2024

We also sat down at the hall with all the photos of famous people having visited La Mamounia over the years.
"I must be the biggest celebrity bear ever to have visited La Mamounia." Roger believed.
"Yeah, from now on guests will bring their own bears. Can you imagine the number of bears sitting in the La Mamounia?" McBear said.
"There will be bears everywhere." Roger agreed. "There will be bears on all seats in the lobby."
"There will be bears in the restaurant - and at the swimming pool," McBear added.

Marrakesh, December 2024

We went on a visit to the Bahia Palace. The oldest part of the palace dates back to 1867.

Marrakesh, December 2024

The palace was divided into sections depending on its function. The sultan, Abu Ahmed, lived here with his four wives. They all had rooms of equal size.

Marrakesh, December 2024

One of the other days we went to the old El Badi Palace. This palace dates back to the 1500s.
"The walls look fairly fragile," Tom noticed.
"Well, I suppose they are made of clay, and clay does not last long compared to stones," said McBear.

Marrakesh, December 2024

Here we are at the Koutoubia Mosque minaret. Normally, we associate minarets with round towers, but in Marocco the minarets are squared. The Koutoubia Mosque minaret is no less than 77 meters tall.

Marrakesh, December 2024

Everywhere around the streets of Marrakesh we saw cats. They didn't seem scared of people, and many places we saw food bowls. Somebody must be feeding the cats. This cat had found a lovely seat outside a restaurant, and nobody tried to get rid of it.

Menara Airport, December 2024

Then it was time to return to Dublin. We packed our gear and got a lift from Riad El Hara to the airport. At the lounge we were looking around to find suitable couches. Our humans pointed towards a green and a red couch and said we could sit there. However, when we got closer, there was this huge male cat lying on the couch right in front of us.
"A cat in an airport lounge? What's he doing here?"
We decided to let him sleep and sat down on the green couch.