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This week’s sustainable travel podcast sees hosts Juliet Kinsman and Jon Weeks savouring the sights, the smells and the under-the-radar secrets of Morocco.
As we’ve revealed over the course of this series so far, being a more responsible traveller goes well beyond simply reducing your carbon footprint. This latest episode – brought to you in partnership with Intrepid Travel – will show how travelling on a small-group tour led by a local guide can be the best way to unlock a destination – while also ensuring your impact is a positive one.
Go on, be honest, does the thought of a group trip send shivers down your spine? You wouldn’t be alone, but as you’ll hear from Juliet’s own experiences travelling with a group led by Chama, a female guide from the Berber mountains, it can also mean leaving the friction and faff far behind, to be replaced with something far more life-affirming and more delicious. The thousand-holed pancake that Juliet tasted on an intimate visit to a private home is just one of many authentic dishes she sampled as part of the trip.
As you listen to the account of time spent in vibrant Marrakech, Morocco’s fourth-largest city, and hear what it’s like to take a seven-hour direct train journey to Fès, the country’s second-largest city, you too might be converted to the benefits of surrendering yourself to a local expert.
As always, this series highlights how tourism can be a key driver for socio-economic uplift – by spending your money with worthwhile local enterprises, such as the Al-Nour Association in the heart of the Marrakech Medina, where women with disabilities create beautifully embroidered cotton, silk, and linen clothing and homeware, you can make a real difference to the local economy. It’s something to think about whenever you travel.
And talking of travel, we also take a vicarious journey through the Rif mountains to the famous Blue City of Chefchaouen. A top tip for where to stay is a suite with panoramic views of this cinematic cerulean setting at the guesthouse Dar Echchaouen. Now if that doesn’t get you excited about visiting Morocco, we don’t know what will.
