The writer, TV presenter and adventurer’s new book sees her starting over in Morocco – she talks breaking barriers, Bogart fantasies and life on the outside…
Your new book, My 1,001 Nights, begins with you starting over in Morocco. How did that happen?
I went from being a CEO, running a UK quango, to cycling Africa on the Tour d’Afrique – 12,000km across four months. I left the rat race for a bike race. Then, when I signed up for a new adventure, running the Marathon des Sables [a 251km desert race], I moved to Marrakech to train. I thought I’d be here five months; it’s now five years.
What was it that made you stay?
Morocco is only 14km from Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar, but it’s a world away. One minute you’re in the Sahara climbing the dunes, the next you’re in Fez exploring ancient medinas. Parts in the north even look like Switzerland, with chalets, pointed roofs and snow. Then there are the magnificent, frantic cities, such as Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains, where clay-built Berber villages cling to ledges.
Do you feel like an insider now?
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