We are safely home at last after a varied, marvellous trip, with Morocco one of the major highlights.
First of all, congratulations on your company Experience It! Tours. It was such a pleasure to deal with you and Ruth, with every detail arranged in such a friendly way but always so thorough and professional. I am sorry that it was not possible to meet you – I was not surprised to hear from Namir that you are a fellow Christian. We are so pleased to recommend Experience It! Tours to anyone we tell about Morocco as we could not think of a better way to travel in your country.
We were thrilled to have such a comprehensive tour with Namir as our excellent driver. He looked after us wonderfully well throughout; he was so knowledgeable, interesting and forthcoming on so many subjects and we were so grateful for his safe driving, all his good care and attention to details, and his friendship. And thank you all for making it so easy to change our accommodation in the Sahara. Kasbah Tombouctou was a delightful, comfortable alternative which we did appreciate.
There were so many highlights for us but here are a few:
Casablanca: The beach with all the activities, particularly all the boys playing informal soccer; the Hassan II Mosque. We liked the Club Val D’Anfa with the fresh sea view.
Rabat: We appreciated our short time there and were very impressed by the scale of development, as we saw elsewhere in Morocco, e.g. the light rail installation in Casablanca.
Volubilis: Made so interesting by our good guide Hamid. How well the Romans chose their site in the beautiful valley.
Fes: We loved this beautiful, interesting city with the soft sand coloured buildings complemented by the mauve jacaranda trees. Excellent meals, especially in the private home restaurant, Dar Hatim I think it was called. Azddine was a very good, thoughtful guide and the Riad Jaohara comfortable and attractive.
The drive over the Atlas Mountains was most memorable, as were the two Gorges. Altogether superb scenery, lots of interest on the roads, and we admired the ancient water system still in use today.
Marrakech: The lovely Riad Moucherabieh was a delight, as was the vibrant city. The amazing Marjorelle Gardens were a highlight, I thought. Just a comment about our very knowledgeable guide, Said – elderly people may need an opportunity to be in the shade, preferably sitting if possible, when he is talking for some time. This may not be possible with large numbers but could be with small tours. Said was very good and informative though and we did appreciate his guiding.
And riding camels can be an age problem too I found (thank goodness David didn’t attempt it!); but we did love the experience of the desert, another highlight.
We found the Kasbah and Riad accommodation most enjoyable throughout the trip and we did enjoy the delicious Moroccan food. It was just a pity that we were not always eating enthusiastically in spite of Namir’s good advice – we are told that New Zealanders are particularly susceptible to stomach upsets.
It was a wonderful trip, thank you all. All good wishes for the future with Experience It! Tours,
David and Ann Booth