We had a terrific time — Morocco was exciting and new and our trip was all that we expected and more. We saw a lot and learned a lot. We enjoyed every aspect of the trip. Unusually for this kind of experience, there were literally no downers — the trip was well organized and went off without a hitch and we saw what we wanted to see and more. The accommodations, particularly in Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Fes and Marrakech were terrific. Those in the desert (Erfoud, tent in dunes, Dades), except for the Berber Place (which was great), were less so, but were certainly acceptable, but nothing special. The hotel in Essaouira was fine, but not in the same class as the riads or the Berber Palace. Of the riads, the one in Marrakech was the best — a really, really wonderful place to stay. The one in Fes was equally elegant, but the service wasn’t as personal.
We had great city guides, although the guides in Marrakech and Essaouria were more interesting and more interested in helping us understand the city and culture than was the guide in Fes. The guide at Volubus fell somewhere in between the Fes guide and the Marrakech and Essaouria guides in terms of quality and interest.
But in the end, what made the trip a wonderful experience was Namir. I’m not sure that we have the words to describe how really great we think he is. He was attentive, seemed to genuinely care about us as individuals and about our experience, and he was in his own way, a fantastic guide. Simply put, he made the trip! It has to be difficult to pick up new people ever week to ten days and make them feel as if they were special, but Namir clearly is able to do this. It must also be difficult to accommodate with good humor and grace different personalities and people with different expectations every week to ten days, but, again, Namir clearly is able to pull this off as well. He was absolutely wonderful and became, in a very short time, a good friend. He has an extraordinary ability to anticipate things and to really show off Morocco. (As but one of many examples, early on he asked if we wanted to eat lunch in restaurants with menus or in more authentic (in the sense of places where Moroccan’s would eat) places. We chose the latter, and learned a lot! At one place, he purchased vegetables from the market, fresh lamb from a butcher, had it ground, mixed spices with the cut up vegetables and had it cooked in a tagine. On couple of occasions he did the same thing, bought fresh bread and had the meat grilled and served in bread. We had a ball — I should tell you that my wife is a nervous traveler, particularly about hygiene and food but she was quickly won over by Namir and came to trust his judgments about what to eat, and what not to eat.) You know all of this, of course, since we can’t be the only ones who have had the privilege of spending a couple of weeks with Namir. But his basic humanity and goodness was a real blessing in our lives — literally.
Thanks for providing such outstanding service. As you know, selecting an agency off the internet and then trusting the people involved with a lot (for us) of money with high expectations of a great travel experience is fraught with risk. We’re really grateful for your assistance and for the high quality experience you provided us.
With gratitude,
Jim & Linda (USA), April/May 2014