Morocco
A Trip of a Lifetime Through Fabulous Morocco with Exodus Adventure Travels
Article and photography by Michael Morcos
There is a saying that goes like this ‘don’t blame the baker if the butcher bakes the bread.’ With that in mind, it goes without saying to let the experts plan your dream trips, after all, tour operators know the industry, the destinations, guides, hotels and have the years of experience to make perfect recommendations.
This would be my first tour with Exodus Adventure Travels, and to say the least, our 15-day ‘Highlights of Morocco in comfort’ tour was fantastic, enlightening, complete and went just as planned, scheduled, and promised.
This Morocco tour would include the best-of-the-best, where we would start and end in the vibrant city of Marrakech and do a loop including: Casablanca, the capital of Rabat, Roman ruins, exploring the ancient city of Fez, visit palm groves, historic towns and fortresses, driving to the edge of the spectacular Sahara, through the High Atlas mountains and into the beautiful seaside city of Essaouira and all the while being immersed into fabulous Moroccan history, authentic culture and delightful cuisine.
I had already visited Morocco during a brief stay, a layover connection from lower Africa where I would be on my own to visit Casablanca and Marrakesh. I enjoyed my time there and decided from this experience and all that I have heard about this great kingdom that I would like to visit the rest of this exotic country. It became a bucket list destination that I would fulfill in a grand way!
The experts
Now celebrating their 50th year, Exodus Adventure Travels must be doing all the right things as they not only survived the many decades of changes in travel but expanded and now offer tours on all seven continents with a multitude of offerings and travel styles within many countries and destinations.
In the planning stages, with so much of the world to see, their websites are visually pleasing, very well presented, easy to navigate and provide prices, exact tour dates and plenty of exciting information to perk a travelers’ interest. A click away, guests can have the attention of a knowledgeable staff member while the toll-free number offers a chat with an expert to answer any and all inquiries regarding the offerings.
There was nothing left to chance on this ‘Highlights of Morocco in comfort’ tour and the experts at Exodus made the tour seamless. From ‘a to z’ was taken care of, including preparing us with pre-departure information such as: entry requirements, vaccines (if necessary), what to expect while there, what to pack, flight options, proper travel insurance, and all the little details that take the stress out of traveling.
Our tour included: lifts to and from the airport, all accommodations, local transport, a tour leader, guided tours in the many distinct locations, all breakfasts and some meals, a Hamam and camel ride in the desert.
Our arranged stays all along the way in the many different cities, towns and out of the way regions where spot on. These richly decorated properties were always in the best locations, with attentive personal service. They were safe, clean, comfortable, and relaxing and ranged from charming family run Riads to modern hotels, and all gave a feeling of being true to famous Moroccan hospitality.
Without a doubt, the people around you can make or break a trip. Our group of 13 was made up of singles, couples and a family, and we hit it off at our first briefing and continued bonding throughout the trip with lots of spirited talk about travel experiences as well as our own daily lives back home. With travelers from the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada and Malaysia, there was never any language barriers, and I would consider myself fortunate to have made such great travel companions in such a short time. This I would attribute to Exodus’ client profile as many were repeat guests and have bought in to the philosophy of this great touring company.
Our tour leader Lahcen was heaven sent. He was professional, kind, gentle, attentive, and perfect for our group. Having worked with Exodus for many years and being a native Moroccan, he knew exactly what to expect on this trip and would set up just about everything we needed. Because of his efforts, we would always leave on time, easily find our way to all the accommodations, destinations, and guides, and would enjoy many short stop overs with remarkable scenery. We appreciated his recommendations for restaurants and shops, and he was always able to find pharmacies, shops, and even knew where the next restroom would be. He would even invite us to his family home along the way where we would meet his beautiful children and taste home-made desserts and refreshments.
A great advantage to using a touring company such as Exodus was the ability to meet locals in their own residence, and to be treated to wonderful home-style cuisine. This is something individual travellers would have a challenging time accomplishing, and on the few occasions we were given the choice of going to restaurants or home visits. Without any hesitations, the whole group always chose to interact with families and get a glimpse into their lives. The families appreciated the extra money while we thoroughly enjoyed the authentic cuisine and their dwellings.
Why, Morocco?
The adventure traveler is inquisitive, worldly and is continuously looking for a unique experience. Morocco is such a place, having kept its fascinating culture and rich traditions alive and true. Looking at its geography, not many countries are as isolated as Morocco. Surrounded by two large bodies of water, the Mediterranean and Atlantic flank the north and west while the unforgiving Sahara Desert and the immense Atlas Mountain range adds to its isolation in a corner of Africa giving it an extremely unique ‘island nation’ identity.
Let the tour begin
Highlights of Morocco is a perfect label as on this Exodus tour every day was memorable and every day was also an exciting new day of adventure and discovery.
Whether you like it, love it or indifferent to it, Marrakesh was a rush to the senses through its sights, sounds and smells, and no tour of Morocco would be complete without it. There was lots of energy and in its immense central Square of Jemaa El Fna. We could find stands selling everything from freshly squeezed fruit juice, charcoal pits cooking anything imaginable, to sit down restaurants, souvenir shops and lively street performers and there were even some snake charmers.
A visit to the big cities brought us to the very impressive Hassan II Mosque, in Casablanca, to the capitol of Rabat and its beautiful monuments, gardens and white-washed seaside houses. In the densely populated city of Fez, we would explore the tiniest of alleyways and the incredible tannery district. Also, along the way we would find well preserved Roman ruins, had jaw-dropping vistas, and visit artisanal workshops and factories.
While in the countryside and in the High Atlas Mountains, we would meet locals at the markets, be invited for fresh mint tea in a Bedouin tent and be charmed by musicians playing classic Moroccan instruments in a typical Moroccan village. We would visit Kasbahs and secluded villages, see rugged landscapes and herders with horses transporting goods in the same way as in the past centuries. Taste wonderful delicacies and take in a hot and soothing Hamam in a historic setting all the while admiring the beauty and tranquilly in natural settings.
It was impossible for me to pick any particular event, activity, or destination as my favourite, it would be like asking me which one of my children I liked the most. Perhaps one the most invigorating of them all was the visit to Sahara sand-dunes where we would start a trek in the dark to climb up to the highest point to see the sunrise and then capped off with an amazing camel ride through the dunes to see the brilliance of a setting sun.
The cost of travelling is only relevant when paying for it, this is a temporary moment and in time would be soon forgotten, while the experiences and memories could last a lifetime. With a great itinerary, a dedicated guide, wonderful travel companions and the warm welcome and hospitality of the Moroccans I would have ‘a trip of a lifetime’!
