Camel

As I can’t travel as much this days, because of little Emily, my sister has been exploring more than I am. The last trip was an unplanned one, as she happened to won a competition and with it a trip to Morocco. You can see all the tour details here. So I couldn’t resist but to share her experience 🙂

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#1 Which expectations did you had before you went?
Honestly not many, but that’s because I’ve stopped creating expectations in order not to get disappointed. You need to go with an open mind. But anyway, this time I felt it was going to be a great trip and it was! I can say it was the best trip ever! A big part of that was because we had a really good travel group.

#2 What did you knew about Morocco?

On the 1st day of the year I took the chance to do some research about Morocco and the places I was going to visit. I was completely excited and in love with Morocco. Really anxious to be able to see everything myself live. Regarding what I knew about Morocco, well I knew the language was arabic and french. I knew the typical food was tajines and cuscus. I knew that as a muslim country I wouldn’t be able to drink alchohol and eat pork and that the currency is Dirham.

#3 What was the best moment of your trip?

There were lots of good moments that is really hard to point just one. But I would say 2 highlights were the camel trip and the trip on moto 4 on the dunes. The sunrise over Erg Chebbi was also really incredible and unforgettable.

#4 Any surprises?

There were 2 things that really surprised me. I didn’t had much expectation about the moto 4 tour and I even considered not doing it, but it was absolutely amazing! Driving on the dunes was dream-like. The feeling of freedom and total autonomy was amazing. Just us, the moto 4, the pedals and that amazing landscape around us.

The 2nd one was our guide Mbarek. He was really amazing! He always followed our silly ideas and he even invited us to his sister’s house. He was so welcoming and gave us an amazing tea with dried fruits and traditional sweets. And every time the car would stop he would come and open the door for me like a real gentlemen!

#5 I know you love food as much as I do, so tell me about the food?

Don’t even talk about the food! I think my souvenir from the trip was extra 2kg. I loved everything! From the tajines (vegetable and meet ones), to cuscus, the chicken, the bread with olive oil, the pizzas…. oh the pizzas are so good!

And then the breakfast crepes with jam. Everything was delicious! The dish that surprised me the most was the Tajine Meatballs which comes with poached eggs. Loved it! Then you had the amazing oranges… there’s no better oranges, even better than those in south portugal.

#6 Would you go back?

I would go back right now! As soon as I’ve landed home I wanted to go back. I’m sure I’ll be back at some stage. I can say I was really happy in Morocco.

#7 What would you like people had told you before you went?

I wish Cajuda (our tour guide) hadn’t wrote on the travel book that we should take a backpacking as opposed to a trolley. In the end everyone had a trolley and I was restricted by the space in the bagpack so I couldn’t pack enough warm clothing, such as my polar PJ. In the end I was shivering the whole time in the tent.

#8 Any final tips?

Also I would say you that, for this tours you should pack something more dressy for the scenario where you’ll end up in a nice restaurant, such as we did. Also, even though it might sound obvious, you don’t need sun cream, it’s winter there too so not needed. If you’re travelling in winter time take some gloves and a really warm jacket and a scarf. It’s really cold at night especially in the desert. If you want to drink alchool take it with you, as very few places will sell it. Not all hotels have it.

Don’t forget your camera and lots of free space as you’ll take lots of photos

As for souvenirs, well I had the idea it was cheap and it’s not! They take advantage of tourists and increase the prices a lot. I haven’t seen anything cheap there. It’s all European prices. In the airport the prices are absurd!