Here is the website for the house Mary and I and AE and RE rented in Essaouira for five days after our group travel. Essaouira (Ess a wee ra) the town has a population of 60,000. The site has more photos of the house.
I was the lead organizer for our trip to Morocco. Here’s a list of travel tips I shared with the group before hand:
It appears that we have all recovered from the frustration (Erghh!) of the invoice snafu and moved on to happy anticipation of our journey to Morocco.
Here are some of my thoughts as our departure date comes racing toward us:
If you haven’t read the various packets from OAT, make a cup of coffee or tea (Moroccan mint?) and sit down with a highlighter or take notes. There is a lot in those pages. Also,read all the components that are on the trip website. I just read it over again and there is a lot of interesting information. Click on everything!Here are some highlights that I gleaned from reading the webpage about our trip and booklets:
1. Bring a pillow case for the desert.
2. Flashlight for the desert. I am sure we can share and they might have extras.
3. Clothing: don’t stew about this too much. It looks as if 60 might be an average temperature. JG said she learned from former OAT travelers that our guide will coach us in customs and dress and will take us to a market to buy scarves for head coverings as appropriate. Light weight long Johns may be appropriate for sleeping in the desert but I am sure they will have plenty of blankets.The website has good information.
4. Swimsuit: several of the hotels have pools.
5. You might want to make a copy of the currency exchange “cheat sheet” on the OAT website. I like to print it out and glue it on a little card to put in my wallet so I have it for shopping.
Other thoughts:6. My sister reminded me to mention that if we bring American money for tips or to use in markets, it should be fairly crisp and certainly not torn. I suggest you read what OAT has to say about money.
7. I like to line my suitcase with bubble wrap in case I find a wood carving or ceramic plate to bring home.
Any other favorite travel tips?8. Our guide will most likely have a cell phone, so we won’t need to worry about being isolated from the rest of the world. When my sister and I were in Peru a year ago, one of our travelers got very ill with diverticulitis and had to return home to New Mexico. Corinna, our tour director, stayed in touch all the way, after he left our group, was taken to the hospital and was met by other OAT staff. It was incongruous, as we sat at the top of Machu Picchu, enjoying the blue, blue sky, the intense green of the steep mountainsidess, llamas chewing their cud at our feet and a condor circling overhead, and there sat Corrinna, talking by cell phone to OAT staff in Cuzco and Lima, monitoring our friends’ care and safe departure. It was very reassuring.
9. So much for good intentions. My reading preparation consists of some web surfing, parts of the DK Eye Witness guide book and one book about Harem life in the 50’s. It will be fun to read Moroccan tales during cold winter evenings. Perhaps we will have books among us that we can share on the trip.
10. For what it’s worth, I have read in several places that shopping is much better in Marrakech than Fez.
11. Penny sent an informative website about the Western Sahara territories south of Morocco. This is very controversial. Folks who stayed with a Moroccan family last year said they didn’t want to discuss the situation. Here’s another interesting site.
12. Remember to call your credit card company and/or bank if you plan to use an ATM. They are likely to block the use of your card in Morocco if they don’t know you are traveling there. I had it happen in the USA last summer when I bought gas in IL, Ohio and then by PA they wouldn’t let me charge any more gas, thinking I had a stolen card!
13. Copies of your drivers license, passport and credit card hidden among your belongings provide extra security.
That’s it for now! Take you vitamins and hold on to the handrails.
