Voice of Our Travelers

Resilience and Discovery: A Moroccan Journey Post-Earthquake

“When we awoke on September 9 to read the headlines about the earthquake in Morocco, we were deeply saddened by all the loss of life and damage to people’s homes and property. And we were also ready to cancel our trip that was to begin a week later. Radia of Experience Morocco had done an excellent job with an itinerary that began in Casablanca and moved to Rabat, Menkes, Fes, Merzouga (desert camp), Dades Gorge, Marrakech, Essaouira, and back to Casablanca. When we heard the news our first inclination was to cancel.

Decision to Travel: Insight and Assurance

Radia was reassuring as to the situation in the country. We also reached out to the various hotels in which we were booked and the story on the ground was clear. The devastation was in particular areas and that the economy is so dependent on tourists that they encouraged us to come. But they also clearly put the decision in our hands if we felt any discomfort in traveling there.

The Journey: Exceeding Expectations

We went and are very glad we did. Mustapha, and our driver, Abdul, were great comrades for the two plus weeks in the country. I have done many tours with custom guides and would rate Mustapha’s knowledge, flexibility, personality, and pacing of the trip as among the best I’ve encountered. As for the trip, all of our expectations were exceeded.

A Lesson in Perspective

The big learning for us is that unless the disruption caused by a natural disaster is directly in the area you plan to visit, it makes sense to see what is going on where you intend to visit. And I can say that the places we stayed and visited were very appreciative of our coming despite the news that was flowing to the world on the scope of the damage.”