A Family Jubilee from Marrakech, up in the Atlas Mountains, into Sahara desert and to Essaouira at the coast
6 days
Dear Magnhild and Ahmed.
We would like to thank you for our wonderful week in Marocco. We are still in awe, speechless, dizzy and shaken from all our impressions. We hope to stay in this state for a long time. Marocco is such a beautiful country and the people we met during our trip have been incredibly warm and friendly.
First of all we have to mention Ibrahim. He made us feel so welcome and safe all the way. (My aunt would like to adopt him.) We would like to give him our best recommendations. Very trustable, sympathetic and with a friendly, good sense of humor. If he is on his way to Oslo at any time, we would very much like to invite him to visit us.
The riad that we stayed at in Marrakech, Riad d´Airain - was very pleasant, and the people who worked there were very, very sweet. Our meeting with the lady who apparently owned the place (we think her name was Karin?) was different. In our opinion, she treated Ibrahim and Nabil (the guide in Marrakech) quite disrespectfully. But the place in itself was very charming and wonderful. It gave us a soft landing in Marocco.
The guide we got in Marrakech, Nabil (we think that was his name? ) was outstanding. His English was very good, and his knowledge and ability to express his knowledge to us was terrific. His smooth way of keeping the programme without us feeling rushed was quite impressive. We give him our best recommendations.
The drivers were very sweet and competent, especially when driving in the desert. We were very impressed! And during long days of traveling they kept up the good mood with a great sense of humor : )
It was a great journey, from Marrakech, through the Atlas, to Ouarzazate. The hotel in Ouarzazate had a flavor of the Foreign Legion, and we all had nice rooms. The Draa-valley off course made a great impression. The place where we had lunch appeared like an oasis. The arrival in M´hamid, the wonderful Drom Blanc and meeting Maguy who treated us as royalties. The place in itself was very special, and we got a wonderful dinner ending with a delicious French apple pie, and the next morning the breakfast outside in the sun.. Memories from this magical trip that we will keep with us for a long time. Your generosity, .. was exceptional. It was very special to us. And off course, the meeting with the desert, the drive into the dunes, the visit to the nomad-family, and then the bivouac-camp.. like a castle among the dunes, riding on dromedars, the sunset, the music around the bonfire. It seems like a fairytale now.
The drive from the desert to Essaouira was off course long, but still very interesting - to see so different landscapes during one day. Marocco really is a country with many faces. We finally reached Essaouira in the evening, it was dark and windy, and we were very grateful that Ibrahim accompanied us all the way to the riad. That was very sweet of him, and added to the whole experience from traveling with Zbar travel - that we were taken very good care of. The riad, Dar Assalama (www.darassalama.com) turned out to be like a very charming and beautiful place, with an extremely helpful host - Omar. If you ever need a place to stay in Essaouira, we can give this place our best recommendations.
To sum up our experience - it was a magical trip. A beautiful country, so rich with culture that we can just barely touch the surface in one week, good food and finally, very warm people that have left traces in our minds and hearts that will stay with us forever. We have learned a lot, and have enriched our souls and minds with this trip.
From our very first contact with you in Zbartravel, during the time before departure (Magnhild, you were very helpful and friendly and made us feel safe so we could just look forward to the journey), during the trip until we said goodbye to Ibrahim in Essaouira, it was a pleasure to travel with you. Thank you so much.We are not quite spechless, because we have been recommending you and Zbar Travel to our friends.
The Loken Family