Being Cautious in Morocco…Maybe Too Cautious!

Read time | 5 min 

I’m a pretty free spirit always up for a new adventure with new faces, or stumbling upon a place that creates treasured memories when looking back. However, when it comes to unknown and sometimes “less safe” countries, I am extra careful…maybe too careful.

A group of my girlfriends were planning a girls’ trip to Marrakech so of course I said “yes”! After stepping into the sandy streets and weaving our way down narrow passage ways to get to our hostel, we started to explore the city. Super cheap, fresh fruit juice? Check! Successfully haggling in the Souks Markets? Um...sort of check! Many market vendors try to swindle tourists. However, as the only one of the group who spoke some Arabic (along with French), it appeared my language skills were quite useful! In the markets, there was not only haggling, but I had a vendor invite me to a communal lunch at a cafe nearby, another invited me to tea, and my favorite, one asked me to meet his mother! I think all this saying “no” was preparing me for our next adventure on this trip.

Beautiful, detailed pottery in the Souks Markets

Spices and color galore!

Next stop? Riding camels! We had been told by our camel tour company someone would be picking us up in a very busy square not far from the Souks. We were engulfed by the noise of cars zooming by and Arabic being yelled by street vendors trying to push trinkets onto tourists unaware of how ripped off they were truly getting. Next thing we know a tall, skinny man with dark features pulls up saying he’s with a tour company, and tries to push us into his car! There’s no sign on his car nor him to identify the company, and he can’t seem to tell us our reservation name. Some of my friends start to go, and I grab their arms to pull them back! We don’t know this man, we don’t know what company he works for, and he doesn’t seem to know of us. Why would I get in his car?

Chouchou the camel :)

Well here comes the “too careful” part. After I grilled him, I found out he was in fact with the company just under its umbrella…well it was our tour guide. At least we were safe, and now it’s a funny story of that time I almost saved our lives from our…tour guide in Marrakesh – ha!

Did you have a similar encounter? Let me know below! :) 

bisous,

Lyndi


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