Transcript
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If you're thinking about traveling to Europe.
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What I've told people I know is go to Morocco before you go to Europe.
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All of the different landscapes, the architecture you get some of the European feel in parts of Morocco, everywhere you look.
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It's just amazing.
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Welcome to the destination Morocco podcast, the show that takes you way to the beautiful country of Morocco.
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I am your host Azdean Elmoustaquim.
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In each episode we explore Moroccan culture, history, attractions and activities real and practical information coming from experienced travelers and native Moroccans like myself.
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And now let's go exploring.
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Welcome back to another episode of Destination Morocco podcast.
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One of the great travel stories We've heard from a guest on the podcast, just over a year ago now, was with Rachel Metcalfe, for whom Morocco went from being a remote, distant idea to, a month later, sitting on airplane on her way to Casablanca.
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The chance to grab a plane ticket, the time, the funds everything was quickly falling into place.
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But with this gear settling motion, rachel quickly realized that a comprehensive, worthwhile tour of Morocco was a big task to organize by herself.
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If this was to be a once in a lifetime trip, she wanted to make sure she did it right Now.
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Granted, we typically encourage our guests to book well ahead of time, many weeks at least, so that they have a better choice of accommodations, activities and prices, but when Rachel got in touch with us, we did our best to include as many of her interests and priorities as possible.
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Most of all, we made sure she had a good time and particularly like this episode for its attention on Tangier and the north of Morocco.
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Rachel spent some quality time there and although it's an extra drive further north from Chefchaouen and Fès, she'll go a long way to convince you need to add it to your itinerary.
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The lighthouse that you see in the cover art of this episode is actually the Cap Spartel lighthouse, which sits on cliff towering thousand feet above the straight of Gibraltar.
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When you stand there, you can really imagine being at the edge of the world.
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Rachel's episode had a lot of great detail about her riad in Fès and the colors of Chefchaouen, and she was also One of our guests who met Khalil the guide in Casablanca, who you have just heard on our last episode.
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This is a great episode to get you inspired for some Morocco travel in 2024, and I think there's a good chance that Rachel, too, will be going back before long.
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This is the last episode of 2023 and I wanted to thank the listeners for a wonderful year of great episodes and great tours.
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We covered a lot of ground this year, including getting our podcast studio set up in Marrakesh and the two months of live recording that I did this past summer.
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There'll be more of those coming up in the new year, as well as a new documentary, Kingdom of Colors, which follows my family's trip around Morocco with some stunning visuals.
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You can see the trailer now on our website or at Destination Morocco YouTube channel.
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Speaking of the website, it is now a comprehensive home for the podcast.
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We have moved everything in house.
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You will find lots more info about the podcast and the team behind it, individual pages for each episode, complete with all the links and resources, featured episodes, our monthly live Q&A replays and a section where you can request to be a guest yourself.
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If you have been to Morocco and would love to share your insight and perspective, we would love to have you as a guest on the show.
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And lastly, we continue to roll out new small group tours for 2024.
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These tours give you the intimate feel and flexibility of a private tour like Rachel's, at an affordable price.
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It opens up our tours to even more people to experience the charm and unique character of Morocco.
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Visit our website DestinationsMorocco.
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com.
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That's Destinations with an S, Morocco dot com.
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Click on the small group tour link at the top right to learn more and see the tour schedule.
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For now, we have two tours per month, one for the north side and one for the south side.
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They start in April 2024 and then the rest of the year.
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And now it's over to Rachel to take us away to Tangier and beyond.
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Welcome to the Destinations Morocco podcast.
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In today's episode we have Rachel Metcalf.
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She visited Morocco late September and she's here today to share her experience with us.
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Rachel, welcome to our podcast.
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Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
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Well, I am 36 years old, single, live in Dallas and decided that I was going to travel internationally this year, whether it was alone or with others, and hence my Morocco trip solo.
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And how did you decide about Morocco and why Morocco specifically?
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Morocco was kind of random.
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It came about when I was on a trip to see a friend in LA earlier this year and I was just talking about how much and how important it was to me to get out and travel this year.
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I was talking about Morocco in reference to a couple tile vendors that I work with and he was like just go to Morocco.
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I was like yeah, yeah.
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And then maybe a month later I spoke to the ticket.
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I had nothing planned.
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I called him like guess what I did today?
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And he was like no way, so that's how it started.
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You're very brave.
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Did you do any homework prior to deciding and getting the ticket?
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You just bought the ticket and say you know what?
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It's time for me now to gather some information and see what I'm going to go, what I'm going to stay, what I'm going to do and all that type of stuff.
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How was that process for you, rachel?
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There was no preparation.
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I bought the ticket and then kind of started freaking out about how I was going to make the trip happen and what I was going to be doing while I was there.
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I don't really enjoy planning either, so there was just a couple months of minor freakouts where I was like oh my goodness.
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I'm booked and I really want this to happen and I don't know how it's going to.
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Oh, my god.
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Ok, you know, just to give you an idea, for me and my family when we plan to go to Morocco just as a family, not a vacation trip well, it is vacation, but we take at least between nine months to a year to prepare.
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So in your case, you just, my goodness.
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Well, luckily I did book the ticket at least.
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I think it was probably four to five months ahead of time.
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Oh, I see.
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So after I booked the ticket and kind of realized like I don't know anything about Morocco and I don't enjoy researching and planning, I thought, ok, well, my research will be a podcast, and I listened to a lot of podcasts, so it was not a big deal.
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Searched, it, came across yours, started listening to it, and then, as the trip was getting closer, I thought I've got to find somebody to do this for me.
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I don't know how to do it, I don't want to do it.
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I have to find somebody to do this for me.
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And so that's when I reached out to you.
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Well, I'm very glad you have reached out to us and it's really have been a pleasure and a delight to work with you.
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We enjoyed creating your itinerary.
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It was a lot of fun for me and Sam when we created it.
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Every time when we do an itinerary it really feels for me personal because I put the last touches into it and I hope you were happy with the itinerary.
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Yes, I love the itinerary.
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I love all the places that we went.
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We really covered a lot in the seven days that I was there, so that was nice, even with the itinerary, I'm a little more laid back, so when you send it to me.
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I was like this looks good, Okay, here we go.
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But luckily it turned out perfect, Like I could not have asked for a better trip.
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So I'm thoroughly pleased and have recommended you all to anybody who asked.
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Thank you, thank you.
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We really appreciate that, rachel.
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We absolutely appreciate it, and I know that you had some concerns before you traveled to Morocco, and I know your parents as well, so that's why I said, hey, you know they, you give them myself.
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I mean, I'll talk to them, I'll stay in touch with them, just in case For me.
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I'd like to stay right there, but I'm also invisible, so just behind the scene.
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I check on you every day and you know we have that little group, so in terms of communication, I think that really adds quite a bit of value, just for us to be on the same page, just in case something happened or something.
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We're aware of it right away.
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Your perception of Morocco before you got to Morocco, when you got to Morocco and throughout your trip how was it?
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Prior to going to Morocco, as I've probably made pretty clear, I didn't have a huge perception or even really frame of reference.
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I work with a couple of tile companies there, so I had some idea of like aesthetic lease, what it might be like, but honestly, when I got there, it was so much more and just blew my mind.
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Everywhere you look there's something beautiful and handcrafted and just so intricate.
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The entire trip was aesthetically pleasing and amazing, and then ahead of time too, I think, with like going back to what you were saying about staying in contact and making yourself available.
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For me, that was really invaluable, especially for a female solo traveler who is going to a place that they know relatively nothing about.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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I was nervous about what that would be like, how safe it would be or whatnot, and when I got there it was totally fine.
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Everybody was minding their business, doing their own thing and relaxed and it wasn't an issue.
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So I think I thought it was gonna be more like when you're on the beaches in Cancun and people are approaching you and won't leave you alone.
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And when I didn't experience any of that and I felt safe.
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Oh that's.
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I'm so glad to hear that.
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So the way that you have traveled, rachel, when you said you wanted to travel by yourself, we have never had a solo person travel by themselves.
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So this is a very unique experience, the one that you have done with us, because you're a solo female traveler, but you did not do it in a group like in previous episodes.
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You did not do it with other friends, it was just you, and I think the way that you have done it, in my personal opinion, is the best way to do it in many different ways, because we do save you a lot of time and we do save you a lot of money.
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You know a lot of money in terms.
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Nobody's gonna take advantage of you.
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You're not gonna overpay for any of the things that you see or buy your shop.
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When you look at your itinerary, get to do a lot of things that you would not be able to do on your own.
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If yours was seven days, somebody could have gone with the same itinerary.
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It'll take maybe three weeks, maybe four weeks to get that.
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So we understand you're very busy and you have a lot of things to do and take care of and you also have limited time to be in Morocco, so we try to maximize on everything in terms of the activities, in terms of things to do.
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Even when you have a half day, there's nothing to do.
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We filled it for you because we want you to experience even more of Morocco.
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That's what I would recommend for female travel to do it with a tour guide, with a tour leader, with the whole package, everything it's fully loaded.
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In each city, you get your local guides in, you have your tour leader with you throughout, when they pick you up from the airport, all the way until they drop you off at the airport.
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You have your car, you have your driver with you 24 seven, all the entrances, anybody wanna go.
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It's already prepaid, so you don't have to get in line.
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You don't have to.
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Nothing comes out of your pocket, except if you wanna buy some stuff for yourself, family or gifts, your lunch that's the only thing that it's not included and also what we try to do in terms of experience, since your breakfast and dinner is included, we don't like to have you have dinner at riyals or hotels most of the time, unless we don't have a choice for the desert, for example, aitbin, haddoor, some other places.
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So how was that for you, rachel, in terms of the places that we have picked for you to stay and also the food and the variety of it?
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Well, first I would say that I do agree that if you're traveling solo I even personally feel like in a group doing it with a travel guide is a hundred and ten percent worth it in terms of not wasting time.
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You can cover so much more and there's just a more laid back feel when it's been worked out ahead of time.
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You can enjoy yourself.
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You're not trying to figure out where you are, what to do, working through like language barriers and all that kind of stuff.
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So it was worth every penny spent to have that service and ability to relax and really let somebody take care of the logistics and if there was an issue, work it out.
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I would never travel without that again, especially to somewhere where isn't maybe as westernized as other European countries.
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As far as the places that I stayed, I kind of understood what a Riyadh was and when we first started I had ideas of these fancy hotels and whatever.
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And I am so happy that you chose what I was doing.
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You knew what you were doing and now, talking to other people, I'm like no, you want to stay at a Riyadh.
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Like they're amazing, they're beautiful, they're all different.
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It's the experience.
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If you don't do it that way, then you're not even doing it right.
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I agree, 100% yeah.
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And then in terms of the food, it was amazing.
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Some places, especially like Tanti, or had a very Mediterranean style food, which is my preference anyways, and so that was even better, and I love the different flavors that they use that they don't do here in the States.
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I mean, you know, the sweet and the savory kind of in one.
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And then one of my favorite things is all the small tapas, or like little salads, that they bring out ahead of time.
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That could have just been my meal.
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All 12 of these little plates are mine, so I love the places that you chose for me.
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Thank you.
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I don't recall eating really often in the Riyadh, except for breakfast.
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That's the whole point, because we wanted to experience that local cuisine.
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Because when you travel you stay at hotels all the time, so you know you get used to the same food at the hotel anywhere you go.
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It's almost predictable.
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But then when we do it outside, just like you said, fast is different.
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I felt the same way when I went to Fast and they gave me these 12.
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I counted them, they would.
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In my case they were 11.
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And I was like how am I going to eat my Tajin if I go through all of this?
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I mean, it's just a lot of food, but it was an amazing experience.
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So that is the goal is for you and the guests to experience the local cuisine, the local culture, because every city is different.
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I know you'll love Tanjiri was one of your favorite cities to stay and I totally agree.
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Tanjiri has developed in the last two decades the most, in my opinion, in Morocco.
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It was just perfect, picturesque.
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I loved it.
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It had some European influences for sure, architecturally and it was clean.
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That had the old world feel.
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And then, being on the ocean, it just in my mind.
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I can just see myself there.
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It was everything that I want in life.
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So that's how I feel about Tanjiri.
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And then the food took it to a whole other level.
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Yeah, so it's just really beautiful.
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And then you know, obviously, having the breeze and then the mountains in the background, I mean there's not much more you could ask for, in my opinion.
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And also you went in September.
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September is the weather is not really that hot, but it can be still.
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But how was it for you?
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I know it varies from the mountains, from city to city.
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How was the weather for you throughout your tour?
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It was really nice.
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Pretty much the whole time there was no rain, so that was never an issue.
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It was sunny and it wasn't hot.
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It was, I think, maybe 65 degrees, probably on average most of the time.
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So oh nice.
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You bring a jacket, you have it on part of the day or not, so I don't know if it's like that all the time, but it was pretty perfect.
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Excellent.
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So how was the Moroccan culture for you and the Moroccan hospitality?
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As an American, how did you feel as a tourist?
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How did you feel as a guest in a foreigner country?
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The culture was again like I didn't really have any perceptions or expectations really, but it was definitely more conservative in general speaking, which and I'm just talking about from the way people dress and act outside in public and you know, it's not maybe like America, where it's a little louder and rowdier and in your face.
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So that was really nice Everybody, you know, relaxing and being polite and in some of the busier places it was crazy how there are people everywhere and it almost had like a New York feel.
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But again, I had my guide.
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I didn't really feel overwhelmed because he knew where he was going and so I just followed the whole time.
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I felt pretty safe.
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I think had I been there by myself I would have been just as safe.
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Without a guide I would have been just as safe.
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I just probably would have gotten lost.
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And then I then I don't know how safe I would have been, but I didn't ever feel like in danger at all.
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Okay, that's glad to hear.
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Yeah, what type of advice would you give somebody who's trying to go to Morocco and they're in the process right now of gathering the information, doing everything online, then listening to podcasts?
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What would you tell them?
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I would tell them to call you and just let you handle it and then go and relax and enjoy.
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I mean if there's certain spots they want to see that can be worked in.
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Each place is so different and some are very robust, and going on and like Fez, there's no way you can navigate Fez in a timely manner without a guide.
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It would be impossible.
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I agree, absolutely yeah.
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If you're not going to use a travel agency and a tour guide and local guides, I think you're going to end up not getting the most out of your money and you're not going to really be able to enjoy yourself as much.
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So I would say research the places that you want to go, because unless you have unlimited time, you probably can't do everything.
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But then, beyond that, let somebody else take care of the logistics and you have more time to really take in each of the places and pay attention to the details and enjoy all the nuances and things that make each place special.
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Absolutely.
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What was your best moment or your biggest surprise when it came to Morocco?
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My biggest surprise was the desert Marrakesh.
00:20:16.066 --> 00:20:22.602
Oh, agafa, yes, oh my god, yes, I've seen the pictures, I've seen the videos when you put on a Moroccan outfit.
00:20:22.843 --> 00:20:23.885
Yes, that was fun.
00:20:24.396 --> 00:20:28.654
You look completely different, you completely transform and it was a lot of fun.
00:20:28.654 --> 00:20:32.144
So everybody was caring to you and I love the experience.
00:20:32.144 --> 00:20:35.634
And the thing is, agafa is not really that far from Marrakesh.
00:20:35.634 --> 00:20:38.154
You know you can go, you know it's about an hour away.
00:20:38.154 --> 00:20:41.226
You can go have a really good dinner, romantic, nice.
00:20:41.226 --> 00:20:43.738
Then come back to your yard in Marrakesh.
00:20:43.917 --> 00:20:54.262
Yeah, it was amazing and beautiful to see and then where we went, how the restaurant was Right there on the edge and the stars and nice.
00:20:54.462 --> 00:20:56.788
I was surprised for a couple reasons.
00:20:56.788 --> 00:21:18.300
I was not planning to get on a camel and it worked out like when there was a camel there, it's like, okay, I guess we're doing that and it was awesome, and so many people, so many of my friends and family, just couldn't believe it and we're so excited and they're like, oh my gosh, I want to do that and what do you even?
00:21:18.300 --> 00:21:34.202
I feel more surprising is when I come back to Morocco, I actually now do have this interest of staying in the desert and Doing that tour experience, which, for me, I just didn't really think was in my interest After being there it is.
00:21:34.202 --> 00:21:37.826
The other thing that I really liked was the hemorrhage.
00:21:38.207 --> 00:21:40.734
Oh my god, yes, yes, tell us about that, please.
00:21:42.018 --> 00:21:43.279
I could do that every day.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:44.383
It's so amazing.
00:21:44.643 --> 00:21:46.887
The herbs, the smell, the aroma.
00:21:46.887 --> 00:21:49.844
Oh you know the pampering, wow, yes.
00:21:51.756 --> 00:21:55.429
Even I mean we couldn't really understand each other, but I didn't care.
00:21:55.429 --> 00:21:57.154
I was like, just do whatever you want to me.
00:21:57.154 --> 00:21:58.338
This is amazing.
00:21:58.338 --> 00:22:00.384
It felt great, it was very relaxing.
00:22:00.384 --> 00:22:03.515
If I lived there, I would do this at least twice a week.
00:22:03.515 --> 00:22:07.928
I mean it's really relaxing and just a different experience.
00:22:07.928 --> 00:22:17.436
It's crazy being in those marble rooms with the big tub of water running and just washing the hair and everything it was it's incredible, great experience.
00:22:17.477 --> 00:22:22.696
You know, and also, when you're traveling, a lot of people don't pay attention that you actually do a lot of Driving.
00:22:22.696 --> 00:22:29.535
And when you do a lot of driving, you sit in on the car for hours and hours and you know, with time it gets to you, you really do get tired.
00:22:29.535 --> 00:22:33.321
So you do need that half a day just to unwind, just to relax.
00:22:33.321 --> 00:22:36.969
I always recommend at least one time to do a spa.
00:22:38.415 --> 00:22:51.674
And that's another thing, something that, as a solo traveler, it was nice to be able to rearrange or move things around with the schedule, because I wasn't with a Group or especially a big group.
00:22:51.674 --> 00:23:08.898
So if I wanted to get started at 11 instead of 9, I could do that, and when we were at a place that may be like, okay, I saw, I'm interested, I'm ready to go, I didn't have to wait for 10 people to ask questions and whatever, because I was traveling alone.
00:23:08.898 --> 00:23:13.106
I could say you know, skip that, I can Google that and.
00:23:13.186 --> 00:23:14.549
I want to say it's a challenge.
00:23:15.635 --> 00:23:17.142
That's the advantage that you have.
