Sept. 1, 2023

Touring Morocco: Learning From Azdean's Experience

Touring Morocco: Learning From Azdean's Experience
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Destination Morocco Podcast

Azdean spent the summer of 2023 researching attractions, riads, hotels, restaurants and activities in Morocco, gathering information to give Destination Morocco clients an even better, more authentic experience.

He and his team also captured hours of audio and video footage, which is being rolled out on the Destination Morocco podcast and the new YouTube channel.

All in all, it was a lot of logistical planning that put him in the shoes of his clients: figuring out where to go, what to see and for how long.

Today Azdean and Ted Cragg, the podcast producer, chat about the tour experience and how listeners can relate when it comes to making the choices for their own tours. From food stops, temperature, driving times, everyday costs, to famous sights and more obscure ones, there is lots in this episode to help you gather ideas and suggestions for your own itinerary, and get a behind the scenes look at Destination Morocco.

We're also excited to announce our first Live Q&A session with Azdean, coming up on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at 9 am PDT/12 noon EDT. We're keen to get more interaction with our listeners and hear your questions about tour planning to Morocco.

Visit destinationsmorocco.com and click the button at the top to find the link to this live event. You can send questions in advance, observe as an "Audience" member, and even request to join us live on the show! 

It's the first of recurring monthly events, taking place the 2nd Wednesday of each month. If you are picturing your own Moroccan adventure and have important, urgent questions about anything from costs and safety to food and accommodation, get them answered with Azdean at our live Q&A's.

Do you dream of exploring the enchanting land of Morocco?

Destination Morocco is your ultimate travel experience for those seeking luxury and adventure. We specialize in crafting bespoke itineraries tailored to your unique tastes and desires.

If you're a discerning traveler who values an immersive, curated adventure, visit
www.destinationsmorocco.com, and let us bring your dream Moroccan vacation to life.

Learn more about Azdean and Destination Morocco.

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Transcript
Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Destination Morocco podcast, the show that takes you way to the beautiful country of Morocco. I am your host, azadeen Al-Mustakim. In each episode, we explore Moroccan culture, history, attractions and activities real and practical information coming from experienced travelers and native Moroccans like myself. And now let's go exploring.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back to another amazing episode with Destination Morocco podcast. In today's episode, we have the one and only Ted, the producer of the show. It does an amazing job. So welcome back, and with the heavy back, ted. It's always incredible to chat with you and in today's episode we're going to go over my experience. I just came back from Morocco and that's what's going to be the topic Things that I've seen, witnessed, experienced, so there's so much to talk about in the cover in this episode, ted. So welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thanks, nice to be back. It's been a fun summer because you've had all these amazing audio recordings live on-site on location in Morocco from the summer and I've had the chance to put it together now and do something that's really fun and creative. We've been looking forward to this for like over a year, so it's been really neat.

Speaker 2:

Oh, absolutely yeah, I've been looking forward to it and it's a lot more difficult than expected to be, and that made it a lot more fun.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah. Well, that's the challenge too and a lot of podcasters for sure are still figuring this out of trying to capture, like live audio on location and do it so that you know it's not too noisy and there's going to be some background noise, which is part of the fun and the ambiance, but it can't take away too much from the dialogue. So it's a learning process but it is fun to do it.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 3:

And same too, you know, because for your tour, I mean, we got to go to Morocco in February, my wife and I and our two kids, and then all this time, of course, I've been looking forward to your experience, going back after all this time and we chatted in June while you're on your way there and you're in Frankfurt, right at the airport and on your way, and, yeah, and everything's happened ever since. So that's for this episode. We thought, you know, we kind of give a summary of your experience, but mostly about how you put together your trip and the tours, because a lot of people listening, you know, they're thinking about what would our itinerary be and how do we choose where to go and what to see and do? And you were in the exact same position putting this trip together and, of course, you did two tours, basically to the south and the north.

Speaker 2:

Yes, putting it together was definitely challenging because there were 10 of us, you know, for the tour of Morocco, and then the south, and then we did Marrakesh by itself, me and my team, so quite a bit of you know, a few people actually. And then the thing that we didn't knew, that we have never done before, which is videotape everything. So and that took us, you know it took quite a bit because we had no idea I personally had no idea how much time it takes to set up and, you know, to put everything back and then record and so forth. So it was time consuming but very fortunate and grateful we had so much in video. So everything that we have in audio we also have in video. The video part is going to come up sometime in 2024.

Speaker 3:

So tell us a bit, just a bit of an overview of where you went in the nature of your two big tours.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my goodness, let me see if I can. Well, definitely, marrakesh. We are based in Marrakesh, so we did quite a bit in Marrakesh, probably one week in terms of recording. We went to the square, I mean, obviously it's very popular. There's so much to cover the soup, the market, the shops. It's just incredible. As you've seen and heard in the last few episodes, we did not really finish the attractions and things to see in doing Marrakesh. It's just, it's a lot. Yeah, so it's. And then we did the south. We started with the south. We went to Tlevet, which is my village. We worked there for two days and we did a Mazarek experience, a Burrera experience. We spent the whole day in my village, actually with my neighbors, and some parts was recorded in our house, my grandfather's house, and that's normally where we used to spend our summer time, in that house. So it's just a lot of memories. And then we went to Aitibon Hadoo. We did some recordings and we did the site visit as well. And then after that we went to Dad's Valley and, as you can see, we did with Mehdi. We actually did three recordings in Dad's Valley. There's so much to see in Dad's Valley I did not know For us. Most of the time we just stop at the canyons, but there's so much stuff to see. You can spend easy three days without getting bored with a lot of activities. And then we went to Merzuga the same thing. There's so much stuff to see in Merzuga versus just spending one day. If you have the luxury to do that, spend more time. There's so much stuff to see. We went to the nomads, we went to some caves. We did just incredible, incredible trip. And then we went to yes, we've been there, we've been to Skorau, we've been to many other places. I mean, the weather was very hot, then what is it? Then we came back through the Atlas Mountains, then back to Malakash.

Speaker 3:

So that was roughly 10 days, wasn't?

Speaker 2:

it Two weeks actually. If you include Malakash it's two weeks. The trip was 50 days. We were on the road for 40 days. So yeah, I mean the schedule was just was very difficult, but I'm glad we got it done. And then we did the north side.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so where did you go? Where?

Speaker 2:

did you start there? We started in the Savio and we stopped at Women's Corp. In Women's Corp we stopped at so many different places in so many different locations. The one in Savio stands out, the one in it, the one in it stands out as well. So it was a lot of information, just incredible, incredible experiences. Then we went to see, obviously in Savio, what do you do in Savio? You have to see exactly, you have to stop probably on that. So his hospitality, him, his wife, his kids, you know, jeffrey, the staff is just incredible. The experience was just. I mean you have eaten the food. I mean the food was just wow. So the sour was definitely very good to us and we did the tour as well. In Sour we have very good local guide. And then after that we did Kazablanca, and obviously you cannot do Kazablanca without Khalil.

Speaker 3:

So he's the guide at the mosque.

Speaker 2:

Yes, the guide at the mosque. We spent about two hours with him. And then I mean the information that he had shared with us, the stories. It's just. I cannot wait for the listeners to listen to that episode.

Speaker 3:

Me too.

Speaker 2:

And then we did a robot. A robot normally for the guests, for the clients, they do a short piece of what we have experienced. In our case we did the whole thing. So robot was just incredible. We had an amazing experience at a restaurant that we go to all the time, we send our clients to, and the local guide again was just incredible. And after that we went to Assela. Assela was good, it was nice and chill. Then we did Tangier. Tangier was just amazing, amazing. So we did the Hercules Caves. We did quite a bit and then after that we did Fes, fes, always just beyond incredible.

Speaker 3:

Now, did you go to Chef Shaouen first, or did you go?

Speaker 2:

from.

Speaker 3:

Tangier straight to Fes.

Speaker 2:

No, we went to Chef Shaouen and then we went too fast. My experience in Chef Shaouen, again, just beyond incredible. We normally stay at the Darsh Shaouen, but this time they were booked, but they were very nice enough. They let us record a podcast episode inside. We had lunch, the management staff just beyond the hospital Just incredible experience. And again, we were very lucky with the local guides. All the local guides that we had through the trip were just above and beyond. So amazing, amazing experience. Then we did Fes. We stayed in Fes for four days, and four days in Fes is just not enough. Personally, you need maybe two or three months in Fes. We did record quite a bit, I think, in terms of podcasts. Probably we have maybe three to four episodes just in Fes. By itself, there's so much to talk about, so much to cover. And then, obviously, we went to Mkines. There's a lot of attractions that are closed in Kines. However, we saw as much as we could, but again, the experience was amazing in Kines. Then one of the last stops on the north side was the Widium Hotel and Resort In the South Coast of Mkines. It's quite a bit of a drive below Widium, which is not popular with a lot of the clients, but it's just an amazing destination and an estimated destination. My resort was the biggest surprise for me in terms of luxury, in terms of accommodation, in terms of hospitality. Everything was just top-notch. I mean, granted, there is a five-star, but still Is this in the Agafai Desert? No, no, not the Agafai, this is in Biliuidem. It's a popular one with the locals, with the Moroccans. Everybody knows where Biliuidem is. It's just like a massive, massive dam, but there's the river. It's just really very nice, very romantic. A lot of people go, you can take boats, you can do jet skis, you can do so much stuff. It was very hot, but the place was just beyond incredible. We did quite a bit of Instagram lives and this one is on Instagram. If you go to the destination, you'll see it. It's on the tree. They were very gracious, very helpful, very nice.

Speaker 3:

So then that brought you back to Marrakesh after that.

Speaker 2:

Yes, it brought us back. We were supposed to go to the waterfalls, but it was just not enough time. We extended one more day with the north side of Morocco, so it's like 16 days, but it was still just not enough time. So, much to see, it was just incredible.

Speaker 3:

So 16 days to do that whole north tour.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and we still missed a few spots.

Speaker 3:

Had you ever done a tour of this scale without the recording part of it, but just on your own? Or in the past, have you done something like this? No, not like this.

Speaker 2:

I mean, it's been four years since I've been back and well, we were supposed to do the north and the south in two weeks, but then Amaran got sick so we had to cut it short. We did eight days. We covered the north, we went to Mersuga but we're supposed to go to the other side, the coast and side, but then Amaran got sick and we had to cut it short.

Speaker 3:

How was he this time, I was wondering about that, like with the pace and everything, and the weather, sure. What was his experience like?

Speaker 2:

He talks a lot, he complains a lot. It's so funny. I told him that I needed his help and this is before going to the trip and I said, hey, look, you can record and you can work and make some money. And he really liked it. But then we did three recordings and then he was like I asked him say hey, are you ready for the next one? And he just looked at me but in the end he's like hey, how's it been? I'm just a kid? And he just I laughed so hard and I said you're right, don't worry about it. But he had a lot of fun, he had an amazing time. It was incredible.

Speaker 3:

He's a good age to do it, because he'll remember a lot for sure. Oh, yes, yes.

Speaker 2:

And he was like next time we go in we're not going to go any tours. I want to go see my cousins. Yeah, that's a good point. I don't want to be traveling for a while.

Speaker 3:

Well, how did you decide on which stops to make and the timing for it all?

Speaker 2:

That's a really good question. Actually, we you know it's me and the team In this, they're a little bit more experienced than I do, but I know like first you have to give it more time. If you go into fast, fast needs, if you can three days average shift, show in two days. Then if you can two days because you don't want to be just packing every day moving around hunting. Also, one thing that I realized a lot of clients have been saying there's a lot of driving. You know, when you look at Google Maps and stuff, it really doesn't do justice because the country is bigger than when it looks like on the map. Yeah this is number one then you have to keep in consideration the road conditions, then the speed limit. So if you think you know from point A to point B is gonna take you four hours, in fact it's gonna take you probably minimum of six hours. So you have to plan accordingly.

Speaker 3:

What? What was your transport like?

Speaker 2:

The transport because there was, there was ten of us. Yeah, we use the sprinter, the sprinters in Morocco. I had no idea they're different than the US the sprinters in Morocco. They're lacking one of the most important component when it comes to Comfort, which is air suspension. None of them have air suspension, so it feels like you are actually riding a truck and the chassis is a truck. I've seen it and want to Mercedes dealership because we want to see if we can get some. But then I realized when the time comes, that vehicle we have to skip. We cannot add that type of vehicle to the fleet because it's just not even including the ones that we used so Well, it's good for you that you could try that out then.

Speaker 1:

Oh for sure yeah, yeah, yes.

Speaker 2:

So the plan is, you know, for us, comfort, safety first. So if we were to do something like that, we're not gonna put 17 passengers, because that's what a lot of people do. We'll probably do 12 to 13. That way all the passengers have enough space and comfortable. Yeah, because the way that they do it, it changes everything. Especially, you have 17 seats, but then when you look at the trunk, you cannot fit the luggage for 17 people. So it's very tricky. So option number one is definitely to get it from Europe, and obviously Germany is the number one we're to get it from. So that's when the thumb comes, that's what we're gonna get it from.

Speaker 3:

Hmm, I remember the van that we were in. Of course there's just four of us, so, and there's dress our guide, and abt our driver, and they're like two bench rows so you could fit, I think, five or six people and it seemed comfortable enough. But of course you guys are much bigger group, so you need a space.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, those the one you're talking about that extremely comfortable and I love them. Yeah, and the thing that you can do with the seats is you can either make them and see it look, you know, you can sit looking at each other. Yeah, you know cool what you can. Just have them like, just regular seats. Everybody look to the front where the driver is. But this one you can. You know the middle one you can move it so you can shape it, actually 180 degrees it changes. So you get a chance to talk to the people in front of you versus. You know they are behind you. So yeah, yeah cool, which is really good.

Speaker 3:

How far ahead did you make your bookings and in reservations Not?

Speaker 2:

far enough. Well, here's, here's the reason why because we would expect in love people and some people to come with us and they they did not confirm until last minute. So I definitely recommend booking months ahead. You know, three months, four months, that's the best way to do it. If you go in in December, my months is an average Okay, just to be on the serve side, to get the first pick, because you know we are in almost in September issue, if you want to get something in December, then it's it's very questionable. Yeah they'll tell you they don't have availability, even though they have availability, because that's just how it is so.

Speaker 3:

I'm always curious about logistics for like travel and tours especially, and so like, what would you do for food when you're driving all that Distance? Where would you go for lunch and how do they?

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's a really good question. Here's the good news when you book with a tour company, when you book with us, you know you have your driver, they know exactly where to stop. Yeah, they know the good places and should can be very tricky, especially on the streets and traveling. You get sick. It's something that doesn't go well with your stomach. It's gonna miss a pick to a for sure. So you really really have to be very careful and ask. So you have your local guides, you know. That's why Make recommendations. Then you have us, which make recommendations for you. You know the major cities. You're good, but it's between, like you said, when you're traveling from fast going to Middlete or going to Mirzuga or going to Dead's Valley. That's what happens, because you don't have a lot of choices.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so would you be able to find some places along the road? I remember that's what we would do, but they run a lot, so you really they needed to know where to stop and when, like even if maybe you're not ready. But you got to stop now because it won't be another chance.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, yeah, the driver they know if you have it, you know Like a tour leader with you. They know if you have a driver, they know exactly what to stop and make those stops. And again, because it can get really tricky, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:

What kind of places would you stop at? What would you have for lunch? I?

Speaker 2:

have for lunch. Normally I stay away from meat and I'll tell you why. Because they'll give you something. You know, an old animal, the wrong animal. You may think you're eating a lamb, but it's a sheep and it's an old sheep. So the meat takes a little bit longer to cook. Maybe it's not healthy, it's chewy all kind of stuff. Goats can make you sick because it's very strong. The meat for the goat, it's different than the US. Normally if we have a fresh goat meat we let it sit for a day at least and eat it the next day because it's just, we call it, it's go-out, but not in the sense of the heat, but it's very new, so you want it to cool off for a little bit. You know I do salads. There's plenty of choices when it comes to salad, vegetarian food. Chicken, you know, is good as well, but for me I always stay away from the meat from the boat. Unless I'm on a re-eat or in a city that I'm good.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's different, but I mean it was salad. So we talk about people traveling and you should be careful about salad, because what are they washed? It is.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, good points. Yeah, you're right. I mean, you just gotta be careful. You just gotta be careful. In our case, we were very fortunate because we call before we make the stop. Okay, so that way, when we start for example, let's say we're going from Marrakesh to Kliuato, to the Atlas Mountains there's a place that everybody stays. That's what we call, say hey, you know we're coming, can you make this, this, this, what are those? 10 people? So when we get there, the food is almost ready for us.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

And that's the best way to do it. So you know you can trust those people. You're not gonna get the wrong re-eat or this or that. So it's gonna be good, it's gonna be healthy.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, interesting, that's a good idea. And what was the weather like? Cause you were there in July, mostly, yeah, you know, my goodness, it's so funny.

Speaker 2:

I tell people don't travel in July and August and that's exactly what I felt, but it's because we don't really have a choice because of Amaranth school. But it was very hot, it was really really hot, but it's a different heat than we have here. At least in Houston, it's very dry heat, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So it's tolerable. Like what does it feel like? Is it kind of an oven? As soon as you step outside, Can you do much during the day?

Speaker 2:

Well, during the day, like in the morning, around eight, you know, nine, 10, it's very breezy, very nice. But then it gets hot and it gets to 50 degrees Celsius, 47 degrees Celsius, and that's the equivalent to triple digits in the US. You know, it's 105, 110, 115. It gets really, really hot, especially Marrakech Fass. So yeah, it does get very, very hot. Yes, Wow.

Speaker 3:

So the other big question I'm sure people have they're wondering are prices, especially compared to when you were last in Morocco four years ago. So what kind of prices are there? How much has changed? Do you remember since then? Like, what's it like these days?

Speaker 2:

Well, it really got inexpensive since last time I visited Ted. In my opinion, I would say it just averaged about 30 to 40% increase, and also keeping in consideration that the dollar has lost a little bit of its value in terms of exchange. So that obviously affects when people are buying towards and spending money, but definitely things have gone up quite a bit yeah. Gas prices even worse. Just to give you an idea, right now we're paying about $3.25 for a gallon. In Morocco they're paying almost 15 dirhams, which is like almost $2 for one liter. So one liter in terms of gallon that's times 3.8. Right, it's really really expensive.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and what's the day-to-day impact on the traveler, especially on a tour Like how much do they still have to pay extra things themselves?

Speaker 2:

Well, there's definitely an impact. But if you're just traveling to Morocco for a week, for two weeks, three weeks, you don't see that impact as much. But for us I mean paying for hotels, paying for yards for 10 people I mean it was quite a bit. And then breakfast, lunch, dinner, it was quite expensive. I mean it's worth every penny. When we got out of it the experiences, the network, everything was just absolutely worth it. But it's really expensive.

Speaker 3:

And what's changed from a culture or a society kind of point of view, from your perspective, having had that long gap, right after four years, Did you notice a lot of big changes?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a new generation. People feel different, they look different, they dress different. It didn't feel like the old Morocco where I grew up. It felt very modern, very nice. People are eating out, hanging out more. There's a lot of people anywhere you go there's a different vibe. Definitely, definitely.

Speaker 3:

I remember someone telling us there are a couple of people that they hear a lot more English now from Moroccans.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yes, yeah. Because also, if you look at the educational system, morocco as a country is moving from the French language. So now the kids, early on, they start English, first grade, second grade, which is tremendous. My sister, her son, he speaks English. He's very young, but he speaks the language because of TV, because of YouTube, he watches cartoons in different languages and that's how he picked it up, which is just incredible, super smart kid For the country. I think it's the right move.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and I don't think French will disappear completely either, or at least anytime soon, because we did still hear as much, if not more, French. But the English is definitely creeping up just the last few years. So if people are more comfortable in French, for sure, then you can absolutely get by. A lot of people speak French.

Speaker 2:

Oh, 100%. I mean, the change is very slow. You're probably not gonna feel it, maybe for a few decades to come. So in terms of the tourism, French will always exist. It will always be a very strong language in Morocco. But I do agree with you English is definitely. It's the new hip, the new trend in Morocco right now.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's interesting. I guess my last big question is what would you do differently next time in terms of planning a trip like this?

Speaker 2:

Ah, oh, my goodness, that's a really good question. What I would do different is I need to get permits to film. I did not know that we need those on license because I see in Morocco Morocco is very tough I see tourists have their equipments than we do and they have the freedom to film and video everything. But for us we were stopped almost on a daily basis, everywhere we go. We stopped. They did not let us, the authorities, so it was very difficult. And then we did some drone videos and pictures. But on the south side of Murakona, the north, the north side, it is beautiful. When you have a drone, it's just, it changes the game, it changes everything. So we were very fortunate to get some of those videos and pictures in Kuwait, in Mirzuga especially. So those are the things that would change have permits to film and video everything.

Speaker 3:

Well, despite them stepping in to stop you, you were still able to get some decent video.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Well, again, the system in Morocco, if you're not aware, it's very different. Most people will not like it, but we were very fortunate. You know some people that basically we have to pay them for their license and they'll be with us in the tour. So when the authorities come, we just they show them the permits and you know, that's it. Yeah, because somebody from the agency has to be with you. You cannot just say hey, no, I am with so-and-so, no, the person has to be with you. So, luckily, that's what we did in Marrakesh and we did in other places, and we had an amazing, amazing time. Even with the difficulties, it was incredible.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, would you plan anything different about the itinerary than or the pacing?

Speaker 2:

Oh for sure yes, that's a really good question that, first of all, there were too many of us traveling. I think probably we need to do less people, but if we have to keep the same number of people, I would stay in hotels versus yachts.

Speaker 1:

Okay.

Speaker 2:

The reason is because in summer yachts they don't have a lot of flexibility, they don't have a lot of availability. You can go to a yacht and it's booked. Then when you go to your room, there's some issue with AC. There's something about what you write and they cannot really move you somewhere else. So the hotel has more flexibility in that term. Yeah, so that's what I would do. Then I'll stay an additional day in all the cities we're gonna visit.

Speaker 3:

Well, I guess the last question really is do you have another trip plan? What's the next step?

Speaker 2:

The next step. I really wanna go back in February. February is kind of cold, but we were there in February.

Speaker 3:

It wasn't too bad. Depends a bit on your perspective coming from Canada.

Speaker 2:

Yes, well, yeah, you're Canadian.

Speaker 3:

But I mean, we didn't see snow. There was snow in the mountains. We were there like late February, so you need pants and sweater kind of thing. It wasn't unbearably cold by any means.

Speaker 2:

But I haven't been in the winter time since 1998. So it's been a really long time. I definitely wanna go back. There's a lot of places that we missed. Probably I won't be able to do them in February, but I wanna go back because I wanna finish when we started in Marrakesh and also we have a documentary, a movie, coming up, and that's the time when it shouldn't be finished. I'm very fortunate for everybody who has been involved the camera crew, the staff, sam Sam Everybody has just been amazing.

Speaker 3:

Nice. Yeah, it's a great experience. It's something you know looking forward to for so long and the chance to finally do it and the knowledge that it's really just the beginning. It was a lot of effort and there's a lot of great footage, but it was also kind of a trial run. It was a practice right To then do some more in the future, now that you guys have learned a lot of good techniques and tips, and take it to the next level next time.

Speaker 2:

Oh, absolutely 100%.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's cool. All right. Well, hey, it's been great learning about your tour and in all this time I've been wondering a lot about these logistics how did they put it together and what were the days like in the weather, and just where they stayed, and all this kind of stuff. And I got some bits and pieces, and basically the same as the listeners too, right. So, yeah, it's nice to get a bit more of the fuller picture, because anybody listening can do something similar. You probably won't have a video crew trailing you around, but in terms of itinerary though, it can certainly be quite similar, whether it's the driving or the re-ads, et cetera, and the local tours, the local guides. So, yeah, it's a good insight that this is how Asdeen's done it and anyone else can do it too.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. This is what we do, day in and day out. We make it easy for you. You don't have to worry about anything. You don't lift anything. We take care of everything for you, from A to Z, because this is what we do. We did the tour to make the experience even better for the clients. So, we know where they should stay, we know where they should go eat lunch and we know where they should have dinner. Or this experience versus this experience, what city fancy versus the Soura versus Marrakech and all that kind of stuff. So, and seeing it firsthand, it definitely changes you because everywhere, whether I'm in Edmond Hintu or whether I'm in Merzuga, I say, hey, what if Mr Swift and his family were here? How would they experience Merzuga? Would this be okay for them? Is this luxury enough for them? Is this okay for them? Or do we need to go up to a different level? Let's say, when we go to, we're having lunch at, look at home and say, hey, if Shantung's family is gonna be okay here, are they gonna be taking good care of, with Ms Kinzal being around and taking care of them? So I always put myself in the client's shoes and say, hey, what would it look like? What the experience. The money come and go, but the experience stays with you for a lifetime. So, we miss memories that are gonna last us lifetime. That's what we try to accomplish.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah. So you guys stand up because you're there in person on site, going and researching these things. You're not one of these big tour companies based in wherever United States or Europe. The book's these random tours. This is what you guys do and you know the people and you're from there, so you know what to expect and how to put out all those fires, of course, too.

Speaker 2:

Oh, a hundred percent yeah.

Speaker 3:

Well, this has been great. It's been nice to be back on the show and wrap up your tour, and I think in the next few episodes we're gonna focus on Fez and put some of those recordings together. So we're looking forward to hearing what you got from there and sharing that with the listeners too.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, absolutely, and you know. I just wanna say thank you to the listeners because they made this happen. I look at the reviews and thank you for the reviews. We really appreciate it. We wanna put out some good content for you, that it's valuable, and we're gonna take it to the next level. You know we added a new episode. We have some stuff planned for you, but the point is we want you to have a good time. We wanna make sure that your experience is unique experience. So, and thank you for that opportunity.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and don't forget, we're doing our first live Q&A session. This is exciting because we really wanna do more interaction with listeners and we know lots of people are out there and it's a chance to see, as Dean in particular, ask me any questions. We're doing that coming up here pretty soon in September. What's the date and time?

Speaker 2:

The date is September 13, 2023. Mine, pacific 12 new Easter, so I'm looking forward to it. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Speaker 3:

So if people have questions about planning a trip to Morocco that's kind of the focus right now they can send messages, they can send questions to as Dean. If you go to the Destination Morocco website, destinationsmiracocom, there'll be a button there where you can register, get the link, add it to your calendar, send any questions ahead of time or, of course, you can participate live as an audience member. This is with our podcast recording platforms called Riverside. So they have a neat feature where people can watch us recording because I'll be there too and they can participate as like an audience member. Then they can send those questions and it was neat. If you want to, you can even click a button where you can request to come on the actual show with your video, if you want, and ask your question too. So we'll see who's interested in that. But this will be the first. We're gonna do this every month and kind of build it up over time and see how we like it.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and it's gonna be the second Wednesday of Avima.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so we're looking forward to that.

Speaker 2:

Definitely. Thank you so much. Always a pleasure to talk.