Last week, I spent the most glorious six days and five nights in Morocco. It was my first time traveling to Africa unescorted. In the past it has always been with family, or meeting up with a group, but this was an adventure I was excited to take on. So before this long awaited trip, weeks were spent doing research, planning excursions, and solidifying activities. Never in my life have I printed out so many confirmations prepping for anything, but trust and believe it was well worth it. And because my Tillie senses tell me that Marrakech will be the next hotspot, I’m going to give you all the tips either picked up along the way, or provided beforehand that came into use.
A stern no, then walking away, will suffice… sometimes. No is a word in my vocabulary that rarely gets used. While Shonda Rimes decided 2016 would be her year of “yes”, I struggled with saying “no.” In Marrakech everyone trying to sell you something will hassle you to stop, gander, and buy. This seems like an easy task to avoid, but when you’re walking a street with taxi stops, performers, henna artists, juice stands, food stalls, sit-down restaurants, souks, something in you will be on the verge of cracking and giving in. But don’t. Don’t stop and touch their stalls. Don’t stare too long at what they’re offering. Don’t sheepishly tell them no and allow them to drizzle you with compliments as they are adorning your hand with henna. Smile, say, “no, thank you”, and keep it moving. It will be hard, but if you can get through it, you’ll come out stronger. If you don’t think you can do, get a reputable guide before going.
Negotiate before proceeding. Never, ever, EVER get into a cab before agreeing on the price. Never, ever, EVER get henna before agreeing to a price. You will be taken for a literal ride. I learned the henna lesson the hard way, the cab lesson I was informed of before. Prices do go up at night, but still negotiate. A price that would typically cost 20 – 30 dirhams during the day, shouldn’t cost 100 dirhams at night. Maybe 50 – 60 dirhams. One day I took a ride from roundabout Bab Mellah to Jardin Majorelle and it cost me 20 dirams during the day. Cabs at the Jardin Majorelle area tried charging me 150 dirhams for the ride back to roundabout Bab Mellah. I said, “I’m not paying more than 30 dirhams.” He went down to 100 dirhams, but I was too tired to haggle more, so I walked to the end of the main street, far away from Jardin Majorelle, and found a taxi to return me for 25 dirhams. Location was obviously key.
Henna artists will walk up to you and start going to work. Immediately removing your hand, saying “no”, and walking away will solve it all. My first day there, I hadn’t changed my money. A young woman walks up to me, rattles something off, and starts drawing. I tell her, “Sorry, I have no money.” She flings my hand and scoffs at me, before marching away. That following Sunday, I’m learning to cook at House of Fusion Marrakech, when owner Edwina gives myself and her other pupil time to roam Jemaa el-Fnaa while we waited for the lamb tagine to finish cooking at the local hamam. As I’m reciting the henna story to the other pupil, an artist walks up to me and begins. This time she lavishes me with compliments, then asks for my name. I give her my stranger danger name “Sarah” and she hennas it in Arabic, adds a little glitter and asks for 400 dirhams. Of course she doesn’t get 400 dirhams, but I agree upon giving her 100 dirhams as, “I’m a poor student.” She said she would hold my 70 dirhams, while she waits for me to pull out the remainder. I have to wrangle the 70 out of her hand to give her what I’ve agreed to pay, as most times, they will scream and say you are cheating them, or they will run with your cash in hand.
Also, be weary and research reputable henna places. I later found out even 20 dirams was too much for this “masterpiece”, and not all henna mixtures are created equal. Some of them are mixed with acid, and we all know what acid does to the skin. Lesson of this story: negotiate like you only earn $10 a week. (Trust me, it will switch your mindset quickly.)
Don’t fall down the tourist trap. There will be many opportunities to be ripped off, and as a tourist, just know that it’ll happen to you at least once. Expect it. But don’t give in to the system that’s either endangering animals, or abusing people, along the way. During my time there I did a day trip to Essaouira, participated in a camel road in the palm groves, and completed an evening food tour where I saw the difference between a great guide, and one in it for the commission.
The day of the camel ride was my first sign of what it should be like. My driver, who I really think was named Eric (we’ll call him Eric), was super nice, and gave me the run down on everything we were passing by. We talked a little bit about the old city vs. the new city, expats, the life of natives, and Berber history. Eric dropped me off at my palm grove where I proceeded to have a panic attack while mounting Fatima, convincing the camel driver, Matthieu, to let me walk the 3.2 miles (I was wearing an iFit so tracked my steps via the app everyday) as he rode. During this time we talked about the different types of camels, how they are gentle by nature, and are essentially lazy beauties that just eat and sleep. Fatima (chestnut) and Lola (white. Also, I can’t remember if her name is actually Lola, but it fits) will not be ridden again for a couple of weeks because the company prefers to circulate them out, and not overwork them. Once we arrived back, he let them go to wander and eat as they liked. They wound up returning when they finished too. My driver came back to pick me up promptly and drop me off in the city. Both of these men were tipped. Matthieu received 100 dirhams for the scene caused, going against what they typically do to appease me, and the private tour was freaking fantastic. [Plus Fatima and Lola were some real babes!] Eric was tipped 50 dirhams. There were three other passengers, so the amount would have been higher if it was just me, but it wasn’t. [Not sure if the other passengers tipped him, but remember this, you’re tipping for yourself, or the friends/family you’re with. Not the extra attendees you don’t know from Adam. Which I’ll address in a second.]
Later that day, I went on a walking food tour. We had tastings at quite a few places, visited staples of the community like the cooking hamam and neighborhood baker, and a shop in the Bab Mellah. Everything was fine until I noticed a slight push to purchase things. I did give in and wound up spending 190 dirhams to buy two spices, a 10 dirham lip thing that changes based off your pH balance, and saffron lip balm. Mind you, I spent the least amount in our group of six. This experience was disappointing for a few reasons – 1) Our guide received a cut of our overpriced items. As we left, a young man from the shop ran in front of the group and slipped him rolled up cash. If you’re going to make these kind of deals, pick up the cash off the clock. 2) I only know they were overpriced because I paid 210 dirhams for about eight different spices (including Moroccan saffron, not Spanish), some eye makeup, bars of jasmine, musk and amber, plus seven of the pH balance lip things. Which, with no haggling cost 5 dirhams in the souks, where I was able to make a better deal since I bought seven. 3) He spent a lot of time on his phone, walking so far ahead of us we couldn’t find him in the crowds, and pitching us his other businesses. I actually have two of his cards on my nightstand as I type this.
The next day, I visited Essaouira where something very similar happened. It was a group trip mixed with random tourists only knowing each other if they knew each other beforehand. Since I flew solo, I knew no one. Having the experiences from the previous day, I sort of had an idea of what I didn’t want. We were supposed to be on the road by 8:30AM to see the real tree-climbing goats, not the ones staged for tourists. We didn’t leave until 10AM, where we stopped to see the staged tree goats… that was not only upsetting, but annoying. Once I got close to snap a photo displaying the platforms, everyone stayed near the bus to snap their own shots. I tipped the handler a few dirhams because I did use my camera, but he began to hassle me for 20 more dirhams as compensation for those on my van taking photos from afar. After many moments of telling him no, I snapped, “I’m paying for myself, not them. If you want them to pay, tell them, not me.” He said, “thank you,” before walking away. Like I said earlier, pay for yourself or your clan, not the random groupings your assigned to. Simple.
Anyway, continuing on our drive, we stopped at a group of men who had camels, horses, and a donkey. One camel was muzzled; all the animals were foaming at the mouth and standing on cement. No animal should ever look drugged, or exude exhaustion. Giving money to these types only further promotes the animal cruelty. Everyone on my van got off. A handler seemed annoyed I wouldn’t partake, but you don’t have to; so never feel obligated. Same goes for the “Argan oil co-ops” you will see lining the way close to Essaouira. You’ll hear about how they offer the best prices, how it’s made, how it provides jobs to all the women in-house. Know this, there are SOME real co-ops in Morocco. There are not 25, and they are not all stacked next to each other along the road. You will be coaxed to thinking you’re getting a great deal. You’re not. [180 dirhams (about $18) for an argan oil foam bodywash is a rip-off. I shouldn’t even have to tell you that.] Your group, and maybe you, will buy from them. You will then go to the markets and see you spent three or four times more than what they are selling it for. If you pay close attention, you will also see your driver being slipped some moolah.
By the time we made it to Essaouira, it was 12:30PM and were asked to be back for pickup at 4:30PM. There was no actual tour, so wandering around in the sun was a bust. The docked blue boats were beautiful, and obscenely picturesque. I eventually became fatigued from a day that started early but took too long to actually begin; I just wanted to return to my riad. To help pass the time I enjoyed some mint tea and biscuits at Le Médina Essaouira Hotel Thalassa close by…. FOR ONLY 30 DIRHAMS. Totally worth the cushiony couch, great atmosphere, and WiFi!
Don’t let this scare you off from traveling, let’s just promise to travel better. Matthieu is one I definitely recommend – Palm Grove Camel Ride. Other options for food tours would be Marrakech Food Tours, which I’ve read and even heard great things about while on the ground. If you’re looking for doing day trips Moroccan Guides and Plan-it Morocco are an ideal source to privatizing your adventure. Both companies may be out of your budget, so don’t be afraid to go at it solo. Just remember your map and your senses!
Next time, we’ll talk hamams, money exchange spots, souks I loved, haggling, riads, importance of location, and more…