I’ve touched on Souks a bit in other posts, but wanted to address shopping in a separate post as it’s often an integral part of the travel experience in Morocco. Souks are small stalls within medinas that sell any number of items. Morocco is famous for rugs, lamps, silver jewelry, leather goods, slippers, argan oil, perfumes, olives, spices, colorful tagine pots, tea sets, scarves and henna tattoos.
Souk owners run the gamut, but tend towards wanting to pushily make the sale at all costs. I found that just entering a souk was game-on for getting sold something I wasn’t sure I wanted. Same goes for just strolling by a souk. The American art of “just browsing” or casually window shopping without buying didn’t go over well in Marrakesh. It was definitely more well-received in the more laid-back beach town of Essaouira. There, I could tell the souk owner I was just browsing and they would generally leave me alone.
Once I asked the price of something, it was game-on. The souk owner expected us to eventually come to an agreement on me buying it. I used to be an excellent haggler when I lived in Guatemala, but it has been many years and I have lost my joy for it. Haggling is an official part of the buying experience in Morocco. It’s hard when you don’t speak French, Arabic or Berber to be fluid with those negotiations. Eventually, I realized there were a few souks in Essaouira with posted prices for their goods and I ended up buying almost exclusively from them. I found exactly what I wanted, the souk owners weren’t pushy at all and I walked out with twice the number of goods I would have otherwise.
I would say that I failed at the art of haggling in Morocco, but that I enjoyed the laid-back experience of shopping in Essaouira. The surf vibe of Essaouira really lends itself to browsing souks slowly. I could easily spend another few days there, recovering from the hectic nature of Marrakesh.
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.