This is Rostom Badrane, our driver – and so much more -- for our two-week tour of Morocco. I had written up a long narrative about him, but it sounded like a eulogy, so I’ll just say he may have officially been only our driver, but in reality he was the person who made our visit to Morocco a fascinating and memorable one. He was our constant companion, regaling us with stories of his 10 years of taking people around the country, and helping us better understand the Moroccans and their culture, and he arranged and facilitated every little detail to make our time there more enjoyable. If it weren’t for Rostom, when Tim broke his foot, we wouldn’t have been able to continue the tour. I already would like to return to see more, but wouldn’t consider it without Rostom, because to me he is Morocco, and I wouldn’t want to see it with anybody else.

We arranged the tour itself through Experience It Tours in Florida (with an office on the ground in Marrakech) http://www.experienceittours.com/ -- which did an excellent and efficient job of securing hotels and such -- and specifically requested that Rostom be our driver, based on the recommendations of Bart Aldrich http://www.pbase.com/baldrich/moroc who was there in October. Rostom has his own tour company as well http://www.badrane-tours.com/ and does extended countrywide tours like ours, day trips and simple transfers between cities. If you’re considering a trip to Morocco – which I can’t recommend highly enough – or find yourself in the country and in need of services, I would get in touch with Rostom. He’s a great person, is fluent in English, French and Moroccan Arabic, and quite frankly knows everybody and everything to make your visit an unforgettable one.

Now that I’ve completed this overview gallery done on the road, I’ll have to start sorting through the thousands of pictures I took and fill it out. At least I won’t be able to complain for a while that I have no pictures to post!