Mr Cabdriver

We were in Agadir, Morocco and we wanted to take a cab to go to the local supermarket: Marjane. It was a 10 min drive, so not that far by car, but too far to walk. Especially if you don't know the exact location.

So we decided to take a cab. We had asked our guide the other day, and he told us the cab fare would be about 20 dirham (2 euro) per ride. That seemed like a very reasonable fare!

The cab driver told us the ride was going to be 150 dirham (15 euro) in total. We were amazed, but he convinced us it was the best price he could give us. He said there were no taxis on the parking lot of Marjane, so we needed him to bring us back. So we got into the cab and drove off. On the way, the cabdriver tried to sell us several excursions, to make more money. Too bad for him we were not interested. The longer we were in the car, the unfriendlier he appeared to me. In fact, I didn't like him at all.

We got to Marjane and the first thing I saw, was about 20 cabs.. Hhmhmhm.. We paid the cabdriver 100 dirham (10 euro) in advance and told him we would pay the rest on our way back. We told him what time he could pick us up. The supermarket was a lot of fun. We had some time left for coffee and cake and in the meantime, I went to the other cabdrivers and asked about the fare. Does it surprise you that they told me the fare was 20 dirham (2 euro) per ride? I decided we were going to take another cab home. I was not happy with our first cabdriver and as soon as he saw what we were up to, he rushed to the cab stand and started to yell at us and at the other cabdrivers. We ignored him and urged our new driver to drive to the hotel. Bad luck! I gave the cabdriver some extra money. And we told him the other driver was a crook. We taught him the Dutch word: "zeveraar" and he liked that! By the time we got to the hotel, he called everybody a "zeveraar"! LOL

Moral of the story: Make sure you know your prices when you are abroad and stick to them. Tip your cabdriver if he deserves it. Stay away from crooks!