The Knowledge

Having grown up in the Atlas Mountains, guide Ismail Ingrioui knows his Moroccan homeland inside out. The jointbronze winner at the 2019 World Guide Awards explains what being a guide means to him…

Tales from the road with Ismail Ingrioui, joint bronze winner of this year’s World Guide Awards

Guiding runs in the family.

My brother is a trip leader and he suggested that I get into guiding. I wanted to be a teacher, but the school took only 120 people out of around 1,900 candidates. My brother said, “Try guiding – it’s an interesting job and will teach you a lot.”

The guide exam was challenging.

There’s an oral and written exam – and then you run 40km in the mountains. My brother is a good runner, which is why he encouraged me to do it. I said, “Well, I can’t run as fast as you.” He trained with me before the exam, and my cousin helped me, too. Only 40 places were available – I was number 16 – and that’s how I got into guiding.

A one-week trip covers a lifetime.

I help my guests understand Berber culture by sharing my experiences. I do it chronologically – marriage rituals, pregnancy and birth, then growing up. My parents are trying to arrange my marriage – sometimes it’s the same cousin they already proposed to my brother, so I tell them, “He didn’t accept, so why me?!” The other day, we stopped to talk to a shepherd; then I told my story of shepherding my father’s sheep. It helps people live and experience my past.

Some guests fight, others propose.

Once, I had a couple who always argued on the bus. I joked, “We don’t have a spare room in the next hotel, so please fix your troubles!” Later the man asked me, “Is there a spare room?” I hoped he was joking, but he was serious! Another guy wanted to propose in the desert. He hid the ring on a dune, under the sand, then the girl came, walked on the sand and he lost it. He panicked. Finally, the ring was found and he proposed!

Culture clashes can be hilarious.

There was a 75-year-old lady who went to a hammam (public bathing place) to get scrubbed. The people flip you over and pull your arms out – they want to ask you to turn over, but they don’t speak the language. I was explaining it to others and she said, “No, you’re not telling it right.” So, she went down on the ground and did what was done to her in the middle of the street. Crazy!

I love going to the desert at night.

I just lie on the dunes, look up to the sky and simply appreciate being there. There are people in the world who would love to be in the desert, and I get to do it frequently. It gives me positive energy, when I sit there and gaze up above.

I’m learning all the time.

The enjoyment of learning is followed by the enjoyment of sharing knowledge with my guests. I used to be shy and never participated in class. If I did, I would struggle, and it took courage to express myself and learn, and to apologise if I got things wrong. Finding an answer later is better than giving a wrong one immediately. My plan is to study more, get a degree and set up my own travel company. That way, I will be able to provide work for my people and share my personal values.

A guy wanted to propose in the desert. He hid the ring under the sand and lost it

Just deserts... Ismail counts himself fortunate to have the desert on his doorstep