4 hrs, 4.7 kms

Day Totals: 10 hrs, 24 .7 kms



After Anza, there's a stretch of open countryside, with sea to the left and hills to the right. Here there are two enormous walled in compounds. One of them at least is the palace of a Saudi royal who took a liking to Morocco. I’m pleasantly surprised to see maybe 15 cars parked outside, which means that at least a couple of the people who work in the palace are paid well enough to own a car. But seeing this palace I can’t help but wonder what really goes on inside those walls. I’ve heard things that have made my stomach turn—and I have a pretty strong stomach. Unfortunately Saudi tourists have a very bad reputation here in Morocco and especially Agadir, as most of them it seems come here so they can do things that are forbidden in their country—as well as some things that are forbidden in any country!

But let’s move on… It’s not too long before I reach the edge of Aourir. Here I head down to the coast where I find a cool rock formation—a boulder shaped like a ducks head, precariously balance on another, overlooking the beach… definitely worth a video clip . And then I head into town, officially connecting my Agadir Superhike with the Taghazoute-Tamaraght hike.

I want to eat something special to celebrate my accomplishment: "el beid u matisha" eggs and tomato omelette—a specialty of this region. But I really want it with cheese, and no one seems to sell cheese here in Aourir, so I settle for an avocado juice instead. A ragged looking tourist comes in and needs some help translating, so I help him out and we start to chat.   He tells me he’s from Portugal, and he and his girlfriend have been just wandering about, hitchhiking and camping out in the open.

“We don’t have a lot of money—so this is a great area for travelling on the cheap” he tells me. Not very often that I find a tourist that’s stingier than I am!