Agadir
We took a 4 hour car ride west to the Atlantic coast of Morocco, to stay 3 nights at a place called Paradis Plage Surf, Yoga and Spa Resort
. Our drive from Marrekech was on a newer 4 lane highway and we've remarked more than once so far how great the infrastructure is. When we got closer to the coastline, there was new construction everywhere along the sandy beaches. The resort was larger than where we usually stay, with several restaurants and a large pool to lounge around. Gina took two surf lessons and two vinyasa yoga classes while the four us also participated in 2 private Yin Yoga classes. Yin yoga is a restorative slow class where you focus on settling in to the pose for a long hold. Karsten was our German teacher, currently living in Quebec, but was
happy to be spending a few months as a teacher here. The food at the resort was average, lots of seafood but no meals that we were raving about.
Yesterday we had a 3 hour drive north along the coastline, passing Argan trees, goats and sheep everywhere. Typical tourists, we were quite amused by the goats standing in the trees. Yes, climbing up the tree and standing on the strong branches to eat the Argan nuts
. It's not unusual to see 5 or 6 goats in a tree. We arrived to Essaoiura, a major fishing port, with its own walled old part and Medina full of shopping, another endless maze of streets and alleyways. We walked along the fishing docks covered in fish scales and amazed at the number of boats and nets, but the stench drove us away pretty quickly. There are cats milling everywhere we've been, lounging around and always on the lookout for a free meal, but healthy looking nonetheless. We walked through the fish stalls, piled up with giant red crabs, shrimp, lobsters, and all sizes of fish, even Moray eels several feet long. We picked out a freshly caught sea bass, they grilled it on the spot and served it with a tomato
salad and fresh baguette, feeding the 4 of us for about $15 total. For dinner at our Riad, the food was average priced, but our bottle of Moroccan wine was good and cheap.
We were in the Medina today during a call to prayer, where many places "closed" by putting a broomstick size pole across their storefronts. Stealing must not be a problem, because lots of their goods were still on the outside of the shops and everything was left unattended. The men headed to the carpet that was rolled out in the street, dropped to their knees, faced Mecca and bowed their head in prayer. It was obvious when it was over, as the streets started bustling again with movement.
This afternoon we return to Marrakech on a 2 hour car ride, for 1 overnight back at our small 6 room Riad that we started at. Early tomorrow we leave on our 3 day/2 night Sahara desert adventure staying in a Bedouin tent accessed via a camel trek.
Agadir
Tuesday, January 03, 2017
Imi Ouaddar, Souss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco
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2025-02-06