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The sun rose over the pink cliffs surrounding Tafraoute, though the beautiful view was somewhat marred by the roofs of the town below and the rubbish lying in the streets.
We set off in the car once more, for our longest driving day. The first 2 ½ hours took us to Tiznit, with the first 90 minutes spent ascending and descending the mountains on a hair raising road that was essentially single track, but with wide enough unmade verges to allow another vehicle to squeeze past on the mercifully few occasions that we encountered one. The land to either side looked as if it had been terraced, but with nothing being grown on it we wondered if it was, in fact, natural. Houssain told us that it was man made, but that the land has fallen into disuse as the young people in the villages now all move to the cities to look for work. They can earn more for less effort that way.
Tiznit is a large town billed as the silver capital of Morocco so it came as no surprise that we were taken to visit a silver shop and plied with mint tea as we were
urged to buy. We politely declined. Apparently the silversmiths were originally Jewish but as they moved away the Berbers learned the skills and took over the businesses. The shop and the souk was inside the old city which has impressive pink ramparts, which are built with two concentric rings, so you drive between two high walls. There was a kasbah and mosque at the centre, but these turned out to be a modern restoration of something older.
From Tiznit we drove west to the coast, and another hour took us to Mirleft, the southernmost point we have been in Morocco. We had been due to stay a night there, but were glad we decided not to. It’s a pleasant, quiet little town with nothing to do but sit on one of the small beaches. We found one that had a café open, and watched life on the beach while we waited for your lunch to be cooked. Two surfers were being taught the basics, but looked to be pretty new to the sport. A group of four lads displayed more impressive skills with a football, and a solitary keep fit enthusiast did an extended work out, no doubt hoping
the ladies would be impressed by his honed physique. Nobody paid him any attention. Lunch was worth the wait – two seafood tagines, one of mussels and one of squid.
After that, it was a couple of hours to Agadir, where we checked into far and away the best hotel of the holiday. It’s in a residential area, a few blocks away from the big chain hotels that sit on the beach front. It has a beautiful garden with a pool, and an excellent restaurant with French as well as Moroccan dishes. We have no desire to eat anywhere else, even if there were somewhere close, which there isn’t.
The next day was a rest day, with no trips scheduled. We settled in happily by the pool, and relaxed reading our books.
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Jean-Pierre Geets
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Nothing to do in Mirleft ? Hum ... 🙂
In fact, there's plenty to do in Mirleft, and many people spend 10 days there without being able to do all the things they wanted to do after visiting the 7 wonderful beaches and wandering around the hinterland, such as fishing, surfing, paragliding, horse-riding, quad biking or motorcycling. There are lots of nice little restaurants, souvenir shops, craftsmen you can see at work, and also a wonderful private spa (Le Jardin d'Orient) where you can relax on your own, as a couple, with your family, or with friends. Don't miss out on all this on your next visit!