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Published: November 6th 2010
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Its a long gradual descent from the mountains to the Moroccan coast. The landscape becomes greener and we pass through an extensive area of citrus and olive orchards before arriving in Agadir 9 hours later. In 1960 this city was devastated by a large earthquake and it has been rebuilt to create one of the premiere coastal resorts in the country. Its just a brief stop for us here, as 14 foot waves are forecast further up the coast and we're in a hurry not to miss out on that surf action.
Our plan for this week is to take a holiday within our holiday, so we locate a lovely wee apartment in the fishing village of Taghazout. Its the perfect place to put our feet up. Both our balconies overlook the beach, with views up and down the coast and hours of entertainment watching fishermen launch and return in their small wooden boats.
They appear to use nets and lights to catch a range of fish, predominantly squid and skipjack tuna. The boats may be small but are heavily constructed and it takes four men to carry each one up the beach using poles across their shoulders. Some
of the fish is prepared and sold right under our noses on the beach, so there's plenty of opportunities to watch the locals go about their business.
The beach scene is very different to what we're used to, as often there are goats, camels, dogs and cats browsing and scavenging along the shore. Its quite a mix. The camels and goats usually have an owner somewhere close by and for a few dirhams you can ride a camel on the beach. Clearly the locals enjoy the beach and when the tide is out in the weekends and evenings it becomes the perfect soccer pitch. More entertainment for us.
Goats are found in other unusual places around here - climbing spiny knotted argan trees. They are allowed to eat the outer part of the tree's fruit, leaving the nut which is prized for its oil. Makes for a bit of a puculiar sight.
Our days consist of an early surf if the waves are up, breakfast on the balcony watching the fishermen, reading, beach walks, a compulsory tajine lunch in town, an afternoon surf and dinner on the balcony watching the fishermen leave and the sun set.
At home we're living on fresh bread, dates, olives, fresh fruit, Moroccan salad and mint tea. Its nive to unpack, catch up on washing and blogging, do some more planning and put our feet up in such a prime location. However it seems like in no time at all we're packing our bags again and are on the bus to Casablanca for our flight out of Morocco.
For us this has been a land of extremes. From the hustle and bustle of the Marrakech souks to the silence of the M'hamid desert, from the snow covered High Atlas mountains to the fertile coastal plains, from raging torrents of red water to bone dry riverbeds.
We have a thousand questions for the locals but really our French ne coupe pas le mustard and we've become used to blank expressions, both on their faces and our own. We have really enjoyed the landscapes, the food and the people of Morocco, so we'll be back, 'inshallah'.
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