Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 190

The room was freezing and there wasn't too much light to help us get up. We paid the bill and were a bit annoyed to find that our terrible breakfast wasn't included in the price of the room as it says in Lonely Planet. We phoned the guy about our trip into the desert and he said he'd do it for 300dh each. (£20) that part we had no problems about but an extra night in the hotel cost a lot. We agreed to it and were told to pay 200dh to the guy at La Vallee as a deposit. We had to wait for ages for a taxi to arrive and it was cold and wet. Eventually we managed to get a lift with a guy that was going to Tinerhir anyway. He dropped us ... read more

We left Agadir with a sense of impatience to get out of that tourist town and back into the wilder coastal landscapes - not really wild, of course, since wherever you go in this country you are always surrounded by the curious and friendly Moroccan people, who seem able to materialize out of even the most desolate-looking landscapes. Our destinations were the towns of Massa and Sidi R'Bat on the Oued Massa river, which forms the southern edge of Souss-Massa National Park, a haven for overwintering bids and the enthusiasts who watch them. We'd already seen one of the stellar entries in any birder's lifetime list, the rare bald ibis, in Tamri, but we were curious about what constituted a "national park" in Morocco, and at 80 or so kilometers from Agadir, Massa was an appropriate ... read more

We enjoyed a morning lounging in bed and avoiding getting dressed in a very cold room. Just as we were about to get up someone knocked at our door to remind us checkout time was in fifteen minutes. When Rob reminded him we were staying two nights, he didn't even apologise for disturbing us. Once we were up we went into the souqs in search of bread and cheese for our picnic. We found baguettes easily enough but the only cheese we could find was at the overpriced supermarket for westerners. We tried a few of the cremeries which are little more than a counter serving everything you can think of. When we asked for cheese all they could produce were triangles of Dairylea. We did eventually find a place that sold us some edam along ... read more

Due to crossed wires we nearly missed breakfast this morning. We dressed hurriedly and dashed up to the terrace to find it completely empty. Breakfast was outside by the pool and fairly good. We decided that because there were no particular sights in Taroudannt we would have a walk around the walls and a look around the streets in the medina. Taroudannt's medina is similar to Marrakech with the chaos and mass of people but without the tourist traps and hustlers. Here you are more likely to be stopped by someone wanting to chat to you and try out their French/English. You really can't go anywhere quickly and you definitely cannot be inconspicuous. We got part way around the walls when we came across a section that you could climb up onto. We climbed up and ... read more

I was woken up this morning from a nice sleep because Steph wasn't. We didn't get breakfast at the hotel, so instead we nipped into a tiny little shop and bought two baguettes with cheese and two yoghurts so that we could have a picnic in the beautiful surroundings. We picked out one of the largest rocky mountains and decided to climb it to get a good view of the town and its locality. Now anyone who knows Steph will be hearing warning bells already, but for some reason she agreed to going up it?! To be honest I think it may even have been her suggestion a moment of madness. We walked towards the foot of the mound and found a nice spot to sit and eat. The baguette was lovely, but we struggled to ... read more