Agadir and Essaouira

---

We stay around the hotel for most of the time we are in Agadir. On the first morning we strike out and walk about 20 minutes to find some shops for some bits and pieces. Not the most scenic walk but it gives us some exercise. One day we are supposed to visit the Souss Massa nature reserve to see the birds in and around the wetlands, but we decide the sybaritic pleasures of doing nothing outweigh the attraction of trekking on foot in the heat. The idle option, but it is a holiday.

One day we decide to make the effort to see Agadir so we summon the driver and guide. Agadir was levelled in an earthquake in 1960 and completely rebuilt. It is a dump, no other word for it. Large areas are now being levelled again by developers and new apartment blocks and hotels are going up. The town is a ribbon of development running south (where we are) to north along the beach fronting the Atlantic. The King has one of his many palaces somewhere within a large manicured park in the middle of town. The palm tree strip development could be anywhere around the Mediterranean. There is a selection of English, German and Belgian pubs to visit if you want that sort of thing. At the north end of town on a hill is the old walled citadel but it is closed for restoration. That does not stop the trinket sellers and the guys with camels for hire. You can have a guy lead you up and down a dusty path and back again for no obvious reason for an undisclosed fee. Back at the camel station is a big spray gun (like you use to kill bugs on your plants at home) to spray over the saddle and/or the camel at the beginning of the ride. Very tempting!

Another day we take a half day excursion with the driver and guide into the hills to “Paradise Valley”. It turns out to be a valley oasis down a steep track. Then on to Immouzer where there is a waterfall cascading into a series of pools that are running dry because of the drought. The guide book had promised a pretty village with white washed houses, but none were on display. It was a pleasant enough drive but we would have been irritated if we had paid extra for it!

On Sunday we wave goodbye to Agadir and drive the three hours to Essaouira. We track the coast for the first half of the journey before the road moves inland. It’s rolling countryside, with argan trees dotted over the usual semi arid landscape. Despite Morocco having banned plastic bags a year ago, there is still a distressingly large number of blue plastic bags stuck in trees. Every 20 miles or so there is a warning sign with a picture of a cow on it, which we find odd as we’ve not seen a single cow all trip. Just as we are reaching Essaouira, we pull of the road. Houssain tells us this is so the driver can have a rest, but in fact it is to take us on the obligatory visit to an argan co-operative. We are shown how the argan nuts are processed, and used to make argan oil, honey and a sort of argan variant of peanut butter, then exhorted to buy plenty. But we don’t actually like the taste of any of the products, so politely decline.

Once in Essaouira, a man with a cart summoned by the guide wheels our luggage to our riad in the medina. We spend the first afternoon glued to the laptop as we watch Everton play – and eventually win – their last match of the season, narrowly avoiding relegation. The screams and cheers we let out when they scored must have been audible throughout the building!

Though at first confusing the medina was laid out on a grid pattern so getting around is easy. There is a wall around the medina. We walk up on the ramparts at the northern end, but you can’t go far, so we retrace our steps and follow the walls to the picturesque but extremely smelly fishing port and market at one end of town. We visit and retreat after a few minutes – we have been to stinking wet markets all over the Far East but this is one of the most pongy. We amble back through the medina, which is full of the usual tourist shops and cafes. But nobody is very pushy in selling their wares, and it’s fairly quiet once you get off the three or four main lanes.

We are staying in the beautiful Riad Watier, which has been tastefully restored and is full of artwork and thousands of books to borrow. The best thing about it is the staff, who are exceptionally friendly and helpful. Breakfast is served on the terrace, to the accompaniment of endless cawing from throngs of very large seagulls. The wind gets up in the afternoon so we retreat to the ‘fishermans’ hut’, a spacious wooden building on the terrace which provides shelter but plenty of light. The gulls make a disconcerting sound as they chase each other across the roof!

On our second day, we confirm our initial view that the medina is small, and there is not much to see. We go for a walk at 9.15, when most of the stalls have yet to open, allowing us a better idea of what the place looked like before it was overrun with tourist shops. We price up big ceramic plates, but eventually decide we don’t really need one. After lunch out, we adjourn once more to the roof of the riad.

Scroll down for more photos.

---