Agadir - relaxing by the sea for a Happy New Year!

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Moving on from Essaouira to Agadir wasn't too difficult, or so it seemed. Supratous and CTM have buses in the afternoon but we wanted to get there earlier than the evening so we decided to walk out to the bus station and see what else was on offer. We opted for an 11 o'clock departure and bought our tickets. On the day we were travelling we arrived in good time at the bus station and our ticket was immediately excahnged for an 11.30 bus with a different company. We felt a bit disgruntled by that, and were further disappointed when the bus finally arrived and it was hardly luxurious. In fact, there were only two other foreigners on the bus - everyone else was Moroccan. That's not a problem but it does usually man that punctuality is not going to be great and there would be more stops along the way than anticipated. How right we were!!

Anyway, we eventually made it to Agadir. On the bus everyone who wanted them had been given plastic bags. It was only when the road began twisting and turning dramatically through the mountains that we realised they were sick bags!! Most people used them merely to clear their throats but the noise was quite disgusting! The bus dropped us off near the port in Agadir and we got a taxi to our hotel, not realising that it was only a few hundred yards away.

The Hotel Club Al Moggar wasn't too bad really. It gets some bad reviews but we didn't really see much wrong with it. It is a package holiday hotel and we were given a room tucked away at the edge, away from the noise of the restaurant and the so-called entertainment. We had a nice balcony with a sea view. All that was missing was a fridge in the room and wi-fi. Ok, so it was full of Russian tourists but that just adds to the mix, doesn't it?!! It's well located more or less on the beach, has two swimming pools (althought he water is too cold at this time of year) and, if tourist strip restaurants are your thing, there's everything from Indian and Lebanese to posh grill houses. Naturally, we opted for the Indian and found the Bollywood to be really good, if a little pricey.

A great feature of Agadir is it's seafront Boulevard. It stretches from the very new marina at one end to the lavish gardens of the Sofitel at the other end. Along the way you can see how "the other half" go on holiday. Some of those hotels certainly show the contrast between the two ends of the market! It was a nice walk with only the odd street trader trying to sell thier wares and beach attendants wanting you to use "their" patch of private beach.

Most of the time we stayed away from the beach and explored the less touristy areas. Nothing is old in Agadir because in 1960 the city was literally flattened by a huge earthquake. Everything had to be rebuilt and that's why there's not a hint of an "old town" but there are many buildings in a 1960's style of architecture! That's where we found some of the best restaurants both in terms of quality and price. It's also where the small photographic museum "Memoires d'Agadir" can be found. Just on the edge of the Portuguese park we were able to look at pictures of the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and some of the reconstruction efforts which followed. It was a fascinating insight into Agadir's past.

The main sight to see in Agadir is it's Kasbah, the sole survivor from 1960. It sits atop a hill some 7km out of town but a taxi there isn't too expensive if you negotiate hard. We paid 30 Dirham which is about 3 Euros. At the top you have to say no to numerous guides, hawkers and people wanting money to have their photo taken. The views are amazing from the top and the walls are remarkably well preserved. We decided to walk back to our hotel and a path has been constructed especially for this purpose making it quite an easy descent. Along the way we saw a few interesting birds and insects, but it was a hot and tiring trek. What it is like at hotter times of the year, we dread to think!

That was more or less it. We sunbathed, ate and drank handsomely, smoked sheesha in the small cafe at the hotel which none of the other tourists seemed to have discovered, and generally relaxed. Even the celebrations of New Years' Eve were quite peaceful in our hotel. That's more than can be said for the Best Western where we nearly stayed. They had a horrifically loud open air concert on their doorstep for at least 4 of the nights we were in town. The King was in town too, and we think the concerts were in his honour. LOUD Moroccan music brings the word LOUD a new meaning!!

We did end up staying for six nights though so it can't have been too bad. One day we hired a car, but that little adventure is for the next blog.

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