Holiday in Morocco - Day 5

On the Monday of our trip we went on our final trip, to see some goats! Jac had happened upon this trip and had booked it, which Sam and I didn't mind, of course. We got up super early and went for some breakfast and were down in front of the hotel waiting to be picked up by 9am. We were picked up by a lad in a little van. There were two other people already there, so there were just five of us on the trip.

The drive out to the goats was out of the city and it took about thirty minutes. We went past a lot of desert scenery which was interesting to see. It was hot out there, too! We pulled up at the side of a road where there was a bunch of goats sitting under an argan tree. We had previously learnt about how goats help the argan tree nuts come off the tree so they can be harvested. We could get right up to the goats and the goatherd gave us some argan fruit to feed them. There were some standing in trees too which I've always wanted to see, so that was cool. 

There was also a baby goat that the goatherd gave to some people to hold. Jac was very brave and held it, I stroked its little ears and it was so cute! When it got fed up the person holding it put it down and the goatherd picked up another baby one, so I was glad to see that the babies didn't have to be held if they didn't want to be! 

Then we had our THIRD AND FINAL TRIP to the argan oil factory. It was just hilarious at this point! Jac and I both picked up some other bits including presents. Our guide asked us if we would like to see the mosque and we were like ....we've been. So before long we were back in the van heading back to the hotel. We got back about 11am and had a drink in the bar, in the sunshine! 

I think we probably had some lunch but I'm not sure. By 1pm I was sitting under an umbrella by the rectangular pool sunbathing a bit. We swam too of course. Sam went to shop and came back with ice creams and cold drinks, which makes me think we didn't have any lunch actually, dunno. Not sure! It's a long time ago now. I had started a new book. I'm quite certain that we went to the big pool again as well for a swim. 

We went and got showered as usual and watched some weird telly while we relaxed. Then we headed to one of the restaurants on the hotel complex. There were three that we were allowed to eat in as we were all inclusive, but two of them didn't have any vegetarian options (they were very small set menus). The third restaurant was totally fish, and as I will eat fish, and often do on holiday if there isn't other choices, we decided to go there.

It was right near the beach so it had a nice view of the setting sun. I had fish cakes and then a salmon fillet with sauce and rice. The salmon was gorgeous but the rice was a bit odd. Never mind! Then I had chocolate fondant with ice cream which was lovely. We had plenty of local rose wine. When we had finished we walked out on to the prom to look at the sea. There were tons of people walking around which was nice to see. It was warm and so beautiful! 

We most likely had another drink in the bar before bed!

On the drive on the way to the goats

Look at all the goats including the ones in the tree! It was so cool to see them

Here we are standing under the goats!

These two wanted to be our friends

I liked these two little ones sitting together too

And here is the BABY GOAT that Jac held, it was so cute

Drink in the bar back at the hotel

Here I am sunbathing 

The view from my sun lounger

Me and Jac

All three of us, trying to stay out of the sun

Afternoon snacks

The book I was reading

Food in the restaraunt in the evening

The three of us again

And finally a bunch of pictures of the beach and sea about 10pm

Holiday in Morocco - Day 4

On the Sunday of our holiday it was OVERCAST! I did not order that weather! How dare it! We got up and had breakfast and had already decided to spend the day on the beach so we headed there. Our hotel was right on the prom so we just had to cross the prom and step down on to the beach which was ideal! There were sunbeds there and parasols, not that we needed parasols because it was very overcast. We couldn't even see the casbah on the top of the hill!

We sat for a bit reading and we all paddled in the sea, at different times, but it was a bit miserable. There were also lifeguards who were being way too liberal with their whistles so it wasn't the most relaxing. We walked along the prom for lunch at a cafe called The Pirate Club or something. I had a tuna sandwich as there weren't any vegetarian choices. Then I had a banana split which was nice. It was fine, but a bit lacking in general. 

The sun did come out in bits in the afternoon. We stayed on the beach for a bit after lunch and then went back to the big pool. I'm pretty sure we all got in and sat in the shallow part for a while chatting. I think I caught the sun because I wasn't expecting it to come through the clouds so much.

We got out of the pool quite early and got snacks from the bar and went back to the room for showers. We had a tour booked - Agadir By Night - so we had to be outside at 6pm to be picked up. This was a Jet2 organised trip and I'm not sure it was worth the money so in future I would do other ones outside of the package. Oh well!

There were four other people on the tour so we were in a minibus, then there was the guide and a driver. The guide was really good - he told us a lot about Morocco's history and the powers that colonised it and what they brought to the country. It was really interesting. 

Our first stop was of course up at the casbah. It was SO hot up there, and SO dry (it's desert heat after all). Looking down on the beach you could see the clouds slash sea fret that we had been sitting in all day. It was weird! We then went to the mosque and the argan oil factory where we had been the day before. The lady in the factory was like ....oh, hi. We just sat while everyone else looked around. We got some different pictures of the mosque so that was nice.

Next we were dropped off at the marina and had to walk quite a way to where we got in horse drawn carriages. I was fine but it was quite a walk. We didn't have chance to look around the marina area which would have been nice. The carriages were lovely though. We had a nice look all along the sea front back into the minibus. The problem was that it was still bright sunshine so it wasn't exactly 'by night', but it was nice to see. 

We got back in the bus and went to the medina - but not inside this time but to a different bit nearby. We had a b it of a wander around there and an explanation of Moroccan carpet making, and then we went upstairs for food. We were given salad which was delicious, and then tagine. I was really glad I had managed to order a vegetarian tagine because there was nothing else to eat. There was some Moroccan biscuits and watermelon for pudding. Another massive group turned up and they seemed to get more of the attention of the staff, plus it was really hot in the room, so we were a bit fed up. But it had been nice to do the carriage ride at least!

We got back to the hotel and probably had a few drinks in the bar before bed! 

Look how overcast it was, you could barely see the hotels next to you!

And looking the other way. The water wasn't too cold, though, so I enjoyed paddling

Banana split at lunchtime - I swear there is banana under there somewhere

Outside our hotel at 6pm waiting for the bus - you can see the sun had come out a bit. The hotel was the Dunes D'or and I would recommend it, it was nice 

Look at the very low lying cloud that was all over the beach! I've never seen anything like it

Looking towards the Atlas mountains which was very cool to see

Another feral cat

And the camels, they must have been hot

Back at the mosque

This mural was at the argan oil factory 

And so was this one

This was our horse and carriage and it was very cute

Sitting in a carriage like I'm in Bridgerton or something

Food in the medina - salads to start with

My tagine

And finally a picture of my hair because it was going so curly in the heat!

Holiday in Morocco - Day 3

On the Saturday of our holiday in Morocco we got up nice and early and had some breakfast so that we could be by a nearby hotel for pick up at 11am. We were going on a city tour of Agadir that we had booked prior to the holiday. We were picked up by a fella called Mohammed in just a small taxi so there was just us on the tour! Which was ideal! 

First of all he drove us through the marina which is really new and full of fancy shops and apartments, and then he took us up to the casbah. He explained that there's nothing inside the casbah because of an earthquake in 1960 which destroyed most of Agadir. He said you can go in, but unlike other places in Morocco, there's no medina and it's a bit pointless. And twelve euros each. He also said that if we wanted photos with the camels or goats we would have to pay the owners - which we weren't opposed to but it was good to know up front. We walked up to the casbah amd took photos of it. You c an see where the earthquake hit it in the crack all around it. It was hot up there! There were plenty of feral cats around as well.

Jac and Sam walked down on to the lower level but I didn't fancy the steps so I stayed up top. There was a woman with tons of food to feed cats so loads turned up so I was watching them. 

Next we were driven to the argan oil factory which is opposite one of the mosques of Agadir. We went down into the factory and were offered tea. Now I don't drink tea but it felt rude to say no, especially as we were the only people there, so I took some. I really couldn't drink it, though. The factory is a women's cooperative which is very cool! The women collect the argan nuts and harvest the oil together and that way they can negotiate better prices and so on. There was a video to explain and then a nice lady showed us round the shop. 

Now, I hadn't realised that Morocco spoke SUCH a large amount of French. I knew they did have some French - thank you colonialism - but I wasn't expecting all the street signs and so on to be in French as well as Arabic. I speak pretty good conversational French and I wasn't expecting to be able to read any of the signs, but then I could! So that worked out really well for all of us because I could translate things. So I started speaking to the lady in the factory - a question about a scent that they had - and she was surprised that I spoke French and complimented how well I spoke it! So that was nice. I can't help it though - I can speak it well so I just do! I did in Rome when my mother started a conversation with a French family and then expected me to tell her what they were saying back to her!

Anyway, we each bought a few things in the factory and then went across the road to the mosque. I was hoping we would be able to go in, but our guide said not as there were prayers going on. It was very pretty, though. 

Next we went to the souk. I was so excited for this! Mohammed dropped us off at one gate, gate 15, and told us he would be back in an hour. There are TONS of gates to get in and out of the area so we needed to know we were at the right one. I saw a cat on the way in and took a photo, of course. There were so many stalls, selling all kinds of things. We mostly just walked about, but Jacqui and I bought a bracelet each - they're both very sparkly and lovely. I also wanted to get some saffron from Lee and there were any number of spice stalls. We chose one and Sam and I both got some. It wasn't very expensive at all! 

I didn't feel threatened or intimated at all while in Morocco, which some (white) people had warned me about. And definitely not in the market. It was busy and noisy for sure, but it was totally fine. We just said 'no thank you' to people and we were left alone. I liked the market a lot - I would have loved to buy more but just didn't have time. Maybe next time?? 

Next we went to the medina, which, as the original one was destroyed in the earthquake, is a replica. It has got shops and a cafe inside it, but it's not busy and thriving like the souk was. In fact it was a bit like a film set - just a bit too clean and polished to be real. We wandered around and bought a couple of things including tacky magnets - I have a whole collection of them and love them - and then sat down and had an ice cream and a drink each. 

We went back to the hotel, tipped the guide, and went to get a drink in the bar. The all inclusive menu just had 'beer' so we tried it and it was really nice. Sam went and procurred some crisps for us from the shop because we hadn't had any lunch. We ate them while sitting round the rectangular pool again. I guess we were there for a couple of hours swimming and sunbathing. 

We got showered and then headed out of the hotel to eat. As I hadn't had great food in the hotel I had asked if we could go out, and everyone agreed. There were a few restaurants near us and we ended up choosing Le Tapis Rouge which was only a short walk away. It was very French! We sat outside and while to begin with we were the only people there, more people arrived. Again, I spoke French to the waiters when ordering food. 

There were vegetarian options on the menu but the fish was all locally caught so I decided to go for that. I had prawn and avocado salad and then salmon tagliatelle. The owner of the restaurant came to speak to us, asking questions about where we were from in England. He said I had excellent French too which is such a compliment. There was a guy playing guitar which was nice to listen to too. For pudding I had Poire Belle Helene, again very French, and delicious. 

We went back to the hotel and had another drink in the bar. We could see some stars, which was nice. We again weren't late to bed as we had had a busy day. I was wearing this lovely cotton Joe Browns dress that I've had for a couple of years now. I love it so should wear it more often! I think thew cardigan is Joe Browns too, I can't remember. It's a lovely green mesh garment so perfect for holidays. 

The marina

The casbah and the views from the casbah, including lovely pictures of the three of us

Tea in the argan oil factory

The mosque and a view of the street just outside it - it was such a clean city which was nice!

Cat on the way into the market

Sights and sounds around the souk

The gate we went in by

Jac in the medina

Do you see what I mean about it being like a film set?

An ice cream in the cafe - I love trying new brands. This was like a Feast but without solid chocolate in the middle

This mural was really cute

Sitting in the bar with a beer

Trying a new brand of crisps while sitting round the pool, as well

I wore my Saltwaters because I love to wear them on holiday

Some cats on the way to the restaurant. They were so teeny! I was careful to not touch any of the cats I saw because I didn't want to bring something back to my own cats by accident

My prawn and avocado salad for s starter. We also had Kir and a lovely bottle of Cotes de Provence

Photos in the restaurant

Poire Belle Helene which is one of my favourite French desserts

View of the sky from the bar in the hotel. You could see Jupiter and Venus

And finally here's my dress back in the hotel room