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.
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