Winter on the edge of the Sahara
January and February 2024 were spent in Tangier. I wrote two books, yet to be published, did a few wander abouts finding some interesting places and people. Winter in London was on the way with me being fed up and tired of the cold wet weather decided to spend winter in Agadir, Morocco, on the western edge of the Sahara Desert where it is a lot warmer. The sun is higher here, so all I wear when out is a t-shirt. A room was found to stay as a first step. It was in Charaff in the northeast of the city.

Agadir is very spread out and was rebuilt after an earthquake, in 1960, totally destroyed the place. My main reason, for blog posts, was to go south to Sous Massa National Park and photograph some flamingos, plus the other wildlife present there. I needed somewhere to stay in the south region of the city, not an easy thing to achieve.

One day I headed way to the northern part of the coast where surfers go to. The waves way out were breaking at about 15 to 20 feet, which are small for that region. I was told normal is around 30-40 feet.
Returning from the beach, in one of the white taxis (5 Dirham cost), I passed a row of cafes that had been pointed out to me before by the woman I was renting a room from. One looks awful on the outside, but specializes in Tagine, so I ate one (along with everyone else) and then returned to where I was staying.
Agadir is primarily a poor place, so away from the beach tourist area, things are a lot cheaper. No doubt Dyanne wiil agree on the food. A short taxi ride away from where I had my room is this terrible looking restaurant but, people line up to eat the Tagine served there, it's their speciality. I enjoyed one, but skipped the beef in it. Next time I'll get a chicken one or just vegetables. Then there is breakfast, Shakshuka which originated with the Berbers and Agadir is mainly a Berber place.

Just about every touristy area are beggars, get away from those places and it changes. I learned very quickly when a beggar did not approach the locals, only the Westerners. On occasion I noticed locals giving to one, that means the beggar is genuine, so I will give as well. The rest, I have one word, Lah, it means no!
One important thing to note is that the water here is de-salinated. Drink only water from bottles, otherwise you will get diarrhea and in some cases this could last for days! Having a mint tea you will notice that it may take a good 5+ minutes to arrive. That's because they have to boil the water for over 3+ minutes to make it drinkable. If the mint tea arrives very quickly, get up and walk away. Locals have grown up with the de-salination and are okayyou are not.

Part of Agadir
Agadir is very spread out and was rebuilt after an earthquake, in 1960, totally destroyed the place. My main reason, for blog posts, was to go south to Sous Massa National Park and photograph some flamingos, plus the other wildlife present there. I needed somewhere to stay in the south region of the city, not an easy thing to achieve.

The wave behind is where the large ones break.
One day I headed way to the northern part of the coast where surfers go to. The waves way out were breaking at about 15 to 20 feet, which are small for that region. I was told normal is around 30-40 feet.
Returning from the beach, in one of the white taxis (5 Dirham cost), I passed a row of cafes that had been pointed out to me before by the woman I was renting a room from. One looks awful on the outside, but specializes in Tagine, so I ate one (along with everyone else) and then returned to where I was staying.
Agadir is primarily a poor place, so away from the beach tourist area, things are a lot cheaper. No doubt Dyanne wiil agree on the food. A short taxi ride away from where I had my room is this terrible looking restaurant but, people line up to eat the Tagine served there, it's their speciality. I enjoyed one, but skipped the beef in it. Next time I'll get a chicken one or just vegetables. Then there is breakfast, Shakshuka which originated with the Berbers and Agadir is mainly a Berber place.

One Sunday the thought of fixing lunch was discarded and I headed down the hill to a small restaurant and had a nice Tagine.
Just about every touristy area are beggars, get away from those places and it changes. I learned very quickly when a beggar did not approach the locals, only the Westerners. On occasion I noticed locals giving to one, that means the beggar is genuine, so I will give as well. The rest, I have one word, Lah, it means no!
One important thing to note is that the water here is de-salinated. Drink only water from bottles, otherwise you will get diarrhea and in some cases this could last for days! Having a mint tea you will notice that it may take a good 5+ minutes to arrive. That's because they have to boil the water for over 3+ minutes to make it drinkable. If the mint tea arrives very quickly, get up and walk away. Locals have grown up with the de-salination and are okayyou are not.
Blow out
I had a nice hot day and headed for Sous Massa National Park via Ait Melloul. Once again confusion reigned, not one single taxi driver had even heard of it. Then one said he did and drove me all the way to North Agadir not far from where I was staying, that did it I will not waste any more time here. Went back to my room, what with the electricity and now this, filled my backpack and left.I'm gone.
Dec 21, 2024
More posts from: On the road
Minar Back in Tangier again Winter on the edge of the Sahara Thirteen Years The ruins Macedonian mess Orkoien Barasoain Beriain old town Etxauri Pamplona's parks San Fermin 2024 Charf Castletown Asilah Ksar es Seghir On the hill Tanja Kasbah A time in Tanja Beer Sheva disaster Local trips from Pamplona Pamplona in the Fall Visit to the Negev First time in Jerusalem