Morocco - Marrakech to Agadir

 Last nights group dinner was at a restaurant just off the main square. We sat at one long table and ordered what we wanted from 2 sections of the menu. Some of the meals are included in the tour and this was one of them.

Olives were set on the table. The green ones were spicy but I ate more than my share of the black ones.

 

Baskets of bread too. This is Khobz, and has been served at every meal.

I ordered a mixed salad, forgot to take a picture so this is more than half eaten! I also had an omelette that was basically 2 mixed eggs done on the grill. I was very happy with this as the vegetarian options have been limited to couscous and

soggy vegetables. This is Heather's vegetarian Tagine. Surprisingly bland. Recipes I have found on the internet indicate that it should have a lot of spices, olives, dates or apricots. It has been a bit disappointing.

Abdellah demonstrating how the tea should be poured. 

The Ultimate Gesture of Welcome: Offering tea is a primary rule of Moroccan etiquette. When guests arrive at a home, shop, or office, hot mint tea is brewed and served immediately to show respect and honor. Declining a cup can be viewed as a social rebuff. [
A Symbol of Community and Pace: A famous Maghrebi proverb states: "To make good tea, you need time, coals, and friends." Drinking tea encourages people to slow down, converse, and connect, serving as the social glue for family gatherings, business deals, weddings, births, and even funerals. 
An Artistic Performance: Traditionally prepared by the head of the household in front of guests, the service involves a graceful, high-altitude pour from a metal teapot into small glass cups to aerate the liquid and create a light foam (turban).  from the AI summary.
• We were given tea as soon as we arrived at the Riad and again at the hotel we arrived at today.
•  After dinner we walked back into the square and had some ice cream before returning to the Riad to pack.

• 

  Greeted by the hotel cat this morning.

  
   

  

  The handle to my door in the Riad. It had a padlock that my key fit. After breakfast we, and our luggage, were in the same van as yesterday, at 10:30.

It is Friday and Friday is a significant day for Muslims. Morocco practices a liberal Muslim faith but many engage in the ritual bathing before attending the Mosque for a special 2 hour sermon. It is a family day, "couscous day", where a meal of couscous and meat is shared by the family. It is a day to be generous. Abdellah explained that since 9/11 the topic of the sermon is decided for each Friday and all the Imams will conduct a sermon on the same topic on that day.

He also talked about the Royal family, the role they play, and how they inherit. But I missed most of that as I was sitting at the back of the van and couldn't hear that well. The one thing I did hear is that, although the current king has a son and a daughter, the daughter cannot become queen only the oldest male in the family. Of note, recently Morocco elected its first female Prime Minister. 

After leaving Marrakech we were onto a major highway

 

and heading for the Atlas Mountains

on our way to Agadir.

Our CEO is a Berber and explained that many in the mountains still lead a simple, semi nomadic life. Their homes are adobe and they spend time wandering with their sheep and goats to keep them fed. He explained that the last big earthquake, in 2023, was in the mountains, at night and there was such a high death toll (about 3,000 people) because of the materials used to build their homes. The Berbers are the indigenous, preArab inhabitants of Morocco and make up about half of the population.

We stopped for a bathroom and sustenance break

and fed a very cute and polite little dog.

Back in the van, through a pass and down, down, down the South slope of the mountains where Argon trees grow. I understand we will learn more about Argon in the days to come.

We arrived in Agadir and went straight to the huge indoor market. This town was destroyed by an earthquake in 1960 and has been totally rebuilt since then. 

The market is organized into specialty sections

Mark compared it to Giant Tiger, as the quality of clothing and household goods was not high but the produce is all grown in the valley close to the town so, very good.

It has been made to look old. It was not that busy as it is Friday and we did see about 8 shop keepers seated around a huge dish of couscous with a cooked chicken in the middle, sharing from that communal dish.

So many tomatoes are grown here that they are also exported.

We wandered a little but really it could not compare to the hustle and bustle and colour and variety of the Souks we had seen in Marrakech.

Mosque located beside one of the gates.

A short drive took us to our hotel. I can see this minaret from my window, smell the sea and hear sea gulls.  

Most went straight down to the sea and then found a place to eat. Joe and I waited for Abdellah and ended up eating at this restaurant which is a chain.

We sat up on the rooftop and would have had a great view of the sea if this damp fog had not rolled in (reminded me of Vancouver Island!)

I had a Buratta salad and a side of houmous. The cheese was gooey in the middle and the houmous had a drizzle of oil infused with chilli. Hit the spot.

It was an exciting menu ...this is Tagine pizza (inside was cheese and meat cooked first in a tagine)

Joe had meat and cheese rolled, served on skewers over a bed of charcoal.

 Too full for dessert we walked back to the hotel. Scheduled to be back in the van by 8am tomorrow for a drive up the coast. Hopefully the fog has lifted.

Morocco - Ouzoud Falls

We didn't all go on this excursion, the group split up for a variety of activities. Heather and Tim, Mark, Dave and I, were down early for breakfast at 6:15 to leave by 7am. I don't have a lot of pictures of the ride to the falls as we were speeding along so here are some impressions.

Cloud cover off and on all day but a very comfortable temperature.

 It didn't take long to get out of Marrakech and we went through an area, full of cranes and heavy machinery as there is a massive construction push ahead of hosting the next FIFA World Cup. Then we were into agriculture - mostly open scrubby fields that seemed to be delineated by either piles of stones or a raised dirt border. Some crops in the ground and people in the fields tending or harvesting. Flocks of sheep, loose, with a shepherd. These were rather gangly looking sheep and did not have a lot of wool on them. Lots of stray dogs. Chickens around the homes. As we got closer to the Atlas Mountains, into the foothills there was less agriculture though one area is know for its bee hives due to the prevalence of a particular plant. 

We learned that there had been about 9 years of drought and Morocco had had to import grain from Canada (they eat a lot of bread here) then there was "a miracle" and they got substantial rain over the last couple of years and the agriculture rebounded. 

These large irrigation pipes were beside some of the roads with smaller pipes stretching off into the fields.

 There was the usual variety of vehicular and animal traffic and we saw a lot of donkeys and mules tethered. The kids were going to school, congregating at intersections to be picked up by bus or biking. Abdellah explained that half of the kids go to school in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Public education is free up to and including University. Unemployment in the country is at about 8%. Some of the kids wore white lab coats, perhaps a form of uniform. There were lots of people about, walking, on bicycles, standing around in groups both in the communities and out in the countryside.

We stopped for a washroom break after about an hour and a half at a gas station and were able to also get a coffee.

The roads had been straight and up to 4 lanes in places but once we were in the hills, although still in good shape they were windyer, steeper and sometimes we got stuck behind slower vehicles.

 

Because we had left early we were just the second tourist van into the parking area and there were very few people around.

We were above the falls where the river makes its way around rocks and islands and where it powered grain grinding mills in the past.

It was very picturesque and refreshing, after nearly 3 hours in the van.

We all made our way, over little bridges to be able to see down into the gorge

and further along to be able to see the top of the falls

and across to the 5 star hotel. At this point Helen turned back, not sure she could manage the climb down or back up and she waited for us at the restaurant where we would eat lunch.

As we started down the trail there was a man feeding peanuts to a Macaque monkey. They live here in the olive and carob forests.

A family of them by the trail.

The man pushed peanuts into my hand and before I knew it, like it or not, I was feeding the monkey. Photo by Heather.

Not into peanuts another family group was eating berries.

Another just hanging out. Photo by Mark.

The trail down was mostly packed clay with steps formed using roots. You had to watch the, sometimes, uneven footing but overall it wasn't difficult.

Every now and then there were small stalls selling souvenirs or soft drinks. 

Supplies delivered by donkey. Donkey rides up were also on offer.

Mostly shaded we could catch glimpses, between the trees, of the falls,

the pools below and

the sides

of the canyon.

The last bit was steep and had a rather rickety railing. Photo by Mark.

Sand bag dams helped maintain the pool depth

for the boats that took tourists for a short ride up to the falls.

Off we went

with Dave opting to skip the excursion. Photo by Mark.

We were rowed up to the base of the falls and then

there were the photo opportunities.

Dave watching from the shore and offering a bribe to the pilot, to take us under the falls.

Only about 15 minutes but such fun.

We docked on the opposite shore

and by now the crowds were catching up

with 3 boats now jockeying for positions below the falls.

 Now it was the tough climb back up. The stairs were tile and pretty regular, weaving back and forth past souvenir stalls and restaurants. Periodically a donkey and owner waiting to offer a ride. I was glad I had my stick and stopped every so often to get my heart rate back down. A couple of stall keepers smiled and said "lentemente" (slowly, in French). 

We found Helen waiting at the restaurant where we then had lunch, starting with this cold salad of rice, potato, carrots, beets and cucumber.

 

Tim, Heather and I had couscous and veg. Mark, Dave and Helen had chicken skewers and fries. Heather insisted that the cats get some chicken and this one had Mark's number.

Dessert was a tray of cookies left at the table.

Tangine being cooked over individual charcoal coals and

the chicken on a grill.

A children's area on the way back to the car park, which was now full of vans and buses.

This is the Moroccan flag.  On the ride back Abdellah, who is Berber, showed us the Berber flag. Which has stripes, of blue (representing the surrounding seas), green (representing the northern area) and yellow (representing the dessert) with a symbol for peace in red over the 3.

We were tired and some of us napped on the way back.

We were stopped on 3 occasions at roadside police checks. The van had a machine above the front window that looked like a CD player. From it the driver would take a paper disk and hand it to the officer. It contained information related to the vehicle, the driver and from it the officer could tell if we had been speeding, which would have resulted in a fine or a suspension of the driver. Every vehicle for 8 passengers or more has one of these devices.

We were back at the Riad with time for a shower before heading out as a group for our last dinner together. 4 will be going home tomorrow and one, Joe, will join us for the coastal part of our tour.