It is third time I am in Agadir and still say that it is fundamentally ugly. But there are people who like it. I read in an article about Agadir that someone loves it, other hates it. I consider it as one of the worst places I have seen. Moreover, there is nothing to do. In Atlantic the water is cold. The town is modern resort, everything during the earthquake got destroyed and there is nothing left. So the only thing worth for me is souk.
It was beautiful. Hills, trees, oasis, well as fairyland. Road ended near one auberge looks interesting. Room as well with nice view over the river without water but with palm trees. So, ah, just not fault anywhere. Yeah, only the dinner, it was the worst meal I've probably ever had. Or not the worst, but ... it could be better. Mister cook was away due Ramadan and the owner couldn't cook.
It was about 600-800 years old.
But we were not going there, cannot climb, only look at.
We took and walked a little in the bed of the river and it was beautiful and peaceful walk.
There were also old pictures in the rock, but even to them it was necessary to climb, so we got to miss them.
But along the road on the hills there were other "pictures" done of the wind and it was beautiful view. Down there were climbing goats and cheeps also.
Our way continued then via Akka and Tata were I wanted go already first time we were in Morocco, but at that time they said it was only piste and not possible to go with a normal car yet.
We drove on and the landscape was essentially flat, just the hills far away. Occasionally along the road were small villages, but quite empty, nothing was open either due Ramadan.
My friend began to whine that's annoying and boring, but I calmed him that this was the desert, so it was exciting as well. And in addition, there were the scattered Nomads tent here and there and it felt like to be somewhere in the really desert.
We were in the desert, but now it's all so civilized as those Nomads who mainly have grazing sheep and goats, but they also have satellite dish and therefore even television.
In Tata, where we took at hotel, though it was Ramadan and you would think the people is home relaxing, because they cannot eat and drink during the light time of the day so there were plenty of people everywhere including sheep and goats and donkeys.
We sat there and looked at life. We trailed around in that little town to six afternoon when people suddenly disappeared.
The square which was full before, suddenly was empty. Only one and other run with a pot with harira and so on.
Restaurants opened here and there, waiters put the table at street and on it stood two soup bowls to show that people can get dinner there.
Foum Zguid enticed me much, I've read a bit about that it's still a small town with absolutely no tourists. Therefore entirely Moroccan, "unsullied" of tourists. And right, we were there alone, no other travelers.
I decided in any case to take the chance of going there as well. To my friend I said nothing, because he would refuse immediately to go there. But I wanted go there and luckily it turned out to be paved road.
We made stop and I walked around
a bit for to look how it is there.
Nice small town with many people sitting at cafe even if they not was drinking or eating anything because of Ramadan.
Then we went into the mountains through Bou Azzer where are cobalt mines. Everything around there was blue, rocks, stones. Even sky had cobalt colors.
On the way towards Agdz we again saw a Nomads tent here and there, the camels even white camels, goats, sheep. It went well, the road was asphalted and therefore recently new and yet not too damaged. Nothing special has happened on the way. Only mountains changed colors and became green. I was curious if it was so really or ... and of course the grass there was very very short so it looked like a green rock, but it wasn't, it was only grass.
About this plant I heard and even read that the fruit is quite toxic. Read about that in Algeria during the colonial period when Frenchmen tried to build a railway across the Sahara but Tuaregs did not want it there arose quite heavy fight between each other. Tuareg have cooked the tea of this plant and during negotiations with Frenchmen they have invited them to drink it. All Frenchmen was poisoned and died. And thus ended the construction of the railway.
In Agdz we sat on the square at one cafe waiting to six o'clock to see what will happen. It was last day of Ramadan and we were curious what people do this last day. But somehow nothing happened, the people began to disappear home as the other days. At 18.00 the owner of the cafe took cup of the tea and a piece of bread and talked with us. Then he went to fetch harrira and rejoiced over the end of Ramadan. We asked if he like Ramadan. Ramadan he likes because it is good for body and soul. But he is glad that Ramadan is over and he will eat couscous and couscous the whole next day. The next day it is Eid-al-Fitr and it would be a big party, so everywhere all will be closed, even fuel station so we should take fuel right now. Celebration will be as anywhere, the whole day it will be music and dance.
Next day really everything was closed, we just met people in ceremonial clothing and everybody went in the same direction probably where there would be a feast. Women and small girls had so many sewn sequins on theirs dress that full shone in the sun, men were dressed in white. I tried to do some photos, but it felt silly to take any pictures, especially when I knew they do not like it.
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| Erg Chebbi before sand stom - is it not wonderful? ☺ |
Some year ago I have seen the picture of this hotel on the internet, but I did not know where it was, if in Morocco or wherever and not the name of either. I said then I would like to sit there and watch the sand dunes. And then suddenly have it show up, without I expected it. So it's clear that we stayed there for several days.
There were lot of camels ready for tourists. But we did not take them because it seemed to us a little silly. Anything else would be if we want to go somewhere in the desert, for example to Timbuktu which I would like very much. We were satisfied just by watching them, funny but nice animals.
We also looked at the sky and I've never seen such before. Those stars, incredible. Completely hung like many other stars strung on strands of other stars. And they fell on us. The moon also was different, lazy and rolled on some way, not in the way we are used to see it.
We sat longer, but it began to blow and it looked like a sandstorm so we gone back to the hotel and when we came back, it already began be quite windy so we were glad that we went back in time. It was sandstorm.
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| approaching sandstorm |
We were also going to the lake Dayet Sriji, if we'll see any flamingo and we got found the way without problem. We wanted to drive to the other side, but it looked like a swamp and we did not want to get stuck car so we stopped. I had a binoculars so I was looking the other way and there was a lot of flamingo, hundreds it felt. It was beautiful, a pity that we could not go to them. But they would probably fly away so we just looked.
There came some older man with goats. He could not speak, so it was with gestures and shrieks he communicated with us. He was pleasant and friendly, showing us flamenco. I gave him some cigarettes which he asked about so he was very happy.
It says the lake is salt lake, but not any more now. Partly because the rain which occur time to time in the Spring and also because in Errachidia is one big dam and if there is too much water then they let the water run away just to the lake here.
After sandstorm when sky became clear again came sunset and we just looked at those different colors. Incredible and beautiful. In addition to the east the sky was overcast, the sun shone just to the west, so it seemed almost unreal. One can only sit and watch from dawn to dusk. Still, it's different, it's changing every moment.
We sat there after dinner and again, all was different. Thunderstorms over the Sahara Desert in Algeria were simply rebelled and flashed and these mounds of sand shone completely white when it flashed. I can not describe it.
The flooding came next morning when we started our trip back to Agadir. It began rain, not so much but probably it was enough for the sandy ground to suck the water and it formed the flooding.
Already in Jorf we had to go over the river.
People have shout at us that we can not take us over, but we did it anyway.
It stopped raining and the road was relative dry so we continued without bigger problems even if time to time we had to go through flowing water on the road.
But it was OK, until Boumalne, where it began to be white. At first we thought it was snow, but it turned out to be hail.
Even if we wanted to arrive to Ouarzazate for the night we decided to find some hotel already in Boumalne and stay over night there.
It was rainy probably almost the whole night because at morning it was one big "swimming pool" in the room ☺
Next day was still slightly rain here and there. Water was everywhere around and therefore small "lakes" on the road. But so much water was not there so we took the risk to see what happens. It went without problems, well, so we thought a little of adventure not hurt. Exciting it was and fun. And again flowed the river over the road. This happened a few more times, but then a long time it was only to drive without to wade. "A long time", perhaps some 10 km only, we could drive very slowly and total that day we drove approx 50 km, not more.
We almost regretted that there not were flowing water any more when we suddenly saw standing many cars on the road in both directions. The road ran up and down slightly, so we could not see what happened there down. We stopped and went to see what was going on. There down was a big truck who tried to run over flooded road, but apparently the current was quite strong, driver not managed to run over and have fall off the road.
And there who we do not see? A Dutchmen we met in one cafe in Tinjdad the day before. We talked for
a while and decided that there is not so much water so it would go to drive over. We drove on all the cars staying there wondering if they can go over or not.
We let to go before us our Dutchman and then drove we after. At the last moment it occurred to me to take a picture of him, so it is him riding through the water.
And we drove further. And then it was stop. Total stop. Longer was it not possible to go. It began rain, the queue was long so we could not see where it ended. We heard that the water was about a 100 to 150 meters wide and certainly a meter high. So it was not possible even for 4WD, let alone for car or motorcycle.
Luckily this was not completely in the wilderness, but a tiny rural roads and even one cafe. So we were really lucky. Be able to sit down somewhere, not just in the car. And even get something to drink and to eat. It was quite interesting mix of people, locals and tourists. For owner of cafe it was a wonderful business.
On afternoon came two cops "gendarmerie royale" and told that so far it is not possible go neither forward nor back ... perhaps in the evening ... Then we sat along and ate and drank and talked and walked around. Once we went to look outside how it looks like but it was hopeless. So we wondered how the night will be. Perhaps they let us sit in the cafe, so we do not sit in the car and freezes.
Meanwhile my friend and Dutchman disappeared for a while and when they came back said that we will have a room somewhere in the village.
I rejoiced that it's good news, even if we would managed to sit on the cafe through the night so a room with a bed is better. Haha, the bed, I thought yet. We gone with one man who was so nice to borrow us his house with a yard and three doors. One in the room, the other into the kitchen, the third to toilet - haha.
Cement floors with rug, blanket, and then two blankets to cover us, it was the bed. A "little too much" hard bed. In the kitchen some baking tray and nothing else. Well we did not plan to cook there, yeah.
When my friend saw it he said no, we do not stay there. If they not let us in the cafe overnight, we'll sleep in the car but not on the cement floor. But I denied and said that I'd rather sleep on cement floor instead to freezing the whole night in the car, not could go to toilet etc. so at finish he agreed to stay in the house.
We made ready the bed, I went to '' wash 'and then we went to bed. Well, it was hard, but for the fact that we woke a couple of times either because it was slightly hard bed, we had cold, or one was sticking the other from the bed, took the whole blanket and so we slept until eight o'clock anyway.
At night when I woke I heard that it's still raining so I saw all black, we will be there one another night, we will do not be in time in Agadir and aircraft will fly without us. But otherwise it was beautiful, an apartment in the house instead to sit in a cafe all night, or in a car, it would not be pleasant.
We went out to look how it is and I saw that all the cars are gone so the road is already good by and we can continue. It was pretty nice weather, although chilly in the morning, but here and there blue sky and it not looked that it would be rain again.
We packed and went to that cafe where we found the owner of the house lying there on a bench so we handed the keys to him and thanked so much for his kindness. We gave him also actually 200 DH so he could buy something to the house or so. Otherwise, not a single foot was there any more, all of people was gone.
Despite delays because of flooding we had in all cases several days still before we needed to be back in Agadir. Only that we could not take it as slowly as we planned, that is to stay overnight in Tazenakth, but we were allowed to continue, and spent the night first in Taroudant.
I like very much this city, more than Marrakech actually. There is much to see, the wall is unique, there are two different souks, one Arabic and one Berber etc. It is more calm, less tourists and nice locals who not want to do hassle and earn only money on us, but want to learn about other people. We were sitting there on the square and had a very nice conversation with locals. Funny, we cannot French, they couldn't English, but any way we understood each other.
Then it ended our this really exciting trip and I looked forward to next trip to Morocco ☺
