April 26th, 2024

As we mentioned on the last post the wind was really strong which prevented us from docking yesterday afternoon. When I checked our final route we ended up going in more circles until about 12:30am when we were finally able to dock. I woke up at 4:30am and looked out and we were already docked.

Gives you and idea of the wind, Sunset, our route prior to docking

Our tour met at 8am and we were doing 4 x 4s up into the mountains and also learn about Argan Oil. When we got up we could see all of our vehicles on the dock waiting on us.

There was supposed to be 4 to a vehicle and the driver but we lucked out and got placed in car 1 and we ended up with just the 2 of us and a driver and the lead guide and we got a second guide who sat behind us. We were also the lead car.

Agadir has miles and miles of white sand beaches. Our guide said that in the summer months the beaches are covered with people. Today we had a high of 72 degrees so nobody was laying on the beach.

Us on the beach

The place we stopped was a resort area but more for locals than tourists. The only thing that made it stand out was that they painted each building a bright color and all different.

Very picturesque

I got pictures of it both coming and going.

After the colorful village by the sea we headed inland to the Atlas Mountains to a small village called Tamri where we were invited inside a collaborative run by women who harvest Argan Oil for a living.

As we were driving up to the village we passed a family of wild pigs. Our driver slowed down and whistled at them and the whole family, including all these piglets came running to the side of the car. Sine Morocco is a muslim country they do not eat pork so the pigs are more like pets.

The little piglets

We were a novelty to the locals

It was not uncommon to see people riding donkeys around the village.

We were invited to sit on pillows on the floor on homemade rugs and have some fresh bread dipped in local honey, Argan oil, butter and amlou which is a dip made of almonds, honey and organ oil. All were delicious but the bread was the best. It was still warm when they served it to us.

The homemade bread

It was a little entertaining to watch 20 senior citizens try to get down on the floor and sit on the cushions. I will say everyone made it except for 3 mobility impaired people who needed chairs. It was fun watching all of us get on the floor but even more fun watching us try to get up.

After the snack they did show us several products made from Argan oil and after seeing the labor intensive process to get the oil we did buy a few things to support the collaborative. After being in the village we really believe that the people really do live there and the manual way they harvest the oil is really how they do it. There were no big machines hiding down the street.

The organ fruit drops from the trees and is left on the ground until it is dried in the sun. Then it is collected and they peel the shell off until they just have the seed. They use the round rock to crack the seed and get the meat of it out. Then they use the handmade grinder to get the seed meat into the oil that is used in all the products.

One of the women from the village beneath their national flag.

Some pictures from the village

The decorative windows

After the village we ended up getting on a dirt road and going higher up into the mountains. The road was a single lane road and there were no guide rails. The views were beautiful but a little scary.

The view from the top looking down into the valley.

What the road looked like that we traveled on

Down in the valley they had a huge agricultural area when they grow plantains which they use locally.

More views from the mountains

After we got back down into the valley we went to some sand dunes overlooking the Atlantic ocean.

Tons of sand.

We did see lots of surfers in the water on the ride back to the port. Waves did not look that big but our guide said it is a big surfing area.

There were horses and camels on the beach.

The beaches were very clean.

We got back to the port a little before 2pm and all on board was at 1pm but since we were on a Viking tour we were not worried. As soon as we boarded the gangway came up and we set sail.

Above the port was these 2 planes that were at the top of a hill. Our guide told us that this was a new project to build a recreational area up there and these planes were going to be a restaurant. Not sure if that will happen but interesting idea.

We actually saw several projects underway in Agadir. One was right on the beach and it was a palace that was owned by a Saudi prince and he used to help support the town nearby. After his death the palace was given the the Prince of Morocco and he tore the palace down and is planning a huge beach resort which will employ locals from the village to both build and then work at the resort. Another project was happening down in the valley and it is huge desalinization plant being built which will pump water from the ocean.

Hopefully all these projects will continue and Agadir will continue to grow.

The Morocco coast line

We are headed for Casablanca, Morocco where we will dock at 8am.