MOROCCO

To escape the rapidly descending Scottish winter and to celebrate Evan's birthday we decided to head to the sunnier climes of Morocco. With a two week window to do this and a strong desire to not only surf and enjoy the sun but to also get off the beaten tourist path a little it was decided to spend a week in the surfing/fishing village of Tagazhout, followed by a few days driving through the southwest of the country.
As we went to Morocco to chill out, relax, surf, eat and to simply enjoy the privilege and sensations of being visitors in a foreign country, what follows is merely a photo essay of some of the moments we experienced there. There's no history lessons (this time!) and nothing too in-depth, just our experience(s) of cruising through the different, bizarre, amazing, beautiful, inspiring, hot, dirty, scary, sublime, frustrating & peaceful country and culture that is Morocco.
It's a long post though so we hope you've got a couple of minutes to kill! Enjoy..

Our first morning in Morocco was spent in Agadir, the largest city on the southwest coast. With a few hours to kill until our transfer north to Tagazhout at lunchtime we headed off on foot to explore the city. The main beach at Agadir is a good one. a long and wide crescent that's full of locals and tourists alike on a Sunday morning; walking and swimming but mainly playing beach football. On the hill is the old kasbah and written underneath it in Berber Arabic is, “God, King and Country” or “Believe in God and Respect the King” (it's hard to know which is correct)..

By lunchtime we had checked into our accommodation for our week in Tagazhout, about 20 minutes north of Agadir. Here's Carly in the lounge room of our apartment - a lot bigger than our place in Glasgow!..

Here's the balcony - nice..

The Camel Man on the beach..

Sunset over the Atlantic on our first night in Tagazhout..

Our apartment was right on the southern edge of Tagazhout, situated on the very edge of Panorama Point. This is the sunset as seen from the cafe/restaurant on the point, where we had dinner in a restaurant that we had all to ourselves. Well, just us and the 8 cats that turned up to watch us eat and beg for scraps..

Our first morning in Tagazhout was greeted with a small to medium sized swell wrapping into Anchor Point, one of the most famous righthanders in the world and a long and perfect wave when it's firing. Unfortunately it wasn't perfect this day, with the 4-6ft of swell only just enabling the wave to break. Still, 4ft Anchor's is better than nothing!..

The view from the jump-off spot on the point..

Looking down the point back towards Tagazhout..

The rocks here are a perfect spot to watch the waves wrap down the point..

From the end of Anchor Point you can look further north along the beach of Mysteries right up to Killer Point in the distance, another classic righthander that has helped make this area of Morocco one of the best surf regions in the world..

The ruins on Anchor Point..

Carly in 'Rooboy' - the Renault Kangoo mini panel van we had for our forays up and down the coast..

Just a few minutes north of town was Atlantica Beach, home to one of the best cafe/restaurants we've ever been to. Situated right on the beach with some shade to stop us 'whiteys' from frying and some of the simplest, most delicious sandwiches to be found anywhere..

"I thought you asked for a coke?"

One of the 30,000+ cats we saw during our time in Morocco - working the clientele for some tasty morsels. By the looks of him, he's pretty good at garnering a snack or two..

Early morning surf check from the cafe on Point Panorama, just outside our front door..

Morning coffee on the balcony - hard to take..

Morning view of Tagazhout main beach..

Our furthest venture north brought us to this little gem of a village/wave - Immesouane, about 90 minutes from Tagazhout..

Us, high above Immesouane..

Immesouane harbour..

The fishing fleet..

Moroccan Phil checking out Rooboy..

The amazing rights of Immesouane, as seen from the inaccessible cliffs that surround the point/headland..

These were probably the best waves of the trip - long, fast, sand bottom lines with an easy takeoff followed by a fast and hollow middle section, tapering off to a mellow end section dumping you in knee-high water in the shore break. Amazing waves, and only 2 Frenchman to share them with!..

On the drive from Immesouane to Tagazhout you pass through the small village of Tamri and its' banana plantation - a true oasis along this dry coast..

Another of the classic points near Tagazhout - this is Boilers on the south side of Cap Rhir, about 20 minutes north of the village..

An XL breaks wide of the point..

A different perspective of Tagazhout beach, looking from the north back towards our building (far right)..

Panorama Point Apartments..

And yet another glorious sunset that we had to endure from the balcony..

One morning we went for a stroll along the beach to the south of the village where we picked up a companion for our walk. Carly, making friends..

Then it was back to our favourite lunch spot - Atlantica Beach. Seriously people, if you 're ever in the area stop by for lunch - you'll find it difficult to leave..

Atlantica Beach..

Carly sitting in the 'restaurant'..

A common sight on the beaches near town - the camel and horses waiting for the next tourist..

And again, we finished the day with some beer, wine and cheese as we watched the sun slip into the sea..

Relaxing..

Albeit difficult to comprehend and adjust to, one of the most amazing things to experience when visiting a Muslim country is the muezzin giving the call to prayer 5 times a day. Even if disconnected from its religious, dogmatic purpose it is still a haunting sound and a strong reminder that you're in a different world. Especially when it permeates your dreams at 5:30 in the morning..

Time to surf! Heading out on Panorama Beach to nab a couple..

Carly. Panorama Point (our building) is visible on the point behind..

Styling on the mini mal..

First surf in almost 18 months but no rust showing!..

The local camel wash..

Crazy kittens. These guys lived on/in/under the rocks scattered along the point..

Panorama's sunset - you can never get tired of watching a good sunset..

The garden at the front door. On the left you can just see Panorama Restuarant/Cafe and straight ahead about 50 metres is the point itself..

Tagazhout police station..

The town square..

Almugar Surf Shop and the mosque..

Birthday waves! This is Tamri again (where the banana plantation is) on the 13/11/09. This beach is an absolute swell magnet and the place to surf when the points are flat. Although not very hollow the waves here were powerful, reminiscent of Johanna or Gunnamatta back home..

Tamri lines..

For Evan's birthday 2 surf's were had, along with a nice lunch and an hour massage in the village. This is Carly and (another) Moroccan Phil, on Tagazhout front beach just after our massages..

Panorama Point, coming to life in the dwindling late afternoon light..

Carly, checking the blur's from the balcony..

Next morning, back at Mysteries on a smaller swell..

A closer look at Killer Point, struggling to break in the smaller conditions..

The fast and extemely shallow righthander that broke onto Mysteries Beach..

Carly in the Tagazhout beach cafe..

The local mutt we named 'Toto' in one of his favourite spots..

On our last morning in Tagazhout, as Evan was doing the breakfast bakery run he came across one of the local goat 'herds' going about their usual business of trying to keep the ridiculous amounts of rubbish under control - by eating as much of it as they can..

After leaving Tagazhout we headed back to Agadir, picked up another rental car and continued south for another 150kms or so, heading to the tiny village of Mirleft. This was our first view of the ocean after detouring inland a little..

Imin Tourga Beach at Mirleft..

Looking up the (dry) river mouth to the kasbah on the hill..

On the beach watching the obligatory football game..

Burqas on the beach..

Imin Tourga - another incredible spot..

The big, clean and powerful swell that was hitting the coast. Without a surfer to add scale it is hard to guage the size, but after watching the waves roll in all afternoon it was easy to see they were at least 8ft. On top of that most of them stayed open and peeled and barrelled their way to shore, however the take-off spots continually shifted. Still, the local kids did their best to encourage you to padle out anyway..

Cliffhoppers and rock fishers..

Moroccan mansions..

A-Frame..

Some of the local architecture..

A dog named Moggy..

The view from our bed at Sally's B&B, Mirleft..

Breakfast on the terrace. An amazing view..

Nice lines rolling into the bay at Plage Legzira, 30 minutes south of Mirleft. Another amazing beach, excellent waves - and nobody out!..

We went down to Legzira to check out some of the rock formations..

Some of the incredible rock formations, it should be said..

Here, two natural arches allow access to 3 remote beaches..

Actually, there's really 3 arches, although this one is a lot smaller than the other two..

Whilst this monster is easily the largest. Carly, underneath 2 arches..

Spectacular..

For such a beautiful stretch of coastline we were amazed to find oursleves alone on the beach this morning..

Moroccan beach shack..

A local heading down to the beach for a fish..

The village at Plage Legzira..

Another amazing view - the rocky island in front of the village. Also our last view of the ocean before we began our journey inland to cross the Anti Atlas Mountains..

Well that was the plan until we had a breakdown! At first we thought it was a flat tyre. But no. Maybe a destroyed water pump? No. It was actually an inner plastic guard that had popped a screw and flicked itself into the fan belt. Phew. After getting the first screw out (thanks to my Leatherman pocketknife - never leave home without it!) a car full of local guys stopped and took the rest out for us. We ran into them later at a cafe in Tafraoute and shouted them some tea. They were happy..

In the foothills of the Anti Atlas..

Our first stop in the Anti Atlas Mountains: Tafraoute..

A relaxed little town surrounded on all sides by the mountains..

The Renault 4 - the Falcon/Commodore of Morocco - they're everywhere!..

As are these strange little pedal start motorbikes..

Tajines - a Moroccan speciality. So good! Unfortunately we got stuck in before realising we should have taken a photo of these delicious local dishes..

Another Moroccan specialty - Mint Tea. Extemely sweet, unbelievably minty. If you're ever lucky enough to have tea with a local and are bestowed the pouring duty, it's important to have some pouring form - the higher the better! Evan, putting in the hard yards..

The next morning we went to a little village south of Tafraoute to check out one of the famous rock formations in the area - le Chapeau de Napoleon (Napoleon's Hat)..

The formation rises above the village of Aguerd Oudad which, like Tafraoute, is surrounded by the mountains. These ones are a little different though - smaller, with a mainly smooth surface and lots of loose boulders sitting precariously on top..

We passed through many spots in Morocco that felt like we could have been in Australia, mainly due to the Eucaplyptus trees found in some areas. Although there were no Eucalypts here this area was also reminiscent of Australia, particularly the Alice Springs area..

Le Chapeau de Napoleon hovering over a beautiful house/hotel..

After leaving Napoleon's hat we continued our journey through the Anti Atlas, heading through the beautiful Ameln Valley..

Looking down the valley..

New mosque, old mountains..

One of the first (of what was to be many) of the mudbrick villages we passed..

Camouflaged village?..

Goats in trees! We had heard of the local goats that climb the Argan trees to eat the berries, but until this sight Evan had only gained a glimpse of a goat up a tree back in Tagazhout. But here, somehwere in the foothills of the Anti Atlas, as we were zooming past and not expecting it, we found a whole herd in various stages of tree climbing!..

Tree Goats..

Another amazing sight enroute to our next destination, Taroudannt..

In Taroudannt we stayed in what was probably the best hosted accommodation of our trip - Riad Taroudannt. A new and immaculate riad run by a Moroccan woman and her French/Swiss husband. The rooms were beautiful, very simple and beautifully finished and the Tajine dinner we had here was one of the best meals of our lives. Here's Carly, checking out the internal courtyard and pool..

The rooftop garden..

Rooftop pool view..

The busy streets of Taroudannt..

Just outside one of the medina (walled city) gates we saw a sight that had become familiar to us - the tractor trailer bus..

A small section of the 7.5kms of red-mud ramparts that surround the city..

Place Al Alaouyine (Place Assarag) - not quite an oasis!..

Crazy old snake charmer playing with his cobra..

Snakekisser..

After spending the afternoon walking the city and its' souks it was back to the riad for a swim..

And to nurse the sookiest German Shepherd in the world - Rex. He is a quite an intimidating sight when you step into the riad's reception area and see him sprawled across the floor, but it turns out he's just a big puppy!..

Next morning we left Taroudannt via the Bal el-Kasbah, the triple-arched gateway of the medina, and began our drive over the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech..

We chose to cross the High Atlas mountains via the most notorious road in Morocco - the Tizi n'Test. This road reaches a height of 2100 metres and for about 30kms is not much more than a loose gravel and dirt, single lane track twisting its way through the mountains via blind corners and hairpin turns. With nothing but air between the car (that's the edge of the road you can see in the bottom right of this photo) and the 3, 4 or even 500 metre drops into the valleys below it is a true white-knuckle driving test. Possibly the longest adrenalin rush Evan has ever had!..

Tizi n'Test view. Carly took this photo whilst Evan wiped the sweat off the steering wheel..

Made it to the top! Where it was beginning to rain - time to leave..

Mud village, somewhere on the north side of the High Atlas..

The journey from the Tizi n'Test pass to Marrakech was a lot easier than the road up. The road gradually snaked it's way down through beautiful valleys and even opened up to double lanes for a while..

Wash day at the river..

The last thing we were expecting to see in Morocco was a large body of fresh water, but in the High Atlas foothills we came across this haven..

We arrived in Marrakech in the early afternoon and checked into another riad in the south of the city. This is the rooftop view of the pool and internal courtyard..

Glad to be exploring on foot again we headed up to the Koutoubia Mosque to check out its 70 metre tall minaret, constructed in the 12th Century..

Then it was down to the Djeem El-Fna, the main square of Marrakesh. Every evening hundreds of makeshift restaurants and foodstalls are erected in the square to cater to adventurous (and strong-stomached) tourists. This is just a small portion of the 100 or so food stalls that asked us to join them for dinner!..

The square is an absolutely amazing place to visit - although the word 'zoo' may be an apt description? Designated a UNESCO 'Masterpiece of World Heritage' in 2001, La Place as it is also known, is filled every day/night with the above-mentioned temporary restaurants plus snake charmers, henna tattooists, OJ sellers, musicians, concerts, horse-drawn carriages, astrologers and of course tourists, among many others. It is madness, absolute madness..

The Djeem El-Fna in full flight..

We found it best to appreciate La Place from the relatively calm surrounds of a rooftop cafe..


And that is all we have to show of our journey through the south of Morocco, from the amazing beaches to the somewhat terrifying mountains - and everything in between! We hope you enjoyed checking out the pics as much as we enjoyed our journey!
Up next, as promised, will be the Gamble's visit to sunny Scotland and Western Europe in late December and January - stay tuned!..