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Discovering
Agadir While
the route that winds its way along Morocco's
Atlantic Coast, from Essaouira south to Agadir, is
relatively short in distance, the scenery we
encountered was simply unforgettable. Muguette and
I were in good company, traveling by Land Rover
with Elena Hall, partner in the "Blue Men of
Morocco" tour company. We met her many months
ago via the Internet, and in person at the 6th ATA
Ecotourism Symposium in Fès a week earlier.
The trip was leisurely, and along the way, on
Elena's insistence, we made a one hour detour
inland, passing through a rugged, hilly area that
reminded me of Northern Arizona or Southern Utah.
The side trip was to a special area where our host,
was searching for "ammonite gonatite" fossils.
According to Ms. Hall, an American living in Spain,
the country north of Agadir is the only area in
Morocco where such fossils are available. The
seacoast route provided a completely different
vista with miles of pristine, undisturbed beaches,
lighthouses and a variety of unique pastoral
scenes.
Looking
at the long, wide, crescent-shaped beach, it's not
hard to see why Agadir, with its warm sands, blue
skies and rolling surf, continues to attract
visitors in droves, including special air charters
from Europe. We noticed a number of vehicles had
been driven here from Europe. The beach area is
clean and well maintained. The day we arrived it
was much too cool for beach activity, but it wasn't
hard to visualize what this Atlantic Coastal resort
would be like at peak season. We stopped for a
refreshing drink at a charming restaurant (above)
on the city's main boulevard, being attracted by
the building's design, its signage and its
Moorish-Spanish décor (details
later). Later
we enjoyed a great meal at- one of the many
side-by-side beach front restaurants (part outdoor-
part indoor) and not only was the selection varied,
the price was reasonable compared to the same menu
in the USA. We drove around most of the downtown
area, did some business and were impressed with
Agadir's modern look, friendliness and wide variety
of shops and services. More to come in this
series. Getting
there? Europeans have discovered Agadir in a big
way, and there are regular flights available from
Germany. Where
to stay in Agadir? Watch for Africa Travel
Magazine's recommendations and those of our readers
from the travel industry. May
we hear from you? Travel-Hospitality
Contacts: USA:
Moroccan Tourist Office: 20 East 46th St., Suite
1201, New York, NY 10017, A.S.A.P. Tel.:
212-557-2520. Fax: 212-949-8148. Web Site:
http://www.tourism-in-morocco.com/ CANADA:
Moroccan National Tourist Office: Suite 1460, 2001
rue University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada HA 2A6.
Tel: +1 514 842 8111/2. Fax: +1 514 842 5316.
Letter
from a reader Morocco
is a fascinating if you love sensory experiences or
sensory overload!! The experience started as soon
as we boarded the Royal Air Maroc flight, and
continued for the entire trip. I'll never forget
the sights, smells and sounds of the souk at
Marrakech!!! Shopping was great as well. As I said,
I prefer to get a little more into the country
itself, but it was a great 'spa experience'. The
trip was billed as "Sister Scholars at the Spa"!!!
Actually, Morocco was a great value I would go
again for that reason alone. I started writing an
article several months ago and would be happy to
share my thoughts with you further.
Pamela E-mail
Africa
Travel
Magazine
with your own travel experiences in
Morocco.
by
Jerry W. Bird
Upon
arriving in Agadir and discovering the amazing
development taking place all along the beach front
and parts of the downtown area, I wished we had
arranged more time - - a weekend at least. There
were cranes everywhere - the building variety --
and much of the development is so new, it looks
like someone magic person just opened a gift
package.
Our
"Roads
to Adventure"
series which features Great Drives and Railway
Travel, has appeared in newspapers, magazines and
on tv across North America since 1990. We have
profiled several famous continental highways
systems for government and association clients, and
are always looking for the next big challenge. This
coming year we plan to write and produce a similar
series for Africa including caravan routes from the
Middle East and across the Sahara.
Photo: Our host on the trip to Agadire, Elena Hall
(left) and her partne in Blue Men of Morocco Tours
and Travel.
Blue
Men of Morocco Tours and
Travel
Mistral
Travel of Essaouira,
Morocco
.
////George
David Cook, Director
Jnan
Palace, Fés
Raid
Maria in
Morocco
Sheraton
Fez
Jerry
W. Bird is President of ATA Canada Chapter, Editor
and Publisher of Africa Travel Magazine, and
Webmaster for the ATA web site. He also publishes
Air Highways Magazine featuring aviation, tourism,
transportation and business worldwide. His career
began with the Edmonton Journal Daily Newspaper and
expanded into the full spectrum of media - radio,
television, magazines and Internet. Mr. Bird has
won international awards for creativity in audio
visual and print production.
Comments by Muguette Goufrani: A feature on one of
my father's escorted tours where we visited a
"Wedding
Fair"
prompted the following letter. The event took place
at Hadiddou Imilchil, a Berber village in southern
Morocco.
Since I read your article
about
Morocco,
we took a group of African American Female
educators there last year and had a wonderful
time. Hope to take a group again next year.
Briefly, the experience was wonderful. We spent
most of our time in Agadir with a one night
excursion to Marrakech. We stayed at Club Valtur
and the resort was great, albeit very Italian. I
didn't learn much about the people or culture of
Morocco, hence the need for a second trip.
However, I did make a few friends
(smile).
