Biographies . Photos A,, Photos B.
Discovering
Agadir 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, perhaps a weekend at least.
Much of the development is so new, it looks like
someone just opened a gift
package.
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 beachfront 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. 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? Freshness
is the order of the day, every day, here at Chez
Sam and at the long row of outdoor stalls, perched
side-by-side along the dock area. Each stall offers
visitors fresh products from the sea to the table
and each competes vigorously with its neighbor for
our attention, with barkers, menu boards and
tempting displays of fresh catch from the Atlantic.
I enjoyed a generous portion of sole fillet and
fresh salad for less than five dollars U.S. My two
colleagues split a large crab for a similar
tab. Overhead
a flotilla of seagulls was dipping and diving
against a background of crashing whitecaps, rocky
outcrops and rugged remnants of the centuries old
Portuguese fort that marks the city's place in
history. Some call this the "city of winds ... and
when we visited Essaouira earlier this week, a
minor storm was brewing. Gusts swept the beaches
clear of surfers, bathers, wanderers and
beachcombers. A few camel drivers still manned
their stalls near the far end of the crescent
shaped beach, and the waves grew even more fierce
as they pounded the shore. But
today, near the end of December, 2002, it's as
balmy as any spring afternoon, and the buyers and
browsers are out in force, filling the Medina with
its dozens of shops and stalls. We found an
excellent Cyber Cafe right by the entrance and are
getting our dozens of e-mail letters ready to send
around the world. What a great way to stay in touch
- which is why we now carry our own
laptop. Arabian
Nights On New Years Eve:
One
of my favorite meeting places in Essaouira is the
new 5-star Hotel Sofitel Mogador,
located on the main promenade facing the famous
beach. That's where we spent one of the most
enjoyable New Year's Eve celebrations in years. It
started with our being invited to a Fashion Show
(left) and continued into the wee hours. For
starters, the hotel's dining room waiters were all
decked out in Aladdin costumes, and the entire
ballroom looked like a scene from Arabian
Nights,complete with belly dancers, a Spanish
guitar serenade and special visual and musical
effects. The entire evening was unforgettable. We
then moved to the hotel's beach side restaurant,
where the music was going full tilt. We displayed
some of our own special items including my regal
West African robe in royal blue trimmed in white.
One of the models wore Muguette's elegant soft
green outfit with contrasting shoulder wrap; both
were gifts from Tourism Minister, Sylla Hadja
Koumba Diakite of Guinea. We expect to receive some
photos of the Moroccan Khaftan fashion segment,
which we missed by a few minutes. Famous
Doors of Hospitality:
Another
friendly, convenient place to meet is the Hotel
des Isles, which next to the Medina and offers
a full range of services. We had the opportunity of
meeting the management and will provide more
details later in our recommended hotel and resort
comments, along with word about Essaouira's new
Ryad Mogador and others. I don't know
whether my story on Essaouira will ever be
completed. Since we spent almost two weeks in the
immediate area and met so many interesting people
from all walks of life, there is already enough
material for a series of travel guides. We met
people who are now permanent residents, who came
originally from the USA, Germany, France, Spain,
Italy, the United Kingdom and beyond, all of whom
expressed their love of Morocco in general and
Essaouira in particular. Several of these people
have riads in the Medina area, and others are
located in the surrounding countryside. Great
Drives? The whole of Morocco is ideal for enjoyable
drives. We enjoyed the coastal route from Essaouira
to Agadir,and drove the route from Essaouira to
Marrakech twice in a rental car, enjoying every
mile we traveled in this fascinating countryside.
As a firm believers in the magic of serendipity, I
was pleased to meet a very special person who is
now a confirmed "Essaouirian. " One day, we were
searching for computer internet services and
noticed a sign advertising a local travel agency.
Venturing inside, we enjoyed some quality time with
the owner, George Cook. The timing was perfect,
since Mr. Cook moved his company, fleet of 4-wheel
drive vehicles, computers and all, to the heart of
Essaouira, where he operates Mistral
Travel.
This group tour operation, backed by a travel
professional with decades of experience and key
connections in the British Isles, is a valuable
addition to the resort city. Watch for more
information on Mistral Travel on this site and in
Africa Travel Magazine. Much more to come in this
chapter and series.
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.
For
Further information, Contact:
by
Jerry W. Bird
A
favorite topic of mine is "Roads
to Adventure,"
a series which began in the early 90s and has
appeared in travel magazines, newspapers and video
accross North America. Now we're challenged to do
the same series for Africa. While the overland
route along Morocco's Atlantic Coast from Essaouira
to Agadir is relatively short in distance, taking
two and a half hours, the scenery we encountered
during the trip by land rover, was unforgettable.
We were in good company, traveling with Elena Hall,
partner in the escorted tour operation "Blue Men of
Morocco" with whom we participated a week
earlier at the ATA Symposium in Fès. The
trip was leisurely, and along the way we made a one
hour detour inland to a rugged, hilly area that
reminded me of Northern Arizona. The side trip was
to a special area where our host, was looking for
"ammonite gonatite" fossils, since, according to
Elena, this 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.
Discovering
Essaouira
Here we are, basking in the noonday sun on North
Africa's Atlantic Coast at Essaouira, Morocco,
following a journey of discovery which began in the
Imperial city of
Fès
and continued via
Rabat,
Casablanca,
Marrakech
and beyond. In a few days, we will drive further
south for two hours to the resort city of
Agadir,
with its rows of luxury beach front hotels and
casinos catering to the jet set of Europe, Africa,
the Orient and Middle East. Most North Americans
have yet to discover these two coastal resort
cities .. and that's a prime opportunity for our
magazine, which targets travel professionals in the
USA and Canada. We are enjoying a nautical view of
Essaouira's historic seaport, once known as
Mogador, from our dockside table at " Chez Sam. "
Highly recommended, this charming waterfront
restaurant is surrounded by fishing boats and
marine activity, from men repairing nets, shucking
shrimp and sorting sardines, to the looming
skeletons of new boats under construction. For some
reason the interior reminds me of Trader Vic's, a
popular hangout in my home port of Vancouver in
days gone by. The fresh seafood, decor and
atmosphere are magnificent and the impressive
gallery of celebrity photos ... Louis 'Satchmo'
Armstrong, Stevie Wonder and others ... attests to
the fact that the owner and founder comes from the
world of jazz. Sam and his huge, jet black dog
Nikita joined our table a few days later, and
thanks to that opportunity, I was able to learn the
history of this outstanding restaurateur and the
origin of the Essaouira seaport area's most popular
eatery.
Comments
by Muguette Goufrani:
While
visiting the Medina in Essaouira, I had the
opportunity of visiting an exceptional rIad, called
Les
Terrasses
d'Essaouria,
which will be featured in detail later on this
website and in our printed magazine. Also on this
site is a feature on one of my father's escorted
tour company, when we visited a "Wedding
Fair"
at Hadiddou Imilchil, a Berber village in southern
Morocco. The article prompted the following letter
from a travel agent in the USA.
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).
USA:
Moroccan Tourist Office: 20 East 46th St., Suite
1201, New York, NY 10017, U.S.A. Tel.:
212-557-2520. Fax: 212-949-8148. Web Site:
http://www.tourism-in-morocco.com/