....and
for those of you of a Certain Age, you might remember this Mike Batt
classic. If not, it doesn't matter 'cos, as far as we experienced,
neither does Agadir.As cities go, I'm sure that Agadir has it's good
points, but for us, fighting the rush hour traffic to find 1. a
supermarket and 2. a campsite, it had little to endear it to us. Jammed
into the mayhem of commuter travel is bad enough if you know where
you're going but as we didn't, and were relying on apparently random
signage, it becomes very much more frustrating.
This was at the end of a particularly humdrum day, flogging up the main highway from Tan Tan.
We had no option here, as there's only one road out of The Western Sahara region that was of any use to us. Our plan is to head for the Todra Gorges, which means a long couple of days on tarmac. M has identified a possible diversion using a mountain road, which probably means a lot more than it suggests.
We gave up on the supermarket a few minutes after losing the last of the useful signs. It could be just around the next corner or miles away. Stuck at lights, Donny's dad rapped on the passenger window and congratulated us on the colour of Daphne, enquired after our health, and suggested we give him some food. This is in a traffic queue in the middle of rush hour! Sure, matey, dive in the back and help yourself to a burger. We keep the oven on standby just for you. Twat. As you can tell, we've about had it with these chancers. As we left Tan Tan this morning we thought we'd stop and record the "Bon Voyage. Revenir a Tan Tan" sign.
You guessed it. The Teenage Highwaymen led by Donny and Unbonbon, now joined by Unstylo, appeared from nowhere on their bikes. We spotted them early enough to get the photos done and scoot up the road before they could climb on the roof and beat their way in, Apache-on-stagecoach style.
So, Agadir retailers abandoned, we make our way, via another debate on routing - and you know what that means, chaps, to a v pleasant site up in the hills to the northeast. This is a particularly upmarket establishment run by a couple of ex-pat French people. Despite our somewaht dishevelled appearance, they don't seem to mind us sitting in their bar - the first we've seen in Morocco - and getting on the outside of several beers before doing anything else. When we get the bill we understand why. Upmarket though it is, the dogs still make as much racket as the other sites we've been on. In fact, I'm sure I heard a wolf at one point, howling for an hour at least, and the local Immam left his microphone on when the Faithful pitched up for prayers at 6-30. We could hear every word, from a mile away. Joy.
Highlights of the day? Not many. Roadside filling stations selling petrol from 5 litre water containers. Acres of Argan trees.
Twisty roads with hairpin bends that keep you wary of downhill traffic which has a habit of cutting the corners on blind bends. We were nearly wiped out twice. As we approach Agadir we're suddenly aware of how close to the coast we are - last night's haar is still lurking. As we get to the campsite, the sky disappears and the clag arrives. We're knackered. Any thoughts of cooking for ourselves are abandoned, and we eat in the on-site restaurant. Our second experience of a Tagine, and very pleasant too. A great meal for the price of 2 beers in a London pub.
The decision to "eat out" gives Mike some time to do some essential Maintenance, and we find that the repaired tyre is still losing pressure.
A quick investigation with soapy water reveals another hole, this one with a camel thorn sticking out of it. Reaming it all out and attempting a "field expedient" repair is only partially successful, so we may be forced to lose yet more time getting this sorted out. Risk Assessment in the morning. .....
As we droned northwards, we drew up our lists of "Most Useful (and Useless) Things you packed - or didn't":
Sue, Useful: Nail File, head scarf, Kaftan, tea bags. Also added "patience" but crossed it out. Hmmmm.
Mike Useful: Loops of bungee cord, Industrial WetWipes, Leather work gloves, compass, OSMAndroid mapping.
Sue Never Bring Again: Swimming costume, smart clothes, hat.
Mike: Winch, B&Q luggage straps, shaving kit, more than 3 pairs of anything.
Saturday morning, 4 April. We've decided to investigate the mountain piste listed in Scott as MH7. He says that this has been done by an ancient VW Golf, so we anticipate an easy cross country transit to Ouarzazate with a scenic , if not "idyllic" overnight camp en-route. The tyre is holding enough pressure to get us out of trouble if necessary. We're glad to be heading away from the clag - the bedding is damp, the tent dripping. Looking for the sun again.
This was at the end of a particularly humdrum day, flogging up the main highway from Tan Tan.
We had no option here, as there's only one road out of The Western Sahara region that was of any use to us. Our plan is to head for the Todra Gorges, which means a long couple of days on tarmac. M has identified a possible diversion using a mountain road, which probably means a lot more than it suggests.
We gave up on the supermarket a few minutes after losing the last of the useful signs. It could be just around the next corner or miles away. Stuck at lights, Donny's dad rapped on the passenger window and congratulated us on the colour of Daphne, enquired after our health, and suggested we give him some food. This is in a traffic queue in the middle of rush hour! Sure, matey, dive in the back and help yourself to a burger. We keep the oven on standby just for you. Twat. As you can tell, we've about had it with these chancers. As we left Tan Tan this morning we thought we'd stop and record the "Bon Voyage. Revenir a Tan Tan" sign.
You guessed it. The Teenage Highwaymen led by Donny and Unbonbon, now joined by Unstylo, appeared from nowhere on their bikes. We spotted them early enough to get the photos done and scoot up the road before they could climb on the roof and beat their way in, Apache-on-stagecoach style.
So, Agadir retailers abandoned, we make our way, via another debate on routing - and you know what that means, chaps, to a v pleasant site up in the hills to the northeast. This is a particularly upmarket establishment run by a couple of ex-pat French people. Despite our somewaht dishevelled appearance, they don't seem to mind us sitting in their bar - the first we've seen in Morocco - and getting on the outside of several beers before doing anything else. When we get the bill we understand why. Upmarket though it is, the dogs still make as much racket as the other sites we've been on. In fact, I'm sure I heard a wolf at one point, howling for an hour at least, and the local Immam left his microphone on when the Faithful pitched up for prayers at 6-30. We could hear every word, from a mile away. Joy.
Highlights of the day? Not many. Roadside filling stations selling petrol from 5 litre water containers. Acres of Argan trees.
Twisty roads with hairpin bends that keep you wary of downhill traffic which has a habit of cutting the corners on blind bends. We were nearly wiped out twice. As we approach Agadir we're suddenly aware of how close to the coast we are - last night's haar is still lurking. As we get to the campsite, the sky disappears and the clag arrives. We're knackered. Any thoughts of cooking for ourselves are abandoned, and we eat in the on-site restaurant. Our second experience of a Tagine, and very pleasant too. A great meal for the price of 2 beers in a London pub.
The decision to "eat out" gives Mike some time to do some essential Maintenance, and we find that the repaired tyre is still losing pressure.
A quick investigation with soapy water reveals another hole, this one with a camel thorn sticking out of it. Reaming it all out and attempting a "field expedient" repair is only partially successful, so we may be forced to lose yet more time getting this sorted out. Risk Assessment in the morning. .....
As we droned northwards, we drew up our lists of "Most Useful (and Useless) Things you packed - or didn't":
Sue, Useful: Nail File, head scarf, Kaftan, tea bags. Also added "patience" but crossed it out. Hmmmm.
Mike Useful: Loops of bungee cord, Industrial WetWipes, Leather work gloves, compass, OSMAndroid mapping.
Sue Never Bring Again: Swimming costume, smart clothes, hat.
Mike: Winch, B&Q luggage straps, shaving kit, more than 3 pairs of anything.
Saturday morning, 4 April. We've decided to investigate the mountain piste listed in Scott as MH7. He says that this has been done by an ancient VW Golf, so we anticipate an easy cross country transit to Ouarzazate with a scenic , if not "idyllic" overnight camp en-route. The tyre is holding enough pressure to get us out of trouble if necessary. We're glad to be heading away from the clag - the bedding is damp, the tent dripping. Looking for the sun again.
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